View Full Version : Well, I taught my first middle school class. What an experience!
Divinus Arma
03-22-2006, 06:37
Yep. That's right. I took a job Substitute teaching Middle School in addition to the world of hurt I already torture myself with. I though I would come back here and share a little of it because it was very interesting.
I was told it would be middle school Mathematics (7th and 8th grade, US).
NOPE. The first three periods were ELD1 (English Language Development 1). Also known as English Second Language for spanish speakers.
These kids were in eight grade. I taught vocabulary words like "desert", "kindness", "jealous", etc.
4th and 5th period was math and 6th was science. Those were pretty easy after the ELD.
What an eye opener. Some of you may know that I work in military law enforcement full time in my day job. In doing that, you get an instinct for bad guys. It becomes second nature to pick out a bad seed.
That works fine in law enforcement because your tactics in dealing with them are pretty straightforward: Do what I say or else bad things happen to you. You can't do that as a teacher, and this was quite an adjustment.
I instantly picked out the "bad seeds", but I couldn't deal with them in the typical forceful manner. I had to force a perceptual change in myself and view the positive in them (or at least look for it). This way, I could treat them in a positive manner and reinforce a positive social mirror image of themselves. Treating a "thug" like a thug only reinforces their self-image as a thug. I can't have these kids going "thug" on me, I wanted them to learn! Simply put, if you go negative disciplinarian on these kids it becomes you vs them and then chaos ensues because they will defy you as a group. Being the sub is especially difficult because subs always catch hell from the kids. I was a total punk and made my subs' lives hell.
SO. Point being. It was an awesome experience. It challenged my assumptions and forced me to think outside of my narrow little mind as a cop and a Marine.
I just wanted to share that little tidbit with you folks.
Oh, and I did pull out the old Marine Corps command voice to get them to pick up their trash from the floor. I think that was a new experience for them. They all looked at me like I had suddenly become a madman. They picked up their trash though. heh.
Papewaio
03-22-2006, 07:51
Teaching ESL is difficult. Not only are you trying to teach them something but the communication channels may not be there, it adds another level of complexity. Also idioms and humour may not convert very well.
Keeping the attention of an entire class, while keeping if fun and disciplined is an interesting dynamic.
My punishments for bad behaviour while I was an ESL teacher were not violent (in Taiwan hitting a 5 year old kid with a metal ruler on the hands was normal)... I was far more evil. :laugh4: Kids can take pain, they are always playing and getting hurt. What they can't take with their youthful exuberance and short attention span is boredom. Standing in a corner or at the front of the class and having to be quiet while listening to the others play learning games curbs their naughty habits far quicker... very effective.
Also rewarding good behaviour and where possible just ignoring bad behaviour is useful. I tended only to really punish disruptive or rude behaviour. Cheating was brought up with the head of the school and the kids parents. They also would automatically score zero on their test.
And I found a lot of the 'bad' kids are bad because they are bored... and they turn out to be alot of the time some of the more intelligent ones... they just need more challenges and quicker feedback for their achievements.
Crazed Rabbit
03-22-2006, 07:54
Good for you! Sounds like quite the experience.
A quick note that probably won't apply to your teaching, but 8th grade girls are the devil incarnate. They won't try and get you, but they will destroy their peers. Of course, this might be different in your school. Even then, it's not really useful info, but kind of...um...tangentially related.
I took a job Substitute teaching Middle School in addition to the world of hurt I already torture myself with.
Te gusta tortura, eh? Loco... ~;p
Crazed Rabbit
Divinus Arma
03-22-2006, 08:54
And I found a lot of the 'bad' kids are bad because they are bored... and they turn out to be alot of the time some of the more intelligent ones... they just need more challenges and quicker feedback for their achievements.
I found that most rowdy students were the ones who needed the most help. When I spent time with them individually, the rest kind of quieted down without their ringleaders. I also found that instructor based activities were far more difficult in engaging them than were individual activities. It was mush easier to control the class when they had an activity to focus on rather than trying to lecture/entertain them. They were much more interested in their own little worlds than any crud I could spew out of my suck. I just tried to keep them on task. Interesting how proximity is directly proportionate to their behavior. The closer you get, the more they focus.
Te gusta tortura, eh? Loco...
No tengo gusta de tortura, yo trabajo demasiado y ésa es tortura.
:sweatdrop: "Mr. Arma! Mr. Arma! I have to go to the bathroom real bad! Can I go?"
:scholar: "Umm..................no."
Banquo's Ghost
03-22-2006, 14:46
Very well done, Divinus! Some fascinating insights too. I've always thought teaching is a powerful vocation, and to give up some of your spare time to help develop young people is a noble civic enterprise. :balloon2: :balloon2:
Somewhat off on a tangent, could you let me know what 'military law enforcement' is? No doubt wrongly, I thought you had left the service, and thus can't be an MP?
