If I had to pick one word to describe how my classes were going so far, that word would be frustrating. I have a lot of nice kids, and my AP class in particular are very motivated and eager to learn, but (predictably) not all of them are that way. It’s enormously frustrating to try to explain what a Petrarchan sonnet is to a group of 17 and 18 year old guys who think that making farting noises in class and then complaining about the smell is the epitome of humor. It’s frustrating to go through a lesson with the class and assign a worksheet and have the student who wasn’t paying attention ask if he had to do the worksheet because he “didn’t hear” the lesson. And it’s even more frustrating when anytime you verbally discipline a student who is misbehaving in class, they accuse of you of being racist/sexist/or any other ‘-ist’ that mentions any difference between you and them. How do you teach students to take responsibility for their own screw-ups? How do you get them to stop focusing on themselves long enough to understand that you’re there to teach them and help them, not to oppress them by making them do work?
I suppose this is more or less a universal dilemma for secondary teachers, but I have a bad case of it right now. The problems are always there, but they really come to the surface when the kids who don’t want to be there are numerous enough and vocal enough to hijack a class, and I have two classes that are currently being hijacked, with a third teetering on the brink. Unfortunately, this means that I have to be mean and nasty to keep control, and they have less fun in class, so they like it even less. Oh well — it’s their doing.
Don’t get me wrong, I like teaching. I just wish that my students were willing to put up with learning.