The "honeymoon" was nice while it lasted. No longer can my smiling face and positive attitude do the trick---relationships need to be solidified, trust needs to be present, and constant love needs to be in the classroom. I was reminded of that today and I lost my patience.
I teach a very tricky class to students whom I don't know all that well. They have all yet to pass the CAHSEE exam in math and thus need to in order to graduate high school. These are all students who are low on self esteem but tend to hide that with laughter, lack of effort and motivation, and a refusal to work in groups.
Today, I lost it in class. A student provided an answer to a math question I had asked and he was wrong. This particular student has a learning disability and I was so proud of him for sharing his answer. Another young lady laughed the moment he said the wrong answer which is the number one rule I am not willing to negotiate on. She could not see what she did wrong and I proceeded to get angry and lecture.
I don't think I handled it well although I do think I proved the point that it is not tolerated in my classroom. I am not willing to give that up as all students deserve an environment where they can take risks in order to learn. But, I don't think I handled the confrontation well and I wasted classroom minutes in the process.
Here's to tomorrow and not letting a student ruin the classroom community that I have built. Here is to these 22 students passing the Math CAHSEE exam in two weeks and continuing to put their best foot forward.
Here is to the "honeymoon" being over and students investing in deep, caring relationship with adults and each other to further the learning process.
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