One thing I know for sure...

This past year was really challenging for me as a teacher. Yeah, the economy is getting tougher, curriculum is becoming more challenging, administration is more and more demanding and the legislature seems to want us pushed out to pasture... but, my struggles came mainly from what I thought..well, KNEW as my strength...classroom management.

My kids were a rambunctious bunch of kiddos. They were loud, talkative and ignored any kind of direction. This paired with all the other professional frustrations (READ: admin), I was worn slap out all of the time. The class that I had the year before were not angels, but they really understood that school was for learning. There wasn't much need for reteaching routines.

I won't lie... there were many successes...kids jumped 5 reading levels, the "problem child" became my absolute favorite and we all made strides toward becoming 21 Century Learners. I am tremendously proud of that.

BUT...

Truthfully, I slacked in the classroom management last year...but this year it will be different... 

I'm going to do what I know for sure....

Arrival Time 

When the kids come in the classroom, they unpack their bags and read the morning message PPT slide projected on the board. Here, there the morning announcements, directions for the day and sometimes a writing or conversational prompt related to something we did the day before. I didn't give them many pencil and paper tasks at all. 

Teachers are expected to stand in the hall to monitor students and we also have a stairwell duty once per week...but I had it twice! We also had our PLT meetings in the morning during arrival, so that was 3 mornings per week I was out of the room. It was really hard to make any routines really stick. 

This year I am going to give pencil and paper tasks everyday. I will still have the kids do some of the other tasks, such as book shop in the classroom library and check out from the school library, but they also are held accountable for their time by completing a pencil paper activity. 

Arrival time is the time to set the tone for the day and this fall I will do my best to make our days start as smooth as butter! 

Continue on this journey with me...as I delve into the issues that plagued me last year and make plans to rectify them. Because, one thing I now for sure... I was born to be a teacher. 

~ The Sassy Teacher