My next observation

So...now that it's the very end of the school year, (4 days left with kids to be exact) and the kids are completely INSANE, my assistant principal finally got around to doing my observation. Please keep in mind, as you read this story, that this observation plays a very big role in deciding if I have a job next year. I was really nervous about the up coming observation because it was scheduled to take place during the one block of the day when I switch with the other EMH teacher. She teaches the K-2 kids that will later become students in my class. These kids are not nearly as advanced as my kids...but that's not really the point. It's just that they come to my class for one hour a day so they don't really respect me or listen to me or really behave at all! They've been especially bad these past few weeks...much like all the kids in the school. So...I wasn't thrilled about doing an observation during their class time...I'm sure that goes without saying! Now that you know the preface...here's the story....

If I had gone to Hollywood and hired the very best child actors money could buy...and paid them millions of dollars to be the most unruly, out of control, crazy children you have EVER seen...they could not have done it better than these kids today! Seriously...I'm not exaggerating one little bit!!! They were truly running around the room like crazy. I decided, of course, to show off today. I had planned to do an activity where we would make paper out of old newspaper by tearing it up and blending it and the laying it across screens to dry. I just HAD to try to show off!!! So, I prepped the kids yesterday and assigned them all jobs to do and talked to them about all the steps of the process...that was a total waste. I laid out all my supplies and asked the kids to tear the paper into small pieces. Some of them tore huge chucks...some of them wadded it into balls...but the large majority of them grabbed onto one single piece of paper tugging at each other, screaming how everyone else was doing it wrong and how he/she stole the paper from "me," how "I had it first!!!" And please, don't underestimate the word screaming here!!! All the while. One of my kids is wandering aimlessly around the classroom while another kid is hanging over the assistant principal asking what he's doing with his computer! Then I move on to the blender. I ask the kid wandering aimlessly to push the button...he does...I'm think "this is good! I'm doing something right!" Then it happens...He's so excited he's pushed the button, he RUNS around the room SCREAMING "I DID IT!!!!!!" with his arms flailing above his head!!!! Then all the other kids are upset they didn't get to push the button so they start to argue about who's turn it is next...it just went ON and ON! Like a really bad nightmare that wouldn't stop!

I know that my AP understands the type of kids I'm working with here and with that understanding, he probably will not see today as being the disaster that it was. I did keep the kids from killing each other, no one got hurt, and they probably did learn SOMETHING from it all. I just hope that's enough to get me by!

Needed to share this with you all. Thanks for reading!