Students vs. People

As I am sitting here while my Algebra 1 students are working on a graphing assignment while watching The Grinch, I am reminded of a thought that I often have.

“I really like these kids as people (most of them), but more often than not, I really don’t like them as students.”

I know this sounds negative, but it’s true.

These students STRUGGLE with behavior in class. I have class sizes of 32, and the students are mostly freshman, with a few sophomores scattered in (those taking Algebra for a third time… you can imagine how much they want to be in class).

This being the case, these classes are extremely difficult to manage. It doesn’t matter where I sit them, they will talk to anyone. It doesn’t matter if we are taking notes, doing homework, working on a project, doing an activity… They still find a way to misbehave.

I try to do activities with them, and it usually backfires because I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to manage behavior, answer questions, and walk them through the directions which are right in front of them.

I leave these two classes every day feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and frustrated. I feel like a really bad teacher after they leave my room. I think to myself, I really don’t like these kids. They make me feel badly about myself, they never do as they’re told, and they can be very disrespectful at times.

But, it’s when I see them outside of the room that things change.

When I’m no longer trying to get them to do their assignment, or take notes, or stay in their seat… All of the sudden, things are different.

I actually like them! They are funny, and kind, and good people.

I laugh A LOT when I am talking with some of them.

I can see their interests and their personalities, and I feel good about our interactions.

So, the question that will remain for the time being… How can I get myself to like them as students, the same way I like them as people?

NCTM Conference 2018

At the end of November, all of the high school and middle school math teachers had the opportunity to attend the NCTM Regional Conference in Seattle.

This conference gave us the opportunity to join with other teachers from around the area in a series of sessions focusing on teaching math in the classroom.

Being new to teaching, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this conference.

But, from past experiences of being around other teachers talking about teaching, I expected to leave feeling like a sub-par teacher.

At these kind of things, teachers talk about the amazing and modern and innovative things that they are doing in their classrooms.

Being a new teacher, this leaves me feeling a little defeated, wondering how I’m supposed to do all of that amazingness in my classroom.

But, on day one, Jill talked with us about not feeling that way. About going into this conference with an open mind, and a willingness to see the greatness in what others are doing, and try to figure out how we can start to incorporate that into our practices.

The key word here being “start”.

Often, when I hear about math teachers having a project-based learning class, I think to myself, “that’s great, but how can I go from complete direct instruction, to completely handing over the learning to the students?”

But, the very first session that I went to changed my perspective.

This session was led by an incredible woman! She is a high school math teacher who is doing great things in her classroom.

But what I appreciated about her presentation, was that she talked about how she started to incorporate these little activities into her day-to-day lessons.

She didn’t say that you couldn’t do direct instruction anymore.

YAY! I personally think that some direct instruction in a math class is extremely vital.

She continued to talk with us about these activities, and had us participate in some of them as well.

It was really refreshing to hear from someone who was real and authentic. She showed us how we can start to work towards project-based learning by dipping our toes in the water, not taking a nose dive.

Overall, the rest of the conference went well, but this first session is the one that I will remember for a very very long time.

She gave me a glimpse into what the future of my classroom can be.