Captain's Log 2 (Weekly Reflections from in the Classroom

Captain’s Log 2

            Being back in a middle school classroom has provoked me to look back in to my past, at my own middle school experiences. I was shy, awkward and a late-bloomer. I didn't have all the developed parts my fellow classmates did, and I was convinced they gossiped about me all the time. I hated school so much and begged my mother a million times over to let me transfer to another school in the Yakima Valley. Thankfully my mother knew better and forced me to stick it out in the trenches of my middle school, which was actually more of a portable rather than a traditional classroom. The highlight of my week would have made middle school me beam with admiration. I've finally realized the thickness of my skin as of this last week in school.

            My students often make comments. At first these comments were nice like, “We love Ms. R! Can we keep her?!”

They have slowly transgressed:

Student: “You’re not a real teacher so you can’t tell me what to do.”

Me: “Well I’m not a fake teacher either. I’m a teacher to you right now, and you need to

complete this assignment in order to pass- that’s from your ‘real’ teacher”.

Yes, I used air quotes to make that emphasize. Roll your eyes if you want but it worked.

Another comment which wasn't critical or mean, but rather sweet was a compliment from a student. However the compliment got a bit out of hand and was leering towards becoming an inappropriate topic at the exploitation of the student’s peers:

Male student: “Ms. R, you look beautiful today!”

Me: “Thanks,”

Other students: “Oh my God, you can’t just hit on the teacher!”

Male student: “I was just trying to make her feel nice!”

Me: “Thank you for the compliment, but I’m going to walk away now because this is getting out

of hand. The three of you need to get to work.”

    Although these comments weren't outrageous, I've come to notice the dramatic change in my ability identify when it is appropriate to let the comments roll and when to address them. Being able to handle these situations today, in comparison to my middle school self, is something comparable to a 180 degree change- she was shy and introverted and thin-skinned. I wouldn't recognize myself today as myself back then.

            In my own future classroom, I will certainly need to develop this more. Making sure students know what is appropriate to say as well as when is a line I will need to develop and define for them. It’s something that is difficult for me now since this is not my own classroom, or my own students, but instead someone else’s. I have to consider their own rules before I make judgment calls, which can be difficult because as I’m still learning I don’t know them all. For example, I’m still unclear of the schools expectations for myself when I allow students to leave the room to use the bathroom or retrieve their materials in terms of hall passes. I also still don’t know if I should be asking students in the hall ways to produce their passes/slips as I’m passing by. I suppose I’m still learning the ropes as I go.

(Me as students walk by in the hall)

            This is Captain Danielle Raschko, signing off.