Here is a question for the group:
Hello Ben,
This is my first year teaching Middle School Spanish. It is considered an elective here. I teach 11 classes total on an A/B schedule. I teach 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grade. I feel like I am losing my mind!
I have been doing OWI and trying to build a word wall for verbs and nouns to set us up for the Word Chunk Activity. I have been circling and some days are good and some days are bad. Lately, it has been bad. I have been policing the no English inconstantly and have let way too many kids use the bathroom when I said I would only allow 2. I got sick of the complaining. Ahhhhhhhhhh. I see 8th grade first and I fight their insecurity and bad attitude (oh did I mention, I am replacing a teacher who left half way through the year and then they had 3 subs after that!?) so I am fighting them testing me. Then I see the 6th graders who are SO NEEDY (I taught HS before this) and then I see the 7th graders who are in between and by the time I see them I am worn out.
Here’s the big question I have:
I was trying to get some kind of advice from a good teacher next to me who teaches computers and she advised me to have more student based work because I am the only one teaching. There is a big push in my district for Personalized Learning and students doing the work not you. I tried to explain to her that I can’t give them worksheets because they aren’t able to produce anything yet. Then I felt looked down or that my method was ineffective. How do I combat this!? Is she right!? Do I need more student work?
My kids seem all of sudden bored and insecure and whiny and it is only the first month of school! Any ideas?