Week Two

The Good:
1) In her introductory letter to me, Carmen wrote, "Miss Oliver, I feel bad because the students don’t respect you. I don’t know you well, but let me tell you that you are an excellent teacher, and I’m going to learn a lot from you.” I was touched by her compassion and empathy. However, her candor shook me. She recognized that the students in her class don't respect me. I am going to have to work on that. I usually prefer to EARN respect, but I may have to demand it first and earn it later.... Carmen's comment, as sweet as it was, simply made me realize that I may have to approach my classroom differently next week.


 2) Thirty young women showed up at the first RAW meeting. I am co-coaching a young women's empowerment group called RAW (which stands for Real Ambitious Women). Our first meeting took place on Thursday, and I cried when I saw how many young women were in attendance. About a week prior to our meeting, I asked teachers to nominate young women who demonstrated leadership qualities or who may have benefited for a women's support group. My inbox flooded with student nominations. Two days before our meeting, my co-coach, Vanessa, and I sent out about 40 pink invitations to the young women who had been nominated. And, as I mentioned earlier, thirty young women ended up attending! At the end of our first meeting, I asked each girl to articulate how she was feeling about RAW in one or two words. While there were some girls who said, "Not sure," the majority of them said things like: "curious," "excited," "pumped," and "empowered." It was beautiful! :)  


The Bad:
Classroom management. Period. I just need to work on it and find a style that fits ME.
Idea: Change the seating arrangement!


The Ugly:
On Thursday, I was really struggling with classroom management. My students were taking a practice English Placement Test (the test that they will be required to take at their prospective universities in order to be placed in the "correct" English class). I am giving my students to opportunity to practice that test because I want them to be successful on the actual English Placement Test (EPT). A low score on the EPT will require students to take a remedial English class that does not count toward graduation credit. While it is a valuable class for struggling writers, it is an expensive -- more expensive than my FREE writing class.


Anyway, I could not get the majority of the class to take the test seriously, nor could a maintain a quiet test taking environment for the students who were working hard of the test. I demanded quiet and respect, to little avail. Finally one of my students, Tanya, in a moment of frustration, yelled at the students who were talking: "Can't you just shut up. Do you see that I am working? Just shut your damn mouth! Do you have to be talking right now?" Miraculously, the students listened to her. I was so embarrassed that I wasn't able to command the respect of the class like that. I was also frustrated that I allowed the class to get to a space where a student had to blow up because she was angry and felt like she couldn't be productive. I was very disappointed in myself....


After class, I had to tell Tanya that it was not appropriate to speak to the class in such a disrespectful manner. The way she yelled at the students may have made them feel unsafe, and I can't tolerate that. However, I also thanked her for having my back. She said, "Anytime, Miss Oliver. You've just gotta step it up. If they don't listen to you, kick them out." Wow! I guess I do have to step it up...