She stated they were all distracted and she could see that in my College Prep Geometry Course. She also said she saw a lot of the students respected me and to make it an expectation that students work properly. It really made me feel accomplished that there was a sign of respect in my classroom, as well as her only looking at the good things in my classroom, I did not see them in my own analysis of how the class had gone. She mentioned taking a moment to speak with them about their abilities and the future I wanted for them. That Geometry is the content, but the ability to sit and refrain from other distractions, that practice for their future careers, the soft skills they could learn from me, were crucial. She stated that if I just re-iterated that cell phones and talking out during the middle of a meeting would get students fired from a job, then maybe they would start to listen and practice what good active learning was supposed to look like.
Cell phones have always been an issue, and a challenge she suggested was for 15 minutes of no cell phones. Then 20 minutes, and build up to the whole class time. Although cell phones can sometimes be useful, putting education and professionalism first is going to be key in making sure my 4th period can learn at the level they were required to learn. I look forward to this conversation Monday with my students and I am excited to see how they respond to my request.
