"So, conservation....who's heard of that word before?"
...silence.
"Conserve. What does it mean to conserve something?"
...silence.
"Okay, we've heard that word before, though. Where have you heard 'conserve'?"
Leontay's hand shoots up in the air. "OH! Oh yeah I heard dat."
"Where have you heard that, Leontay?"
"In tennis."
I rack my brain. "Tennis?"
"Yeah, you know you conserve da ball?"
Woww. I definitely LOLed, if you will.
My boys all rotate to the same four teachers together, and I'm pleased to hear that they are second best-behaved in my classroom. That's behind Mr. E, who has those kids on LOCK. I walk by his room and they are angels. That's because he will go OFF on those kids and isn't afraid to say anything to them. He'll cuss them AND their mommas out before they can even muster a disrespectful look; it is hilarious. If they say something rude to him, they get it back times four. And they love him. He is an amazing teacher with an amazing talent for working with these kids. His methods aren't exactly kosher, but RMS isn't exactly a kosher school. He holds extremely high expectations for his students--academically and behaviorally--and rips them a new one if those expectations aren't met.
Now it doesn't quite work that way for me. The boys don't flip desks and throw books in my class like they do for Mr. F and Mr. S (this year, anyways), but it's not because I can holler at them and actually intimidate them. I have just enough "white girl crazy" (as they call it) to get by. They don't sit in reverence like they do in math class, but they come in and stay in their seats for the most part. They don't all blatantly talk over instruction (most days, anyways). I can sass them right back if they choose to go that route. Unlike some teachers at our school, I don't have the authority to bark orders at them and expect them to comply. Not trying to pull this card, but being 24, female and white automatically forces me to find other methods. I go to my boys' basketball games and joke around with them at lunch. I ask them about their sisters and make fun of the way they act around the girls. They generally like me, and this is crucial to getting them to do what I want. And you know what? Though my class is by no means where it needs to be, not once this year have I given a direct order and a student blatantly told me "NO."
I've gotten them to write two page behavioral essays and stand in the back of class for an entire two and a half hours. They don't like it, and they don't do it happily, but they do it.
The difficult thing is to balance gaining your students' favor with having a clear line between teacher and friend. I learned a lot from last year and most of it centers around "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING." By anything, I do mean anything. This year, I'm a stickler for stuff I actually don't care a bit about just because if you let one thing slip it's all shot to hell.
Case in point: Last year, the LEAST of my problems was the dude slouching in the back of class. This year, I preach an annoying sermon if anyone even begins to put his head down. I consider it the biggest compliment when they sigh, roll their eyes and say "Mann, she just like Mr. E wit dat!"
Yesterday after a passionate lecture, I lined my biggest class (30) up for lunch. They actually seemed a little intimidated as they silently (yes silently) lined up and filed down the hall. An old black woman with a visitor's badge watched with eyes wide. "All boys?! Not a single girl??"
"Yes ma'am," I replied as the boys continued to come out of the door.
"And dey keep comin'! Chile, Imma pray for you when I get home."
"Please do!" I smiled as I shut my door and proudly looked down at my line. You could hear a pin drop.
I still have days where I can barely get through a lesson. I have days where I want to cry. I have days where I feel like all I'm getting in return for my work is disrespect and detachment. But at the end of the day, I know it could always be worse!
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