Today was my first day of teaching. There are exactly thirty students, and, like a one-room school house, some are at very different skill levels than others. Which I knew going into it. What I didn't know was that the lower the skill level, the more eager the student is to talk and not even attempt to listen to you. Perhaps that is why their skill level is so low in the first place.
We were doing long division (something like 6432 divided by 7, for example), and 20 kids get it. 10 kids just don't. So I gave the 20 kids that get it a ditto on averages, and had them work on it. I had 20 kids working (perfectly quietly!) and sat right next to the 10 kids who didn't know the division and they still didn't learn one thing. The 20 kids finished, I gave two of them the answer sheet, and had them work out the answers, quietly, with the other 18 kids. So all 20 kids learned another math topic, by themselves, in the 30 minutes it took me to teach 10 kids zero new material on division. It is so frustrating- any teachers out there with pointers on how to get them to listen? They were pretty loud, but again, it was mostly the 10 kids who are struggling the most. They really need someone to sit next to them, one-on-one, and work it out with them. They don't want to share attention.
They have an exam on math in two months, and haven't learned most of the topics yet. So I'm going to be really pushing math for the next few days. Say hello to converting fractions into decimals!
I think it will help when I learn every name. Today I had a 'good' and 'bad' list on the board, and couldn't spell anyone's name to put on the 'bad' list. They were eager to help me spell their name if it went on the good list, but much less eager to help when it went on the bad list. But apparently this list works wonders with these kids when I can spell their names :)
Wish me luck for tomorrow! I've got some homework to write!
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