Even though I have loved travelling for what was pretty well two full months, I was ready to get back to teaching again. I missed it. Since it was the beginning of the second term when we returned from New Zealand, the calls were few and far in between. I had worked one day out of a possible six for the first week and a half. I was beginning to wonder if my agency had forgotten about me since I had been away. Finally, I got a call on Wednesday which lead me back to one of my favourite schools to teach! Luckily for me (and not so lucky for the very ill teacher), I got to continue teaching there for the remainder of the week. It's funny how, as CRT's, we are always hoping for someone to get sick. Not that we truly want them to be sick, we just appreciate the work that comes along with it. In the staffroom today, a teacher was talking about how she thought she was coming down with a cold of some sort. I leaned over and said "If you ever need to take a day, I'd be happy to take your class!"
For the last three days, I've been teaching a group of 3/4's. I love this school in particular, but there is one class, with one student, that everyone is afraid of taking. Since I hadn't been back to the school since Term 4 last year, I wasn't sure which class was the 'scary class' as all the students would have moved up a grade and swapped classrooms. On the train to school Wednesday morning, I found myself mentally preparing for the odd chance that this particular class would be my assignment. As I signed in at the office and chit-chatted with the ladies, one of the secretaries handed me my schedule for the day saying "You've got 3/4D" with a look that could only mean one thing: 3/4D was the class I wanted to avoid.
As I made my way down the corridor to the classroom, I passed by the other 3/4 teachers. "Now Kaitlyn, listen," the first one said. "If James* does anything at all today, you bring him straight to my class." Alright, good to know that I've got back up going into this. "Kaitlyn, how you going? Have you got 3/4D today?" the second teacher asked. She continued apologetically, "You'll be okay but let me know if you need anything." She then patted me on the back and looked at me, with her eyebrows raised, as if she had just left me heartbroken.
It's not that this student is a terrible child, he is just extremely loud and usually takes pride in disturbing the entire class. I flash backed to last term when I was teaching in year two. He was cartwheeling through the classroom in the middle of the reading lesson, stomping on others' reading books only to cuss at them when they kindly asked him to stop. These things were only the mild.
I entered the classroom and began preparing for the day with a positive mind set. What could I do to avoid possible problems with James*? How will I get him to pay attention in my lesson? I knew that if he wasn't paying attention during the sessions, it would be hard for the rest of the class to learn. He was going to be my focus so that I could deliver quality lessons throughout the day.
The morning bell rang and students began making their way into the classroom, noticing that I am, in fact, not their regular teacher. The girls were around my waist immediately showing me their darling loom bracelets and all trying to tell me everything all at once. The boys gathered around some car book at the back of the room and collectively asked only one question,"Are you our teacher today?" Yep. "Cool." Then, in walks James* and the moment he realizes I am the teacher for the day, his eyes light up. "WHOOOOHOOOO! Mr. A isn't here today! We can do whatever we want! Guys how awesome is this!" and then he looks at me and I go, "WHOOOOOHOOOOO! Miss. Kaitlyn is here today and we are going to have the most awesome day and learn so much!" I'll admit, it was a risk to copy his behaviour, but it worked. He came up to me, pointed his finger and said "Yeah, I remember you from last time Kaitlyn." "Alright, go put your bag away and come join us on the floor." And he did. There wasn't a dispute, there were no interruptions, he just sat calmly on the floor - ready to learn. Awesome!
We started our morning Maths lesson talking about symmetry. "CEMETERY!! Why are we learning about where dead people get buried!" After explaining what symmetry is (and the difference between the two words) I asked James*, "Now, can you think of anything in a cemetery that could be symmetrical?" "A GRAVESTONE!" and I drew an oblong semi-circle with a flat bottom on the board. He loved it! He started finding other things in the room that had a line of symmetry. He was participating in the lesson and actually motivating the other students to help him find more symmetrical items!
Recess time came and a grabbed myself a cup of coffee in the staffroom. One of the other 3/4 teacher's walked in and asked how James* had been. "I was expecting him to be in my room by 9:02!" she stated. "Oh no, he's been great and he is participating really well in class!" I exclaimed. I watched as both 3/4 teachers' jaws dropped and in replied in unison, "Wow!" I went on to explain how the morning had been great and how there were no disruptions or disputes of any kind and each teacher in the staffroom was shocked. To be quite honest, I was just as shocked myself but I couldn't help feeling proud of myself for doing something 'right.'
Following recess, a teacher who was on yard duty came to the classroom door. "Can I speak with James*?" she asked. My mind immediately wondered if recess had been a turning point for him. Had he misbehaved on the playground? Get into another fight? She looked at me in disbelief as she whispered, "I actually have to tell James* how great this recess was and commend him on his behaviour." I smiled.
The rest of the day went off without a hitch. As the class ate lunch, he asked me to share a story about a time when I was his age. I told the class about the time I had caught a garter snake and kept it as a pet and named it Joe. I shared about how I later caught what I thought would be his 'best friend,' a juicy frog named Blake. I had the class guess about how their friendship together in my small fish bowl worked out. James* guessed it, Joe swallowed Blake whole! He was so intrigued with my story and began asking me more questions.
Thursday was just the same! A great day with lots of learning and a James* with a positive behaviour! I noticed another student purposely doing things that would irritate James* to 'set him off.' Even the other students weren't used to this behaviour. Thankfully, I recognized the attempts of the other student trying to throw him off and diverted the situations before they amounted to anything! James* was absent on Friday but part of me wished he had been there because he was doing so well the previous days.
I was asked to write a certificate for the Pupil of the Week. Each classroom teacher chooses one student and on Monday morning at the assembly, the students will receive their certificate in front of the entire school. Without a doubt, I wrote James'* name on that certificate stating that he had been making good choices with a positive behaviour. I wish I could be there on Monday to see his reaction to getting a Pupil of the Week certificate because he deserves it!
It could be that James* was just having a good week, but I can't help but feel that I was doing something right. The key is always being positive, even when going into tough situations. I believe that positivity breeds positivity and creativity and that the outcome can be nothing but awesome! It feels really great to have experiences like this and I have to say, I am no longer afraid of 3/4D. I walked out of school today with a smile on my face, hoping that I will get another chance to teach 3/4D this term!
*James is a pseudonym to conceal identity.
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