7th grade Personal Development was my challenge this week. And it was a challenge! This class had a lot of energy and a lot of personality. My task was to lead a discussion on self-image and image gap. This will then lead into their discussion of drugs and alcohol and why people turn to those to solve an image gap problem. Ms. Chelf spent time with me going over the lesson and warning me that this is one of her most talkative and challenging classes of the day. I wasn't worried...until the class began!
As the tardy bell rang, student came running in loudly and hitting each other on the back of the neck. I used the opportunity to explain why that behavior was unacceptable and how it could be considered bullying. The students didn't really seem to take my warning very seriously. Some continued talking, some were making faces at other students, and some were trying to get the attention of their peers. It was a pretty frustrating way to start class.
I began the lesson by writing a couple of questions on the board and I asked students to share their answers with an elbow partner. The questions were what is "self-image" and what is your "ideal" self-image. There were several good answers. We settled on self-image as the way you see yourself and the ideal self-image is what you want yourself to be. There were some differences on this, but eventually came to a conclusion. Throughout this discussion, I had to redirect student behavior several times and ask students to be on task and not talking with others. It was hard! I had them start on their assignment and it quieted down for a few minutes. Then we had to discuss, the behaviors started up again. We did have some really good conversations with the students who were participating appropriately. They shared that they wanted to be taller and not have braces. And we talked about how to improve the things they didn't like about themselves. It was a great discussion.
However, the behaviors in this class were what I walk away remembering. This class was eye opening. This is what our teachers have to deal with every day in many of their classes. Ms. Chelf told me that some parents at conferences mentioned how their students come home and say that this particular class is terrible. That is not the image we want our students and parents to have of NW!
So what can I do? How can I help to support our teachers? I'm not sure. But I need to spend more time in classes to target the behaviors and figure out which students need an intervention. I feel stressed because I know I need to do this, but finding the time is difficult. I also need to continue this work and my conversations with teachers. They need to know I recognize what they do and how hard their job is. My teaching experience is at the high school level. This class made me remember that teaching junior high students is one of the most difficult jobs in education! I don't think I could do it every day!
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