Out of the Mouth of Babes!

What do you do when a student tries to defy you? The other day this student chose to draw that line in the sand and see if he could win. He needed to finish half of his Math problems before he went home. He decided to avoid doing them in hopes that I would not notice. I sent the rest of the class outside for extra recess and informed this student that he would be staying in to finish the problems. He just stood there. I asked him, "Do you really want t go down this road with me?" Another student was walking by and replied, "I have never been down that road, but I don't think you want to go there." I could not have said it better myself! The student eventually got his math book and finished the problems. Sometimes getting my point across is done better by the students.

Eye Rolling....

There are those times when one of your students makes a poor choice. I had one today that decided to roll his eyes at me. So what do you do? He is known for questioning and testing teachers. I have learned with this particular student that you cannot give him an inch because he will take a mile. I called his hand on it and I utilized my first level of discipline and informed him that this would not have happened if he had been doing what was expected of him. He was not happy at all and when he returned to his seat after writing his name on the board, he decided to just sit there. It is funny how students think that sitting and not working actually in some way punishes you. When he returned to my room in the afternoon, he had a definite change of attitude. It was nice to see that he realized his mistakes and chose to change his behavior. Students are always going to test the "waters" and see what you are going to do. You just need to make sure that you follow through and deal with any and all situations. Students will soon realize that you mean what you say and they will not "test the waters" near as much.

You Know Your a Teacher When......

I just came back from a break from school. I love the time off during a school year. It really helps to rejuvenate me and get ready to begin again. You know you are a teacher when you spend part of you time off looking at educational websites, looking for ways to teach your subjects better, and just reading other teacher's blogs for good ideas.
My husband refers to me as a "geek" and I guess I am because I love to search on the internet or read books that can help in my profession. I have found several websites and blogs that have great ideas and new ways to teach. In future blogs, I will begin to list some of the websites I have found to be very useful.
There is one article written by Jeff Foxworthy that I just love called, How Do You Know You're a Teacher? A couple of my favorite lines from this are, You know you are a teacher when you get a secret thrill out of laminating things and You know you are a teacher when you can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
I do love being a teacher and I truly hope it shows in my classroom!