Thanks for sharing your experience DA.:2thumbsup:
Sounds fun. I've been considering teaching ESL overseas for a while now, but never in Spanish. I've always found teaching fun, though.
As for Middle School...it's tough, I think. The kids aren't so old so that they can't have fun, but my personal experience at middle school was absolutely miserable.
I can't think of a figure I'd hate more as a teacher than a cop and a soldier, though....
Alexanderofmacedon
03-23-2006, 04:22
In Austin right? You teach in Austin, Texas?
Divinus Arma
03-25-2006, 02:06
Nope. In Cali still. Which district I shall leave to speculation. heh.
Worked again yesterday. 8th grade science. Great kids all day. Except for one little thug in the last class. He obviously had some hardship. There was no breaking through on him. Not from a sub, anyway. Total defiance and attitude. Sad. I know his type, and it really does seem too late. He will end up dead or in jail for sure....:no:
Great job, though. I like the grade level. Young enough to listen to authority, old enough to think almost like adults.
littlelostboy
03-25-2006, 14:06
Lol, must have been an experience. I've taught 1st grader kids a year ago. It's part of the school IB program and I volunteered, which mean for 1 year, I had to sacrifice my free periods on Monday and Tuesday. But it was all for good cause and furthermore it was interesting. Young enough to learn and listen and obey, hehehe. You can also see why girls at this age are always so well-liked by the teacher given their good behaviour and their willingness to learn. Boys, on the other hand, just want to wreck the place up. One of my job was to help the teacher control the guys, be being a guy myself, I, er, often join their 'games', much to the teacher's annoyance... not to mention I had to deal with this little girl's 'crush' with me (and no, please, I'm not er, wrong in the head or anything). Surprising how much you can learn from those little buggers.
But your account is fascinating, teaching middle school. I had very fond memories of middle school (some including being hell to the sub, hehe). It must be tough, as kids at this age always try to act tough and they like to follow the 'rebel' but they're still what they are, kids. Not that old yet. Good luck with the teaching job.
not to mention I had to deal with this little girl's 'crush' with me (and no, please, I'm not er, wrong in the head or anything).
I know exactly what you're talking about and it was incredibly difficult.
doc_bean
03-26-2006, 21:06
I know exactly what you're talking about and it was incredibly difficult.
You had a crush on the teacher as a little girl ? :inquisitive:
(at least from your previous post it doesn't seem like you ever taught a class)
You had a crush on the teacher as a little girl ? :inquisitive:
(at least from your previous post it doesn't seem like you ever taught a class)
No. I was in the same situation as littlelostboy, but as a volunteer at a summer camp.
Strike For The South
03-27-2006, 01:15
you voulnterred for something?
you voulnterred for something?
Yeah, mind-blowing, eh?
lol,
Yeah I always used to be one of the big trouble makers in school. Never did something realy bad or imorral. I think if I was a teacher my students wouldn't get the chance of doing something "bad". But then again school in Belgium and the US is completly different. But I might have a total misconception of public American shools tough. The only thing I know about them comes from movies so...
Just a question but how old are those kids you're teaching (I don't know the American system so grade 8 doesn't ring a bell to me)
littlelostboy
03-29-2006, 01:42
lol,
Yeah I always used to be one of the big trouble makers in school. Never did something realy bad or imorral. I think if I was a teacher my students wouldn't get the chance of doing something "bad". But then again school in Belgium and the US is completly different. But I might have a total misconception of public American shools tough. The only thing I know about them comes from movies so...
Just a question but how old are those kids you're teaching (I don't know the American system so grade 8 doesn't ring a bell to me)
The kids would be around 13-14 years old. In the British System, they would be in Secondary 1 or 2.
The kids would be around 13-14 years old. In the British System, they would be in Secondary 1 or 2.
don't knwo the british system either.:laugh4:
but 13-14 years that i do understand :)
Major Robert Dump
03-30-2006, 23:27
Did a little substituting in college at the high school i graduated from, it was odd supervising kids who I knew as a high school student and gave wedgies to.
Also did some in southside OKC, pretty crappy neighborhoods and school system, and the garbage that came out of these kids mouths was a real eye opener. I still to this day remember a little girl, who couldnt have been any older than 13 or 14, walking down the hall singing the old vulgar NWA rap about giving oral sex, right in front of teachers and students alike, as if she were proud, and it didn't seem to bother anyone. Thats not me being old guy saying "these kids today" because I was only 22 at the time
I also did a 3rd grade class once where the kids gather outside the door in the morning waiting for the bell to ring. It was hilarious listening to them peek through the windows saying stuff they had no idea about like "is that our substitute? does he look gay? yup! hes gay alright" I passed around a picture of my girlfriend once class started.
For the most part, I hated it, but it was easy part time work. I couldn't imagine doing it full time.
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