Sitting in a disruptive class trying to ignore the messing around it occurred to me that I was suddenly on the other side of the black board (so to speak).

After spending what feels like my whole life (well I guess technically it has been my whole life) in education suddenly I was the teacher. I was sat at the front of the class holding the sacred items of a teacher – the whiteboard marker and rubber. Items that in my youth I longed to get hold because they symbolised power! Thus I was (at least supposed) to be in control of the classroom.

But sitting in a room full of pre-teen boys it certainly didn’t feel like I was in control! And in reality I wasnt. The fact that I had given them something to do and then turned most of my attention to scribbling in my notebook probably didn’t help the situation.  I’ve hated this particular class from day one and after spending weeks battling with them I have realised that I can force them to work. It they don’t want to do the task, quite simply, they won’t. The teaching materials don’t help the situation but that is another post in itself!
The one piece of knowledge that keeps me sane while they chatter, play fight and winge every time I ask them to do something is that regardless of how little control I have over the classroom, I do have the power to make the kids stay behind after class when they desperately want to get out and gossip or play computer games with their mates. I remember that feeling of intense anticipation when a teacher made you stay even one minute after the bell went, it gives me some satisfaction to know I can invoke the same feelings in these kids!

During my last six weeks as ‘Jenna Teacher’ I have regally found myself emphasising with my old school teachers. Defiantly a position I never dreamed I would be in! I can now see how annoying it is when no one in the class wants to listen to you. I have even begun to understand just how frustrating it is when no one in an entire class speaks and no one ever volunteers answers.

During my first week I walked into a classroom and it literally felt like I had got up on stage and everyone had left the room! For an hour not one child spoke, the whole room just stared at me with vacant expressions, even the phrase: “You understand?” was met with a stony silence! After three lessons of silence, and finding out that these kids were supposed to have a good level of English, I realised the silent lessons couldn’t go on, especially as it was supposed to be a conversation class!! I stood in front of the class and almost begged them: “What do I have to do to make you speak?” The response was the now familiar silence. Defeated I sent them home early and slumped back to my desk wondering what to do.

Their next lesson was a presentation task, naively I thought this might bring them out of themselves and encourage them to speak more in class. How wrong I was! After giving them instructions and handing evaluation sheets to the class, the first student very quietly mumbled his way through his presentation not looking up from his paper once! I asked the rest of the class to give him their evaluation: “Did he speak loudly and clearly? Did he look at the audience at least three times?” I asked… Silence. Ok try again. “How was his presentation?” to this one girl just managed to very quietly squeak “perfect!” This became the standard response for the rest of the lesson every presentation was ‘perfect’! No amount of coxing from me could get them to answer otherwise.

Six weeks later this class are still a problem, with me having to coax words from the one member of the class that has developed a voice. But the class has depreciated in size and normally only two students attend so at least this means there is always 50 per cent of the class with a voice!

There are plenty of other classes worth a mention at a later date. This was a short insight into two classes I dread walking in to. Luckily the rest of the classes make up for the terrible few hours I spend with them every week.

Things are busy this week as I moved yesterday. Will post again as soon as I get chance.

* Posted by j150vsc on 14/10/2006.