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.

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.

**Divinus Arma** · 03-22-2006, 08:54

Originally Posted by Papewaio

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.

Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit

Te gusta tortura, eh? Loco...

No tengo gusta de tortura, yo trabajo demasiado y ésa es tortura.

**Beirut** · 03-22-2006, 12:41

"Mr. Arma! Mr. Arma! I have to go to the bathroom real bad! Can I go?"

"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.

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?

**Husar** · 03-22-2006, 18:23

Thanks for sharing your experience DA.

**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...

Crazed Rabbit