Then the first day happened.
Finally, after everyone left and I was sitting in my room, it hit me! I spent all this time making the room my own, but I didn’t prepare to make the class my own. So I changed it up! Hundreds of things have altered since my first year and I like to believe I’ve gotten a little (a very little) bit wiser. That being said, I have a few things that make my class special and uniquely mine. Out of all of these, my favorite is…
My students figure it out the very first day they walk into my room. I start with a serious face and roll call. About halfway through, I say something completely ridiculous and make a joke. Then comes my favorite part: the kids have no idea whether they should laugh or not and my face gives nothing away, so there’s this awkward, smiling silence that fills the room and I finally crack a smile.
After breaking the ice, I let them in on a little secret… I absolutely love math and I want to share that love! Nothing is fun to learn when you’re sitting in a boring classroom with a sober teacher. I also have found that kids are a lot more willing to talk to you about the important things when you joke around with them and keep the atmosphere laid-back.
Math is such an awesome art and I have a strong passion for sharing all the amazingness! These high school kids come in with a lot of negative things to say about math. My goal is to get them to acknowledge the wonders of mathematics and hopefully enjoy the whole ride through Algebra II and Calculus!
"One of the most amazing things about mathematics is the people who do math aren't usually interested in application, because mathematics itself is truly a beautiful art form. It's structures and patterns, and that's what we love, and that's what we get off on."
Danica McKellar
Nice reflection. I agree that humor can make a lot of difference with your relationship with your students. It humanizes you which makes you that much more relatable and approachable to the students. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love what you said about making the room your own versus making the class your own. I'd also love to see your students' reactions (or lack of reactions?) to your absolutely serious joke. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteLove it! Humor is so important in the classroom - it helps build bonds with the students. They may not remember our incredible lesson on the quadratic formula, but they will remember how we made them feel and if we cared about them. (note - I'm not advocating throwing out content!)
ReplyDeleteNice reminder that what matters more than the floor plan for the seats is who sits in them. I agree that a humorless classroom is a frightening and frightened classroom, and having that burden of fearandloathing only slows learning and kills community. Not all of our kids may not leave our rooms with the kind of love for math that we have, but hopefully they will all leave feeling good about themselves and knowing how to be good with others, Humor can be a big part of that. Thanks.
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