Those guys are just rude and unthoughtful. i say tell them to go stand in the hallway or go to the office or something. just dont tolerate it. I’m a student myself, and in several of my classes Ill be sitting there trying to pay attention while the teacher is teaching then all of a sudden some idiot from the back will say something really stupid that makes half the class start laughing and the teacher gets quiet and then just stands there reading the text book for another twenty minutes and assigns extra homework to the whole class. This is unfair for the students actually listening, like me, because we get all this extra homework and dint know how to do it because the teacher was embarrassed and didn’t teach it to us. I dont see why they cant just shut up, maybe if you try asking problems then calling on the disruptive students when they arnt offering to answer it and then whatever there response is will determine your next action, If they say “i dont know” and laugh just be like “well then try to pay attention, this is your first warning” and call on another student but if they answer it right then say thank you but make sure to call on them more then once so they know that if they arnt paying attention then they will mess up. i really dint know what you should do i was just thinking of stuff that MIGHT get them to behave but i really think its sad when that happens because the teacher tries really hard to make the class fun as possible but no one appreciates it. So anyway good luck with your class I’m sorry you have rude students, but just keep trying and dont let it get to you cause its there mistakes not yours!

♥

bottom students will drag any class down, whether it be a tough class, or P.E. Everyone has given great advice already I don’t have much to add, except this- Throughout middle school, h.s, and college, we would groan about the tough teachers and complain about everything, but those are the teachers that I look back on and can still remember things they taught me, or can say that they were some of my favorites.

I don’t think it would be good to develop a callus to those students and their negativity- being bothered by it makes you still human and shows that you have the passion for your job and your kids.

Next time the kids vocalize that they hate you, have them come in after school or stay after class, and speak to them- I agree, ask them what you can do to make it easier on them or how you can help, they may be shocked by your reaction that you truly want to help them learn.

This is why I don’t teach high school. The kids can be *******. You must either learn to forget about these jerks and concentrate on the good students, or get a different career. I wouldn’t put up w/the crap these kids dish out. I’m curently a sub teacher and when the kids give me crap they get an automatic detention. The sad reality of it all is that there is no shortage of jerks in high school. Talk to more teachers and ask them for help.

Get an MA and teach at a college if all else fails ( which is what I’m doing). Good luck.

My husband was a college professor and my mom a teacher (mostly middle school age over her years teaching. She just retired.) I don’t know if you’ll ever get over the tenderness you feel in your psyche. You obviously know you are doing well when you have students making good grades. Likely the ones complaining are the ones who have learned that complaining gets them lighter workloads. If I were a teacher, I would double the homework when kids complained. That will shut them up fast. My mom handled complaining by adding work, also. Usually, she’d give them one warning, like, “If you don’t like this assignment, I can always add more to it…” She never had to add more homework once the kids experienced the “tone” she used. She had a real way with the kids. She was clear about rules, so they always knew where they stood with her. She taught with compassion even though she was strict. Many was the time she would worry about one particular student whose mom was on drugs or a hooker. The DSS system only takes kids away if their parents beat them, so she had that to deal with.

My mom learned to look for the positive in every day. Sometimes it was just that she made it through another day without getting angry at the kids. She has OCD, so it was hard for her to “let go” and she would obsess about her day every night in her dreams. She never got help for that. My husband had the same problem. He couldn’t understand students that didn’t WANT to learn. He kept seeing therapist after therapist (the free ones the college provided…students, so it was a new one every semester) without results. When he met me is when he found out any normal therapist would have sent him to a psychiatrist because it was obviously the same issue every single time.

I’d suggest taking a screening test to see if you have the same problem. If you can get medical help for this, if that’s what is wrong, you will be more likely to rest after school rather than reliving your day over and over.

I’m also somewhat of a new teacher, so I know what you mean. I’m in my second year (but first full-time) as a college English instructor.

What I’ve come to realize about the students who don’t like being in class is that they WANT to do well. It’s just that they are so used to people telling them they can’t do it that they’ve come to believe it themselves. I usually pull them aside (so as not to embarrass them in front of the class) and explain the whole “life is full of things you don’t like but that you do anyway to get ahead” process. I then explain that they have two choices in my class. They can either:

1) Come to class, suck it up, and try to get ahead in life;

or 2) Stop wasting their own time (and mine) and stop coming to class.

