When I first walked into a classroom I went with a slight air of trepidation. The children stopped talking and looked at me from head to toe. Their 15 year old brains quickly processing all there is to know about me.
What I would learn later is that students , especially teenagers, will test your boundaries and see what they can get away with. They will make small and seemingly innocent comments that might appear to be harmless, yet carry great weight. And in that moment, the battle was drawn. They knew , without me saying very much, that I was horribly inexperienced.
I spent the rest of the school year trying to calm the kids down, avoid fights and get them to work. In one fell swoop I had lost control. And it took me a long time to get it back.
And students, above all, smell fear and inexperience. Once they have smelled it, it's over. The battle for the classroom will be a difficult one, and once they realize that you do not have all the answers they will test your limits and tell YOU the answers. Students will see how much they can truly get away with. You will spend the rest of the school year handing out detentions, having meetings with parents and basically having a terrible time.
So first impressions are key. Remember to select carefully what you are wearing the first day of class. Make sure it says " I am a professional, I know what I'm doing and I am here to help". When you enter the classroom remember to stand tall and above all remember their names and traits!
My mother, who spent most of her life teaching, told me that you have to be stern in the beginning and slowly become more lienient as the year progresses. Students have to earn that flexibility. Believe it or not, students enjoy structure. You can be creative , have enjoyable classes but that doesn't mean that all you do is watch films all day. There has to be a balance between play and work.
The teacher-student relationship is a tricky one. Students tend to seek teachers out for advice, friendship and guidance. The key here is to remember that it isn't recommendable to ask students for advice on your life. It's important to be supportive of their needs, and nurture the person they will become. However, showing all of your weaknesses is not a good idea. Sure, you can be quirky and weird. I spend a good portion of my time making quirky accents and personalities with my kids which entertains a very dreary class. But my kids also know that when it's time to work, you work.
Don't get too depressed if students don't respond the way you want to. Believe it or not, students smell emotion. Kids will immediatly pick up on the fact that you are depressed, sad, angry or upset. And they will choose that exact moment to test your patience. This is all about testing the arena, the boundaries, and trying to see if you really care about them.
Teenagers are a tricky bunch. The variety of tastes, hormones, feelings, cultures in a classroom makes a plethora of experiences in the classroom. It is best to go with the ride, without it deterring you from getting your students to truly learn. Which is, after all, the ultimate goal.
