Holy Egg Yolk!

Welcome back my friends to another exciting edition. This week should be shorter because of the lack of new news but still fun.

Sometimes you have to contain a situation before it gets out of control. So is the case with being a manager with a store. If you let an issue slide and never address it, that problem has the potential to grow into something hazardous. In other words, it's easier to control a fire while it's small before it burns down the entire forest. Case in point: on Wednesday, my Algebra 2 class was getting out of hand even before the class has begun. When the bell rang, students were goofing off by pretending to beat somebody on the ground. Other students were still eating while others were chatting with their friends. Only a few of the students were working on the morning bellwork and it was definitely not an environment where students could focus and work. So before the lesson began I made a speech. Oh, I was mad in my mind but made sure not to sound like that when I was talking to them. Instead, in a calm understanding voice, I gather the class' attention and told them again how the procedure of the class works. I told them that they were behaving like little Junior Highers that need constant guidance. Sophomore in high school are suppose to be more mature and ready to learn. The class routine is very structured. When the bell rings, you are suppose to put away your food, work on the bellwork until we are ready to grade it together. Then once that is turned in, we will go over the day's lesson and the remainder of the time will be given to class work/homework. Then I told them the consequences of their actions. If this keeps up, I will talk with you one-on-one, then if that fails, I will be calling your parents directly and let them know of the situation. After that we will have a conference with Mr. Herring (our assistant principal). I told them that I would have no problem calling each and every one of their parents. Oh, sure they gave me excuses of why they do what they do, but I just go braindead and say, "I know..." I learned that from a series called "Love and Logic." So class has been going better since then. I think that class will continue to improve one way or another.

Also my other classes continue to improve. One of the students who is failing has turned herself around and is trying harder to pass. She turned in her homework in her other classes but I'm still waiting on my homework for my class. I guess one step at a time. She is on the volleyball team and needs to improve her grade so she can go back on the team. Another student who is also struggling has still not turned in his homework for the past two weeks, and I need to call his parents again. The students are beginning to learn that coming in early at 7am for extra help pays off as well as studying. They thought that they didn't need to study for my classes but when they see their grades they're sorely mistaken. I always get asked, "Why'd you give me this grade?" In response, "I didn't give it to you. You gave it to yourself. Congratulations!" Okay, I'm not that sacrastic but I do let them know that the grade is a reflection of how hard you worked. And if you work that hard to deserve a C then you know that you did your best and I can ask nothing more from you. "Huh?" Whatever?

Anyways, I hope you're enjoying your weekend or weekday (I'm writing this on a weekend). Let me know if you have any questions and leave me a comment! See ya later!