I love all my students. I really do.
But some groups are more challenging than others.
One year I had a class that was "too cool for school." They looked down on fellow students; they looked down on me.
One year I had a class that was out for blood. They circled like sharks, waiting for any sign of weakness so they could attack. They really seemed to want us to be enemies.
I work hard with challenging groups. I weaken their defenses by working on those relationships and finding what matters to them and what makes them tick. I adjust my approach until I find their sweet spot. And most of the time we end up in a positive place.
The work must continue all year, though, and challenging groups can be mentally and physically tiring.
This year's group - as a whole - seems to be a bit easier. They're nice to each other. They're respectful and pleasant to me. They're fun to be around. I am spending less time on classroom management and am able to devote more energy to the teaching and learning process.
I'll take any group you give me. Give me time, give me ideas, give me patience, and we'll be just fine. I'll love them just like any other group and give them the best me I can give.
But I've noticed myself being grateful for an "easy" group.
Is that a bad thing?
Short easy answer: no! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating to me how a grade-level group can develop its own culture, which is pretty well entrenched by the time we get them in middle or high school. There is a PhD dissertation in this idea somewhere!
I have more to respond, but I think I'll save it for my own #flipblogs (cuz that's kind of the point, right??)
Yes...grade-levels have their own personalities; individual classes have their own personalities. I'd love to see that dissertation, if it were written on my level, LOL.
Delete