As we approach the final 5 weeks of this school year, I am reminded of several items.
First, finish strong. This is the time of year to try new and fresh ideas in your classroom. This work is usually what the students will remember next year. Once upon a time, we would spend 2 weeks allowing the students to create a business, and then actually open it.
Year after year, 8th graders would come tell me how much fun they had with the business project. They never mention the Alamo, or the explorers, or oil, or the Great Depression. As I write this, I am almost tempted to put together a plan for a business project. I just haven't found the trust with this group to do so.
Which leads me to my next thought: trust. It has been in short supply with this group. As an overall group, we recognized the issues with these students last year as 6th graders. They had an inordinate number of fights, and quite frankly were impossible to corral. Our fears have been mostly realized this year as other behaviors have shown us this group is very immature. We just haven't seen the growth we have seen in previous groups.
Finally, I did learn I just cannot afford to be rude to my students. Middle schoolers just cannot get out of their own way, so being rude seems like second nature to those of us at the receiving end, but it's just not in their nature. We have to nurture politeness, sometimes very firmly (read: sternly) but we can accomplish many lessons here.
That has been my biggest regret over the past few years. I had a vision for our school, but somehow it never gained a foothold. I had some administrative support, but everything takes a backseat to academics in our setting. I just regret we couldn't work in some life lessons for our students to consider life outside this setting. Next year, we don't even have a shot at this non-curricular plan since our entire schedule is being turned upside down.
And, on we go, already planning for next August when our kids need us in the here and now.
Peace
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"No amount of money has ever bought a second of time."
-Avengers
