ladies and gentlemen: we have success

I haven't been 100% recently. Friday started it off with a horrible headache that felt like someone was stabbing me on the left side of my skull. That headache made an appearance on Saturday and at times on Sunday. Sunday also brought the Sore Throat, which continues until today. My voice has slightly gone in and out, but I'm trying to pretend that I'm NOT getting sick in any way, shape or form, cause you can only pull the "I'm sick kids, please stop being crazy" only so many times before they get tired of it and think you're faking (side note: the headache excuse? ALWAYS WORKS. Seriously. I could probably claim to have a headache even when I didn't and they would be all nice, calm and quiet.)

Since I have been slightly sick, I was dreading today because today has Seventh Period, it's a 4 day week due to the holiday on Monday, and next week is Homecoming (cause, you know, just cause it's next week doesn't stop them from being excited this week and the week after [which is also Halloween week]). During my 6th period planning time yesterday, I was debating not coming in today. I felt horrible and exhausted, which is usually how I felt trying to wrassle 28 10th graders into doing something(ANYTHING!) but talking, wandering around the classroom and generally being more interested in going home rather than the work that needs to be done during class. If you are a teacher, you probably understand. End of the day classes are usually the most challenging because they're either seriously awake (a little too awake) or incredibly tired, but either way, they're brains are fried and they don't want to do much. Every class I've had at the end of the day (and last year, I had classes on both A and B days at the end) was always the one I heard "How about we don't do anything today, Mrs. P?" during. Do you know how annoying that is? On the positive side, they were always the one with more energy and personality than the others.

But I decided to show up to school today.
Today was the first day my 7th bell was exactly what I wanted it to be. The kids in there are super helpful, mostly because they like being on their feet and find it hard to sit down for longer than two seconds. I have one that sits at my desk (he loves to put on a show, but if he sits at my desk, he calms down) who took attendance, started/ended the video, and made sure what needed to be on the Promethean Board was up there. I have another student who sits in a blue chair right next to my desk, who everyone lovingly refers to as "Fatty" (that's a whole other story, though). I also have a few other students who always like to be up and social who help in passing out books and papers.
I made the few announcements that I had to make, answered "ARE WE PLAYING TELEPHONE TODAY? I HEARD YOUR OTHER CLASSES GOT TO PLAY TELEPHONE. DO WEEEEEEE?" about a thousand times ("No, your class is about a day behind. We'll get to play telephone next class"), we watched a short 3 minute video from the textbook on what it took to be a knight, and then I let them loose. They had to create a knight's shield for themselves (we were reading "The Sword in the Stone"), put it on the wall somewhere in the room (one student put it on the ceiling!), and then they had to read the story on their own, and finish a sheet we started with the knight clip. While they were coloring and tracing animals onto their sheets using the Promethean Board, I was passing out papers, getting candy for students who turned in their progress reports signed and getting students to make extra copies, clean up, pass out books, finish their work, help others tape up their shields, etc.
These are the days that make teaching worth it. I looked around the class and saw that they were helping each other out, they were learning and having a fun time at the same time, and they were completing what they needed to do. I think I should do those kinds of activities more often. I was also repeating to myself "go with the flow, you are not sick" and I think that helped.
With that class, I try (I'm definitely not 100% successful) to stay as calm and positive as possible. They respond a lot better to me joking around with them or just giving them the "And? I'm not amused" face (or, for Megan and David, who will get it: the "Am I bovvered?" face) than getting angry and yelling. This is mostly because they are the kind of kids that like to find the buttons that make a teacher snap and go bonkers. The more you get angry--the more they win and the more fun they're having, while also creating a very tense, negative classroom atmosphere. When you have a class full of kids used to being yelled at, knowing exactly how to set a teacher off and being able to easily accomplish just that, it really shocks them when you say nothing but positive things about them (no matter how small) and make a joke about the crazy things that come out of their mouth instead of snapping and writing them up. Just imagine me brushing my shoulder off and trying to keep the "What? You thought that was something for me to get mad about? You are crazier than I thought!". What happens with them is that they are either shocked out of misbehaving because they weren't expecting that reaction or they get whatever jokes they have out of their system. Either way, they get over it and everyone moves on a lot quicker than if I decided to make a big deal out of it and argue with them over it for who knows how many minutes. Also, when you have to use the "teacher voice" (which I did have to do to one student today because he kept bouncing up and down on the floor to make the projector shake in an attempt to mess up a few shields), they take it slightly more seriously than if you're using it all the time. Again, it's the shock that makes them straighten up and actually listen. When I told one child to sit down and get to his own work today in "the voice", half the class's jaws dropped and they were all "Oooh, dang, Mrs. P's serious." and then I went back to doing what I was doing and they went back to doing what they were doing. Amazing.

Also: my 12th graders are actually liking Chaucer/The Canterbury Tales, which is great compared to their utter dislike for Beowulf. They are probably just humoring me though because I can't say enough how much better Chaucer is than Beowulf. Does that make me a bad teacher? (Allow me to answer my own question, like a crazy lady: probably not. I do make a point to say that I just don't appreciate Beowulf as much as Chaucer's work, but I definitely understand why it's important. It's just not my thing.)