Vagina.
Do I have your attention?
I had the attention of the second period resource group when I said it.
Two sections of resource students crowd into our little room, second period. I don't mind. I kind of like it, The other resource room teacher is the Dean/basketball coach. I haven't actually collected hard data, but it certainly seems like his presence has decreased rudeness, disrespect, and general ennui.
It still gets a little noisy. Friday, the semester was in full swing. We were in the process of completing a whole week without a major snow event, something that hadn't happened all winter- and looks not to be in the cards for next week. Everyone had assignments or tests and the level of concern which had been hovering around none at all, was raised. Jose was trying to study for a math test- I don't know what Jose learned, but I learned the Spanish word for slope- pendiente-, Jennifer was working on a worksheet on intersecting planes, (which involved every cardboard box in the room) and B.J. was revising the beginning of an essay on Dracula.
Not exactly an essay, he had to respond to a piece of literary criticism, that claimed Dracula was a "reflection and rebuke of Victorian society." He had to explain how reading the essay would help understand the novel.
Which B.J. found hard to do, even after looking up what rebuke meant, three times. B.J. was frustrated
The group kicked in.
Evan and Christy had had his English Teacher last semester and assured him she thought she was teaching college. Nina, who spent the last snow day, learning all about denial of rights, was able to explain satisfactorily what the Women's Suffrage Movement was about, Jennifer happily pushed aside the rectangular prisms, (tissue and shoe boxes) and rephrased the definition of rebuke. Jose took the opportunity to practice reading English aloud, read the beginning paragraph and did something, he hardly ever does; he asked for the meaning of a phrase.
"What is a chastity belt? Miss,"
So I told him, "its what men, usually husbands or fathers, put around women so a man can't get to her vagina."
Now, I've taken lots of courses on effective classroom management. I've learn to say, "when you hear my voice, clap three times." I've been told to hold two finger up. I've read that lowering my voice to a whisper, works better than raising it to a yell.
What no one ever told me was that if you say the word,vagina, once, fairly loudly. Everyone stops, looks and listens.
I mean everyone, even the students on the dean/basketball coach's side of the room.
I don't know if years of experience gives me the ability to manage a class effectively. I don't know if all those years give me confidence, I don't even know if it makes me not care about getting in trouble, but I can tell you when a chubby, middle aged women says vagina loudly, people listen.
Now that everyone was focused on B.J., we could get his answer done. Jennifer, helped him unjangle his thoughts and compose complete sentences. Evan assured him which catch phrases, high expectations, teacher was looking for,Christy spelled Victorian and Nina helped Jose graph lines with different slopes so I could help B.J.
And then the bell rang, everyone was off to the next class. We didn't even get real chance to discuss how one urinates wearing a chastity belt- though the question was raised. Its supposed to snow again on Monday, so school will be open or closed but either way there will be no crowds. I suppose the whole thing will be forgotten by the time we are all together again.
Until the next time I need their attention.
Vagina, vagina, vagina.
Do I have your attention?
I had the attention of the second period resource group when I said it.
Two sections of resource students crowd into our little room, second period. I don't mind. I kind of like it, The other resource room teacher is the Dean/basketball coach. I haven't actually collected hard data, but it certainly seems like his presence has decreased rudeness, disrespect, and general ennui.
It still gets a little noisy. Friday, the semester was in full swing. We were in the process of completing a whole week without a major snow event, something that hadn't happened all winter- and looks not to be in the cards for next week. Everyone had assignments or tests and the level of concern which had been hovering around none at all, was raised. Jose was trying to study for a math test- I don't know what Jose learned, but I learned the Spanish word for slope- pendiente-, Jennifer was working on a worksheet on intersecting planes, (which involved every cardboard box in the room) and B.J. was revising the beginning of an essay on Dracula.
Not exactly an essay, he had to respond to a piece of literary criticism, that claimed Dracula was a "reflection and rebuke of Victorian society." He had to explain how reading the essay would help understand the novel.
Which B.J. found hard to do, even after looking up what rebuke meant, three times. B.J. was frustrated
The group kicked in.
Evan and Christy had had his English Teacher last semester and assured him she thought she was teaching college. Nina, who spent the last snow day, learning all about denial of rights, was able to explain satisfactorily what the Women's Suffrage Movement was about, Jennifer happily pushed aside the rectangular prisms, (tissue and shoe boxes) and rephrased the definition of rebuke. Jose took the opportunity to practice reading English aloud, read the beginning paragraph and did something, he hardly ever does; he asked for the meaning of a phrase.
"What is a chastity belt? Miss,"
So I told him, "its what men, usually husbands or fathers, put around women so a man can't get to her vagina."
Now, I've taken lots of courses on effective classroom management. I've learn to say, "when you hear my voice, clap three times." I've been told to hold two finger up. I've read that lowering my voice to a whisper, works better than raising it to a yell.
What no one ever told me was that if you say the word,vagina, once, fairly loudly. Everyone stops, looks and listens.
I mean everyone, even the students on the dean/basketball coach's side of the room.
I don't know if years of experience gives me the ability to manage a class effectively. I don't know if all those years give me confidence, I don't even know if it makes me not care about getting in trouble, but I can tell you when a chubby, middle aged women says vagina loudly, people listen.
Now that everyone was focused on B.J., we could get his answer done. Jennifer, helped him unjangle his thoughts and compose complete sentences. Evan assured him which catch phrases, high expectations, teacher was looking for,Christy spelled Victorian and Nina helped Jose graph lines with different slopes so I could help B.J.
And then the bell rang, everyone was off to the next class. We didn't even get real chance to discuss how one urinates wearing a chastity belt- though the question was raised. Its supposed to snow again on Monday, so school will be open or closed but either way there will be no crowds. I suppose the whole thing will be forgotten by the time we are all together again.
Until the next time I need their attention.
Vagina, vagina, vagina.
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