Smart move...

Today I am in the same class ive been in since Wednesday. Its been
tough, the kids dont want to learn, they don't have any incentive to
learn, and they don't have a teacher to hold them accountable. Its a
bad combination. So I have been trying to show them that I care for
them, teach them something, and enjoy my time in the class. As a
reward (since it's Friday) and I don't have any lesson plans, I
decided for my sanity and the kids' learning, it would be most
beneficial to watch a documentary in class. I rented Planet Earth and
we watched the first episode. They thought it was boring, but when
sharks started attacking seals and the wolves attacked the caribou,
they started enjoying it and asking questions about the scenes we were
watching. I asked them to write a response paper about the movie, but
only about half the class would cooperate- its better than none!
Luckily, they have a new teacher coming in on Monday, and this is
supposed to be their full time teacher for the rest of the semester.

I just have to
start strict with them and have high expectations. I have to do that
with all of my classes- otherwise I wouldn't be able to teach
anything- they would eat me alive. How else could I control a group of
wild kids that look about the same age as me? Heck, several even look
older than me.

Its been a great experience so far, and I'm sure it will help me out
in the future. It will at least help me relate more to the issues of
education, inner-city kids, and poverty stricken neighborhoods. There
are no easy solutions. If we are going to try to fix education in
this country, it will have to come with a total paradigm shift in the
systems that affect these kids, and focus on parental involvement.
More money would help too, but it has to be allocated appropriately.

Anyway, it was a smart move to show them the film, and I'm pretty sure
they learned more from the film than from me trying to talk to them.