Don't sweat the small stuff

I am quickly learning that sometimes it does not pay to be nice to your students.   In my room I run a pretty loose ship.   I love to nurture a playful relationship with my students.  I keep candy in my room and often will give some to students when it looks like they are having a rough day or as a reward for their efforts.  Unfortunately, I have some students that feel entitled.  I have had to crack down on a group of students that think nothing of coming into my classroom and help themselves to the candy, sometimes even grabbing handfuls.    Playful redirections have not helped them to get the hint.  These same students also think that it is ok to come into my classroom during lunch (my time) and go crazy putting things on the wall and what not.  After telling them several times that they need to respect me and my classroom I have had to resort to other tactics.  Today I locked my drawers that I keep the candy in, and locked my room during lunch.   When they asked why did that, I explained to them that I need to teach them that letting them have candy and to hang in my room are privileges, not rights.  I told them that I need a couple of days without them in their causing havoc.  I felt bad, but I felt it was necessary.

Today I also had some excitement in my class.  I have let my students choose their own seats and sit where they want for the first couple of weeks of the term so they could find neighbors that they would be able to work with.  On Tuesday, I passed around a seating chart and asked the students to write their name in it so I could use it to take roll from now on.   At the end of class a student came up and made a change because some other students had crossed our their names in their seats and put them somewhere else.  I hadn't thought any more about it since then.  So today, at the beginning of class I heard some talking then heard one student tell another "If you don't get out of my seat right now I'm going to slap your face".   TRIGGER  I quickly made my way over to figure out what was going on.  I told them that they could figure out a peaceful resolution or I would assign them seats away from their friends around the classroom.  Magically they had it worked out within couple of minutes.

It is never a dull moment.  I love teaching, and I love my students.   I try to show them that I understand them and they are always welcome.  I have such a divers group of kids that it makes every day a new adventure.  I may not always like the meetings and bureaucratic  hoops that I have to hope through, but I am blessed to have the opportunities that I do.   There are students that I honestly look forward to seeing each class period.