I am participating again this year in the Slice of Life challenge in which we write a slice every day in March. If you are interested in joining in, visit the Two Writing Teachers blog for more information.
I am not usually one of those people that gets down about things. I have a pretty positive outlook and I can usually find the silver lining. But this year, with this group of students, I hate Mondays. I. Hate. Mondays. Or should I call it might-as-well-not-have-bothered-with-lesson-plans-because-of-the-bouncing-off-of-the-walls day. This group of students is full of individuals that are sweet and want to do good, but they have one of those group personalities that makes my days very exhausting.
Mondays are full of reminders of the way we do things and redirections and giving my signal for quiet only to be ignored and struggling to get their attention. This group is making me dig all the way through my toolkit, which has been built up over 15 years of teaching. I am almost at the end of my rope with them.
I know that tomorrow will be a little bit better and by Friday we will be right on track. Then, we will go home for the weekend and it will start all over. Oh, how I hate Mondays!
Does anybody else have this challenge this year? I would love to hear from you in the comments.
I've had that challenge class before ! Sorry for your struggling Mondays! It seemed I had to remind them every day for the year what the routines were! Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteI've had that challenge class before ! Sorry for your struggling Mondays! It seemed I had to remind them every day for the year what the routines were! Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteI had one of those groups last year. I enjoy them much more now that they are down the hall!
ReplyDeleteOh boy! Yes, I've had those classes. I'll bet you come home with some good school stories. :)
ReplyDeleteHang in there! The hard groups are the ones that make us better teachers in the end...and the end is coming! We're 3/4 of the way there...maybe close enough to start a "____ more Mondays of the year left" countdown for you! :) Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteI have been there too!! And it is always easier to offer advice when you are not the one in the driver's seat, dealing with this unique situation. But how about doing something that would make you and them more excited for Mondays? Some type of fun team-building activity to start the day? I bought something off Teachers Pay Teachers that was geared to back to school but it was all about team-building activities. I wonder if starting the day with something "fun" might shift the energy. Or what about a crazy brain break followed by a really mellow one that might get them ready for the day? Go Noodle has a lot of fun stuff. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas. GoNoodle is my best friend this year! I will have to brainstorm some other fun Monday ideas.
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