Cultivating Mental Silence

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End of year thoughts...

End of year thoughts...Another school year is coming to an end. About 3 weeks to be exact. This time of year can be problematic if routines are not kept in place. That statement implies that there are routines to begin with. Students are like piranha...if they sense that you are letting your guard down...they will lower themselves to a level that makes it almost impossible to recover from from a classroom management point of view regardless of who is with them. I see it happen all around me. It stresses me out because I don't want my kids to see and hear things and think...”Oh...they are doing that...so can I.”Case in point...we had an assembly at the end of the day this afternoon. I told my students earlier in the day what I expected of them specifically saying, “Don't make this about you” (some context...we were going to watch a basketball game, staff versus the students). The expectation was to attend, to spectate, have fun watching but not turn it into an opportunity to talk and play around with each other. I also told them that they would see other classes other students making it about them either on the way there...while we were there...or on our way back to class. I was right. It is very stressful during these moments. The energy it takes to hold students accountable in a humane way is tremendous. I've told people...I may make it look easy but on the inside it's ripping me apart. My kids behaved well. When we got back to the room I complimented them. I also pointed out...while the door to our room was closed that the sounds they heard on the other side were the sounds of students making “this about them.” It's really not their fault. Their teachers have given up. That doesn't absolve them though. I thanked my students again for not joining in then we got ready to go home... peacefully.