Back to Teaching

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Here´s the update:

Cesar has decided to take an extended weekend without any of us knowing. There are rumours that his mother is very sick.

I had my class write ¨What I have learned in Grade 3 so far¨ and got some interesting responses.

New approach to class (taken from Meg who took it from Donray). Every class is worth 8 marks for participation. Every student starts with 8 points. If they do not have the homework finished from the day before they lose 2 points. If they are not prepared with the proper materials for class they lose 2 points. During the class if they are doing anything they shouldn´t be doing (chewing gum, talking, out of their seat, etc.) they lose another point. EVERY class will have these marks.

This new participation mark will count towards 25% of their final grade. This will hopefully help for those students who don´t do so well on tests but who are always prepared for class, have their homework done, and participate in class. This will also penalize those students who are little brats in class.

I tried this this morning and it was a huge success. I have never seen my class so well behaved. Lovely. Apparently you need to threaten grades in order to have any effect on these kids. I´m amazed at how much emphasis they put on grades here. The students´ biggest concern is if they made honour roll or not. Parents will bribe their kids with cell phones, video games, trips, etc. if they make honour roll. I suppose that´s why my students have no intrinsic motivation.

So, feeling a little better about school. Well, as much as I can.

Was cleaning up the table in the staff room today because it´s super cluttered and drives me crazy. Found a bunch of essays written by the 10th graders about their least favourite teacher. Rather amusing to read those. Made me realize there are worse things I could be doing in my classroom.

Thanks again to all of you for your understanding, caring, and concerned e-mails. Means a lot to know there´s tons of support from home.

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Comments

[Rohini]

Hey Sar, Glad to hear your new technique is working- even if not being exactly what you had in mind. I hope the new behaviour sticks for the rest of the school year and gives you some piece of mind- Keep us updated :)

[Uncle Wayne]

Good Work
There is always a silver liner in every cloud. Remember to hang in there and eventually things will change, usually for the better. Love you. Uncle Wally