One of our Whanau class activities early in the term was to watch some "motivational" videos (Kid President ones) and build a wall of inspiration. All the kids wrote their favorite quote on different papers and we stuck them all up so as soon as you come in the room you HAVE to see them as they are in the way and you have to walk around this wall to get into the class proper.
The hall of fame is also coming along week. Along the back, I have 5 notice boards and conveniently I teach 5 different classes of math. Each class has their own board along the back where I post the Merit and Excellence names of each test (basically the equivalent of our honour and high honour roll). The kids have really bought into this and the homework completion rate and test scores have shot up...it helps that my darlings are extremely competitive (in a good way). I love posting the new scores and seeing the kids literally "walk with purpose" to the back of the room and scroll the names. The best part is when a new student gets their name on the list.
The front of the room is also coming together. We now have a fan as it is SOOO hot in the classrooms here. I also have a place for our agendas every day (each class gets their own colour paper for their agenda) and they have their homework notice boards, also on the coloured papers. On the little white board goes things like the date, a quote of the day (thanks Kathy for the inspiration there), any special announcements and lately a countdown to holidays (thanks Marc for the inspiration on that one).
By far, my favorite addition has been the sound system. The kids here are so very musical that it plays into their talents so well. We listen to a wide variety of classical music during independent work time. This does several things 1) sets the tone of the room to one of peace and quiet (read the boys now leave rugby on the rugby field) and 2) it sets boundaries of "teacher talk time" and "student work time". All of my cues in class are now done musically and the transitions are so much smoother and the kids are so much happier. Happy kids = happy teacher.
This is by far one of my favorite little doodles. A student drew this on the back of one of her tests a few weeks ago. I am always telling the kids to not give up on themselves and to give themselves some credit as they know more than they think they know. This is extra important advice this week as the Year 10's write their first set of internal credits. The kids need a certain number of internal and external credits to graduate...each test is worth a number of credits based on it's difficulty. All the tests are purchased and standardized. I am nervous for my 10's as this is a pilot project....if they do well they will bank 4 credits that can be applied towards their graduation. Usually students start writing for credits in year 11. Most of my 10's are finished writing, and the papers look good. They will be handed over to the moderator to mark and by the end of Easter, I will know how the classes did. I am just as excited, nervous and thrilled as my year 10's are about their credit potential. My 9's are also writing their finals this week, I am nervous for them but I know they are going to do well.
If I was to sum up this term, I would say it was a bit of a roller coaster, lucky for me the high points were so much higher than the low points and looking back, I don't think I'd trade my lovable (if sometimes naughty) kids for all the honours students you could fit in my classroom. These are good kids, who sometimes make poor choices (like all 13-15 year olds), but when they figure out you want the best for them, the effort and the dedication they can give you just blows my mind. Their loyalty is fierce once you earn it, and their heart is always in the right place.
No comments:
Post a Comment