I have newfound respect for teachers

Hauldren Collider · June 25, 2012, 17:34

So today was my first day. I had classes of about 7 kids, which is not a lot. The ones in the morning were 5th and 6th graders, the ones in the afternoon 7th and 8th graders. Gender ratios were about equal in both.

1. Kids are very cute. But large numbers of them are quite intimidating.
2. Younger kids are way easier to deal with. Keeping them occupied is really simple.
3. Jesus christ, 12 year olds think they know ****ing everything. I mean everything.
4. Girls are just so much better behaved than boys.
5. If you are a parent or a teacher, I salute you. You have a very tough job.

MRT144 · June 25, 2012, 17:43

Originally Posted by Hauldren Collider

So today was my first day. I had classes of about 7 kids, which is not a lot. The ones in the morning were 5th and 6th graders, the ones in the afternoon 7th and 8th graders. Gender ratios were about equal in both.

1. Kids are very cute. But large numbers of them are quite intimidating.
2. Younger kids are way easier to deal with. Keeping them occupied is really simple.
3. Jesus christ, 12 year olds think they know ****ing everything. I mean everything.
4. Girls are just so much better behaved than boys.
5. If you are a parent or a teacher, I salute you. You have a very tough job.

And just imagine if you had kids there who had behavioral problems and issues at home.

Hauldren Collider · June 25, 2012, 17:47

I don't even want to think about that

Uncle Sparky · June 25, 2012, 18:10

I worked with kids for many years, now I work with actors. It is less difficult working with 10 year olds that are actually 10 years old. As per point 4

Girls are just so much better behaved than boys.

This is false. Girls are simply less obvious in their bad behavior than boys.

Hauldren Collider · June 25, 2012, 18:15

Please explain.

b etor · June 25, 2012, 19:05

But we're not always up to no good. Boys are more often. But if we do bad things, we are definitely slier about it.

I'd definitely pick watching 12 7 year-olds over 7 12 year-olds. You can do it, HC!

Wiglaf · June 25, 2012, 19:07

I am confused. What subjects did you teach them, and how did they react to you?

Uncle Sparky · June 25, 2012, 19:19

Boys lack subtlety. Boys are loud, brash, pugnacious. Boys will always test your boundries. If boys dislike each other, they will beat each other senseless and be better friends for it. They grow up to be men.
Girls are little angels. Girls are manipulative, cunning, duplicitous. Girls have already learned how to control you, the male authority figure. If girls dislike each other, they will wait (sometimes for weeks or months) for the other to have a vulnerable moment and then crush them. They grow up to be women.

Imran Siddiqui · June 25, 2012, 19:26

I work in Kids Church 2-3 Sundays in the month. What you say is completely true, HC. At Kids Church we also break into small groups by grade - unfortunately I am in charge of 4-5 grade boys (ie, 10 and 11 year olds). They are a pain in the butt to get settled down. Younger kids can be crazier at times, but they also want to listen to people put in charge. In non-small groups time, the girls are usually far better about paying attention and doing what they are told.

Ben Kenobi · June 25, 2012, 19:46

Good luck HC! It's quite a bit of fun isn't it.

I had a class of 12 boys between 12-13 and 3 girls. We had a lot of fun last year. We did get the principal mad at us for being 'too noisy' once

but other then that it was fun. Class before that was the opposite ratio since they wanted it to be easier on me my first year).

I think I did a better job all year round last year than this year. So I have stuff I have to work on. Kids did better this year than last so I guess I did alright.

DaShi · June 25, 2012, 19:47

Jeez, why are you so cheery about talking about how you hang out with little kids?

Ben Kenobi · June 25, 2012, 19:50

why are you so cheery about talking about how you hang out with little kids?

I actually enjoy teaching. I feel like it's my calling. I can't think of anything I'd rather do than teach.

Donegeal · June 25, 2012, 19:51

But Teachers with Masters or Doctorates making 60k a year make too much money and are the reason we are in this horrible economic funk.

Uncle Sparky · June 25, 2012, 19:51

Jeez, why are you so cheery about talking about how you hang out with little kids?

He's a Christian... don't ask too many questions unless you really want answers.

Hauldren Collider · June 25, 2012, 20:44

Originally Posted by Donegeal

But Teachers with Masters or Doctorates making 60k a year make too much money and are the reason we are in this horrible economic funk.

Teachers with too much union protection are the problem. This has not changed my mind about the fact that we need to hold teachers accountable for their student's success.

Hauldren Collider · June 25, 2012, 20:45

Originally Posted by Wiglaf

I am confused. What subjects did you teach them, and how did they react to you?

"Architectural design" (google sketchup/3d modelling, no actual architecture)
Web design (basic HTML/Javascript/CSS)

I think they liked me. Hard to say. The Web Design class had a jackass who I will probably have to put in line at some point.

These are two-week classes. It's mainly summer camp. The activities are basically supposed to be fun, while learning something kinda useful.

Wiglaf · June 25, 2012, 23:06

Nice. I taught 7th and 8th graders from the inner city during a summer of college. Their standardized scores declined by the end of the program. I made the mistake of telling them they could all get into Harvard if they really tried, which I meant to be encouraging but was taken by their parents as a commentary on affirmative action. The next day I clarified that they probably would not get into Harvard, which led to two students roughing up a white student at recess. The whole thing was just a mess, but I was never fired.

I should clarify that the program was not in the inner city. We made them come to us and go through magnetometers.

Imran Siddiqui · June 25, 2012, 23:13

Oncle Boris · June 25, 2012, 23:58

Hauldren Collider · June 26, 2012, 00:01

MRT144 · June 26, 2012, 00:09

Kuciwalker · June 26, 2012, 00:56

onodera · June 26, 2012, 02:03

Fibonacci smilies

Sava · June 26, 2012, 07:48

Originally Posted by Hauldren Collider

So today was my first day. I had classes of about 7 kids, which is not a lot. The ones in the morning were 5th and 6th graders, the ones in the afternoon 7th and 8th graders. Gender ratios were about equal in both.

1. Kids are very cute. But large numbers of them are quite intimidating.
2. Younger kids are way easier to deal with. Keeping them occupied is really simple.
3. Jesus christ, 12 year olds think they know ****ing everything. I mean everything.
4. Girls are just so much better behaved than boys.
5. If you are a parent or a teacher, I salute you. You have a very tough job.

I like you better after this post.

Lorizael · June 26, 2012, 09:08

Originally Posted by onodera

Fibonacci smilies

Hauldren Collider · June 26, 2012, 17:24

Today at the end of the day, my kids played a game called "Try to stump [HauldrenCollider] on a computer question". Wasn't my idea, but they didn't succeed

Oncle Boris · June 26, 2012, 18:23

Good for you.

Intellectual respect from your students is the key to discipline.

Elok · June 26, 2012, 21:53

Intellectual respect, the assistant principal, or sheer physical intimidation, among other things. There are a number of keys to discipline, depending on context. Anyway, I always rather liked the middle school kids when I was subbing. The high schoolers tended to be SOBs, except for the gifted classes.