Peaceful

Giving a test to a class can be peaceful, or it can be stressful. I had mostly peaceful today. The kids worked hard, stayed quiet, and I had something for them to do with any extra time. Not all were angels - one refused the extra sheet because "it isn't worth doing if you won't give me any extra credit." One class, one of my better classes the other day, was the worst - couldn't stay quiet, couldn't get it together.

Been using a new method of noise awareness from one of my recent seminars. I have the kids put their fingers around their throats and talk. They feel the vibration. Then they whisper, and there isn't any vibration. I inform them this is Level 1, and that it would be acceptable most of the time. They gave me a couple of examples of when we should be at Level 0 (like during tests, or when an adult is speaking). Just asking them what level they were speaking at saves a lot of time.

Then there is my troubled student. He is in my homeroom, has been defiant and aggressive toward me from the beginning. My co-teacher recognizes his defiance, and neither of us has a solution. His dad came in for a conference, and the boy remained sullen and defiant and wouldn't provide much in the way of help, even with a guidance counselor, co-teacher, parent, etc. all asking. Yesterday he refused to stop talking during dismissal (he also was laughing a lot during the test, but that is another issue), so I pulled him aside and told him we would call his mother once we were out of the building. He got louder and more defiant and eventually tried to slip away from me and to the front of the line, hoping to get away. When I caught up with him, he kept being defiant, then said "You better leave me alone, man" and walked away from the door where we exit. I had to have a teacher on the hall detain him - he claimed he was going to see the guidance counselor (which is not done after school, nor do you walk away from your dismissal line). Well, we found the counselor, the boy continued to be sullen and claim he had never made the veiled threat - but "that man always in my face hollerin at me" which is his way of saying "I kept on talking and the teacher kept asking me to please be quiet". Called his mom and informed her, but since this is about the fifth time this has happened, and the dad didn't fill her in on the conference, I have little hope of things improving.