The terror of Parents' Night, and other tales

I have officially made it through one whole week "cycle." It's been slightly rough-going, but I guess that is to be expected. For the most part, things have been going well. My 10th graders are absolutely wonderful and bright. My 9th graders on the other hand... well, they're a handful to say the least. Actually, that's not a very accurate description. A handful of them are a handful.

I've been working with my difficult class to make some adjustments. We got a new seating chart, and reviewed the rules and consequences. Since that time, I've been giving official "warnings." Students know very clearly that they get two warnings before a call home or an after school detention with me. They are testing me now, and I'm being very careful to follow through on my stated discipline plan. My most difficult student, I think, is going to end up making himself be an example for all of his buddies, and that should work the problem out. Today I asked the entire class to do an exit-slip procedure to give me suggestions of what we can do to improve the class atmosphere. I did so calmly and explained that I really wanted their input and suggestions. I received a few decent ideas, and I definitely plan on implementing them in the next few days.

I had an experience today in how I read things differently than teenagers. My 10th graders read Chopin's "Story of an Hour" for homework. As a reading quiz today, I asked them one question: "What was Mrs. Mallard's reaction upon learning of her husband's death?" I thought this a simple question, easily understood simply from reading the story. When I read that story, I immediately comprehended the fact that she was immediately relieved over her newfound freedom, and passed away at the end when that was suddenly taken away by his re-appearance. I learned based on their quiz responses, that this fact was not so easily apparent to my students, though they are very bright. I could tell they did the reading based on their responses, but they didn't "get it." Which is actually a very good thing, because now I know we need to spend time talking about it, while I otherwise would've made the assumption that they did. It's obviously a difference between my more mature and lit-trained mind, and their literal ones. It was a very good learning experience for me.

Tomorrow is parents' night and of course, it's intimidating. We hear horror stories of how overbearing some of the parents in this district can be. They are very involved in their children's lives, which is a good thing... but can be a major headache for teachers when some of them get a little over-anxious. I'm getting prepped, and ready to explain the syllabus/expectations/etc.

I hope this was coherent. In an effort to quell the enormous stress, I've become addicted to junk-tv (new 90210!!) and I've been typing this as I watch. Anything that allows my mind to rest for an hour a day is becoming my sanity-saver...