I feel I have to remind myself right now that I've only been teaching for six weeks, and I'm still learning... But I hate not knowing how to do everything straight away, the moment I need it.
I had my most challenging class (in terms of behaviour management) this morning, with assistance from a lovely executive teacher who works with me in this class for two hours per week. They were angels. Well, in comparison to their normal behaviour. The disheartening thing about this is that I can't get them to be angels by myself. By myself, I am shouting over the din, writing names on the whiteboard, moving students to time-out desks, sending students to other classes for time-out, calling parents, experimenting with positive reinforcement and challenges, and just generally struggling to teach them.
Don't get me wrong, this probably sounds worse than it is. I LIKE this class - at least, I like all the individuals IN this class. But together they're tough work. I'll break them in eventually (because the only alternative is them breaking me, and that ain't happening).
It's just disheartening because my executive teacher makes controlling them look so easy. So easy, in fact, that it's hard to pinpoint what she's doing right and I'm doing wrong. Another teacher told me today that it's because she has "The Vibe", and that I don't have that.
Harking back to my teacher training last year, I'm guessing "The Vibe" is one of Thomas Nielsen's "Powers": Referent Power, Position Power, etc. I'm reading Bill Rogers' "Behaviour Management" at the moment too, and it's abundantly clear from the way Rogers writes that he has "The Vibe" too.
The question is, how do I get it?
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ReplyDeleteI was reflecting on just that same issue ("Powers") yesterday. One of our boys is on an "adolescent rampage", no rules, no apparent care for anybody, no respect etc etc... But when he entered the room spitting and swearing yesterday with "Where the EFF is the teacher?!" it was because he'd burned his finger on a soldering iron and didn't know what to do. Turns out, in crunch time, I had Protective and Referent Power. He was lamb to me for the rest of the day. But it had to come in its own time, organically, authentically, when he was ready to show it. I don't know if that in any way helps/reassures you, or even if I'll be able to see evidence of it again today or tomorrow, but it was a baby step in Wk 6. You're intelligent and you care, and in crunch time that'll count for a lot until "The Vibe" sets in permanently. At least, I assume that's how it works!