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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Is Mr. King Fair???


I thought it would be best to ask my 3rd period class whether I was fair or not. Simply because that is the class who’s most behind, and the lowest achieving. Moreover, I’ve had to discipline that class way more than any of my other four. I was not surprised by the mix of “yes” and “no” responses. What was interesting was the explanations. I told them that a simple one-word response wouldn’t suffice, so they actually had to put some thought into it. What I got was a few impassioned responses; these struck a chord, and will continue to resonate throughout the year.

Student: NO!!! Because he’s mean, and makes us stand in the sun!
            This particular reference has a good story behind it. One day, 3rd period decided that they didn’t want to come back from lunch in an orderly manner. So, they had to stand in the sun outside of 8th grade hallway, quietly and in line, while the rest of 7th and 8th grade passed to and from lunch. We lost 25 minutes of class time and they had to complete and grade an assignment with the last 15 minutes of class. We haven’t had a problem since then.

Student: Yes! He’s not mean at all. He’s very nice if you don’t get on his nerves!

Student: Yes, because he treats everyone equally.
            This one meant a lot because I try as hard as possible to treat every student equally. I know this doesn’t happen nearly enough, but I’m glad they see that consequences and rewards are dolled out as equally as possible.

Student: Yes! Because he gives you chances and choices to do things the right way. It’s not his fault if you don’t take advantage of those chances.
            My class is built on student discipline and responsibility. I try to frame everything as a choice for them. That way, when we do have to have disciplinary interventions, they know it’s because they chose not to do the right thing. Also, they understand that their lack of achievement on tests/quizzes is based on them choosing not to study or participate in class.

Student: No, because he expects us to do stuff in a small amount of time. Yes, because he tries to get us to think faster and more critically.

Student (who had turned around tremendously): Yes he is, because he gives us things that’s right in our face. And everyday he tells us what we are going to do and what we need to do. He makes us write down everything that we are going to need. His tests are easy because he gives us notes to study.
            I am glad that one of the students who started out hating me, and being lazy, has realized why my class is structured the way it is.

Overall, I am pleased with the responses. They gave me some insight into how they feel about me. A lot of them said that I’m mean, which is fine. They’ll appreciate it in the long-run.

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