Hello all!
I've been on a nice little hiatus from GC as I was graduating from college and becoming a teacher. I started this thread as a naive idealistic senior who wanted to change the world and inspire inner-city kids.
Yeah umm...so the classroom?...craziness? I teach kindergarten from 7:30am to 4:00pm (no nap time). I work at an incredible school where everyone loves the kids as much as I do, but because of expectations that were improperly set in the beginning, the kids respect every adult except me. My biggest problem is the last block of the day when there's nothing to hold over their heads (i.e. missing recess or PE because of misbehavior). Several times I haven't even been able to begin a lesson because as soon as I'm alone with them the classroom becomes a complete zoo. I try so hard not to yell at them but that's the only time they listen to me.
After talking to some other teachers, I have a few ideas for turning the situation around, but I'd like to hear from you all if you've got some strategies that have worked. Not your everyday problem-solvers, but your "this is absolutely unacceptable and needs a 360 degree change" strategies. I know it may not happen overnight, but I'm open to a lot at this point.
help!
