Lazy on my part or Have I given up?

The past two weeks have been a challenge in my classroom.   Inappropriate behaviors have caused learning standstills.  Rereading Chapter 6 in Teach Like a Champion has given me back some tools and strategies I had forgotten or for some reason quit using.  "Do it Again"  I have been using but for some reason we took too many practices, I thought; however, today one redo was all that was needed to get out the door for P.E..  Yea!!  I don't know what made today different--maybe the class got tired of redo or I think my delivery of the redo was the key for us.  George and I went to the coast this weekend and I think I came to Monday with a fresh, less stress attitude.  I would like to figure out how I can have a weekend away from school so I feel fresh when Monday comes around more often.

"No Warnings" I use this; however, I know that I need to review the expectations before I use it.  I have high energy, lack of focus students that need review every morning.  When I flip a card without going over my expectations I have tears or uncontrollable anger from a select few.  When I review the behavior expectations and there is an infraction a card flip is accepted with less anger and the class has a better chance to stay in learning mode. 

The dynamics in our classroom varies from one student thinking he can do whatever he wants to a trio of girls not getting along.  I am still trying to find the best seating arrangement so the learning enviornment is calm and productive.  Things go smooth for a day or two and then we have an eruption.  Our classroom is a work in progress for a calm engaging environment for the majority of the time. 

Circulating

I do believe moving around the room while you are teaching is very important.  However, I feel like I am chained to my document camera when I have things to show my class.  Some teachers have spent their own money for wireless equipment but I can't do that.  I have tried to have a student monitor the camera when I need to be moving around but that has been a problem too.  Currently, I talk, demonstrate and then let the class have practice time and I circulate but there seems to be some groups (students) that want my attention all the time.  I have stated to the needy students that I will keep moving and be back to check on how they are doing--that seems to work for awhile.  Also, I have tried arranging my desks in groups--can't have backs to the board, we have been in rows but that takes up too much floor space.  Currently we are in a U shape on the sides with students facing forward inside the U.  That has worked the best and I can access students better.  However, I still haven't figured out how to stop the bickering of some students no matter where they are placed.
This was posted December 14, 2011

I need some tips in an area where I am definitely not teaching like a champion.  What do you do to solve the problem of the "class blurt"?  We'll be talking about something as a class and I'll say something that connects with the class and suddenly 12 kids are blurting out their response simultaneously.  I want them to respond to the ideas, but after this happens more than once, it's just annoying and disruptive.  I have a hard time harnessing them after this massive blurt has started; I don't want to teach class like a drill sergeant, but the status quo needs some help.  I would love to hear how you handle these situations.  Thanks!

Student-led Conferences

I woke up this morning thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" It is that time of year when we are all exhausted, anxiously awaiting Spring Break, and feeling drained from just the work it takes to get ready for conferences. Over the last 13 years I've almost always trained my students to run student-led conferences in the spring. I'm a firm believer that kids should know and understand their data and be able to effectively communicate that to their families. They need to understand that they are in charge of the learning and they cannot do this if they don't know what their data means.
This year I changed grade levels from middle school age kids to 3rd grade. These kids are just beginning to become independent in their learning. I knew it was going to take a little extra time to get them ready. We began our planning for conferences the first week of March. Kids wrote letters to their parents about how their school year has been going. They discussed routines in our daily schedule and how they are doing behaviorally. We then reviewed our independent goals and decided whether they needed more work and needed changed. Students collected samples of work they were proud of and assembled them to share with their families. I had a mini-conference with each student individually to talk about data and what their numbers meant, how close they were to meeting state/district standards, and what they could do to improve. (Although, kids at this time in my class already knew a lot of what I conferenced with them about). The entire process is time consuming.
So through the entire month planning for conferences, I question why it is I put myself through this. Do parents really care if their child shares or I share? Will the process really have a lasting impact on my students beyond the day they conference?
After many years of answering my own question and seeing the rewards of the efforts I can share that there is something amazing about the time and energy that we give a task and how it takes on a new meaning. I think about how much I learn about the student as we go through the process. How much more does that student learn about himself/herself? I would encourage you to try student-led conferences if you have not already. And if you get to that point where you question "What were you thinking" due to exhaustion, remind yourself that nothing great happens without hard work.