To have an awful school year is actually quite easy - you can cement it already within the first week. After that it is just maintenance, nothing to worry, it should take care of itself.
You want to start with the first meeting, lay down the law, make sure the kids know you are the boss and that they will follow you blindly because you are indeed the teacher and have the degree to prove it. Make sure they know where their place is in the classroom. Give them designated areas where they can spread out - their desk will be just fine and then mark off your own territory, labels and masking tape seem to work well. Tell them that if they run out of school supplies it is their job to get more, you are after all not a store. When they ask to go to the bathroom tell them no that they will have to wait until your designated bathroom time. After all, adults have to learn how to hold it. They may not have water because it tends to interfere with the bathroom time. Snacks are for recess, you do not need crumbs on your floor. Books will be selected by you and will only be a reflection of their reading level. You do not have the time to discuss interests with 20 some kids, after all, you are busy teaching.
Homework will be handed in before the first bell, no exceptions, and if not handed in, it will be given a zero when it does. There are no chances for re-dos. After all, life doesn't give you second chances. Don't even bother to ask for extra credit, opportunities for that will be decided by the teacher and will usually involve around an errand or task that the teacher needs done. Parents should only come in when invited, which means the first day of school, conferences and the last day of school. They really have no place in your room. Speaking of conferences, this will be your chance to tell the parents about the awfulness of their child so make sure to tell the children that if they don't behave you will be telling their parents and hoping they get punished. In fact, punishment and the discussion of all of your rules will take up a good portion of that first day. After all we have to get our routines down, our limitations set. So that means no talking in the halls, whispering at lunch, all eyes on the teacher after I shut off the lights. You may not sharpen your pencil except for when it is on the schedule and there will absolutely never ever be any gum in the room. Make no mistake, those kids are merely guests passing through.
You will get started that first day with a test, after all, you need to know where these children have deficits. Then you can place them into your groups that will not change for the year because who has time to reevaluate. In fact, that first test will be part of their grade so that it reflects their journey. You have heard it is good to show growth, even if they had no idea there would be a test. Surprise! You like surprises so those pop quizzes you pull out is sure to keep them on their toes. They have to be alert when they never know what is going to happen and creates an aura around you of mystery. In fact, the less they know about you, the better. We are not there to build relationships, we are there to teach, to get them ready for the test. Think of stories and how longwinded students can be, why would you want to spend time on that? The children will address you properly, they should not even know your first name if you do it right or any other identifying information; after all, you don't want them to be able to find you outside of school.
So there you go, the recipe for an awful school year. I promise you if you do all or most of these things you will see immediate results. The kids will fear you, hate your classroom and be terrified of school in general - mission accomplished.
You want to start with the first meeting, lay down the law, make sure the kids know you are the boss and that they will follow you blindly because you are indeed the teacher and have the degree to prove it. Make sure they know where their place is in the classroom. Give them designated areas where they can spread out - their desk will be just fine and then mark off your own territory, labels and masking tape seem to work well. Tell them that if they run out of school supplies it is their job to get more, you are after all not a store. When they ask to go to the bathroom tell them no that they will have to wait until your designated bathroom time. After all, adults have to learn how to hold it. They may not have water because it tends to interfere with the bathroom time. Snacks are for recess, you do not need crumbs on your floor. Books will be selected by you and will only be a reflection of their reading level. You do not have the time to discuss interests with 20 some kids, after all, you are busy teaching.
Homework will be handed in before the first bell, no exceptions, and if not handed in, it will be given a zero when it does. There are no chances for re-dos. After all, life doesn't give you second chances. Don't even bother to ask for extra credit, opportunities for that will be decided by the teacher and will usually involve around an errand or task that the teacher needs done. Parents should only come in when invited, which means the first day of school, conferences and the last day of school. They really have no place in your room. Speaking of conferences, this will be your chance to tell the parents about the awfulness of their child so make sure to tell the children that if they don't behave you will be telling their parents and hoping they get punished. In fact, punishment and the discussion of all of your rules will take up a good portion of that first day. After all we have to get our routines down, our limitations set. So that means no talking in the halls, whispering at lunch, all eyes on the teacher after I shut off the lights. You may not sharpen your pencil except for when it is on the schedule and there will absolutely never ever be any gum in the room. Make no mistake, those kids are merely guests passing through.
You will get started that first day with a test, after all, you need to know where these children have deficits. Then you can place them into your groups that will not change for the year because who has time to reevaluate. In fact, that first test will be part of their grade so that it reflects their journey. You have heard it is good to show growth, even if they had no idea there would be a test. Surprise! You like surprises so those pop quizzes you pull out is sure to keep them on their toes. They have to be alert when they never know what is going to happen and creates an aura around you of mystery. In fact, the less they know about you, the better. We are not there to build relationships, we are there to teach, to get them ready for the test. Think of stories and how longwinded students can be, why would you want to spend time on that? The children will address you properly, they should not even know your first name if you do it right or any other identifying information; after all, you don't want them to be able to find you outside of school.
So there you go, the recipe for an awful school year. I promise you if you do all or most of these things you will see immediate results. The kids will fear you, hate your classroom and be terrified of school in general - mission accomplished.
