Each day, at the beginning of class I tell the kids that if they’re good they will get a sticker. I then make them repeat what it means to be good. Here’s how the conversation goes:
David: What does it mean to be good? What is number one?
Class: NO FIGHTING NO BEATING NO KICKING NO FIGHTING…
David: Okay okay, that’s enough, everyone quiet. Number one is no fighting.
Class: NO FIGHTING
David: What is number two?
Class: NO PLAYING
David: No no, you can play! I want you to play and have fun. Number two is no talking while the teacher is talking.
Class: NO TALKING TEACHER TALKING
David: What is number three?
Class: (inaudible yelling)
David: Number three is paying attention.
Class: PAYING ATTENTION
(What they say is in all caps because they always yell this stuff.)
Usually about five get one at the end of the day, and I never thought that there would be a day where everyone would get one, but yesterday was that day! This was made possible by the fact that the kid I used to call Voldemort has turned a new leaf and is now very well behaved.
Anyway, this act alone has convinced me that I am indeed the best teacher ever of all time and will remain so for eternity, modesty be damned.
2 comments:
This reminds me of when Evil Bill taught kids English in Japan. Every morning when he came in he would make them sing a song entitled "It's time to shut up and pay attention so we can have fun at school" or something. I think he made them sing like, once an hour at least, and at every event. Lunch? Song. end of day? Song. Bird hit the window? Song.
etc.
Ahem...next to your sister who has 24 children/creatures in her class this year (I mean creatures in the cuddly, cute, yet terribly loud and wild animal way). Basically in need to be tamed. Wait til you meet them. You will bow down.
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