MOST of them choose #1. The ones who don’t are the kind of people who have to learn everything the hard way. I try not to teach things the hard way, so they are the ones I usually can’t help.

As to the emotional side of the issue you describe…well, you’re not unlike most good teachers I have known or currently know. None of us get into this for the money (LOL) but because we care, and it hurts when other people don’t care. But we all have to realize that people have different interests.

For instance, I love to watch sports. My wife could care less, but I don’t let that hurt my feelings. I know that seems like a small example, but I hope it helps to put things in perspective. Just remember that you can love what you do without everyone else having to love it as well.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is just to hang in there. I am in my eighth year of teaching high school, and I had to switch schools after my third year at my original school to open a new high school in our community. One of the things that will make your life easier is to develop a reputation at your school which only comes with time. I had just solidified my reputation at my first school (hard, yet caring teacher) when I had to start it all over again. I can tell you there isn’t enough money in the world to make me want to do that for a third time. Next year will be SO much easier for you, I can guarantee that.

You also have to remember that the nature of teenagers is to push you and see if they can get one over on you. Much like animals, I sometimes believe they can sense fear. If you know why you are doing what you are doing in the classroom and can explain it to the kids, then you’re doing fine. Recently, I had one of my 10th graders launch into a litany of “I hate this. This isn’t any fun.” I asked him where the magical world of everything being fun is, because I would love to go there too. I then explained to him why we were doing what we were doing and why it would help him. He lightened up considerably after that. Sometimes they just need to know WHY.

I can also sympathize with being hurt by negative comments. My first year of teaching I think I spent more time worrying about whether the kids liked me or not instead of worrying that I was crafting meaningful, rigorous lessons. Do I still want the kids to like me? You bet. However, when I get one of the “I don’t like you comments,” I generally respond with “You know, instead of worrying so much about whether you like me, perhaps it would be better if you worried about whether I like YOU.” I try very hard to balance my classes with a mixture of humorous sarcasm (I can’t help myself), challenging work, and the occasional reward. It amazes me what kids are willing to do to get a Jolly Rancher…

The other things to remember is that building relationships and trust takes time, sometimes it takes a whole semester, sometimes we are not the person who is going to reach a particular student, and sometimes we never see the fruit of what we have planted.

I feel I am just babbling here, and I wish we could have had this conversation over a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine.) Unlike those who say it isn’t worth it, I think we are a part of one of the best and most important professions in the world. I left being a lawyer to become a high school teacher, and I can tell you that although the financial rewards can be less, the intangible rewards are so much greater. Just take each day as it comes, and it WILL come easier as time progresses.

It does get better, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It took me awhile to learn on the middle/high school level, and later the college level, that I am never going to please everyone, so the most important thing is to please myself. Once I realized that I couldn’t possibly make all of my students happy or that some students will always complain no matter what, I started to feel better about myself and what I was doing in the classroom. Again, it didn’t happen overnight, but now it takes a lot for a student to get to me!

Hang in there!

Okay I am a freshman in High School so I know what you mean by having the kids not like you. Well, as for my opinion, I would say to have fun. Don’t be a strict teacher, that makes us automatically against you. And most and foremost… don’t do the “lets get to know each other” junk. So pre-k! Lay down the line so they know your not going to put up with crap and maybe embarrass them a little. For instance, if someone says they don’t like you, have them come and stand up in front of the class and list 10-15 reasons why they don’t like you. To make it fun have them use certain words that have to do with that days lesson in each sentence, and promise a special reward to him/her if they don’t do it, and also anyone who wants to earn a spot in your “game.” Special reward being detention or something in that catagory. Do it everytime because word will get around through the school and people will be eager to come to your class. They might play around with you for awhile but get strict, don’t let there reasons get you down… they’re probably substituting their parents in for you for excuses! Good Luck tell me how it goes, I know it would be torture and a BIG laugh for me!!!

Teaching is a job of dedication. You sound like you are dedicated. It may sound trite. But, you can not take this stuff personally. I understand your frustration, because you are limited to what you can say to your students. Unfortunately, there are not enough reprocutions (or are there) to kids with the bad mouth syndrome. You are not paid to argue – who is, are there counselors? I would remain tough. Clearly, thier parents aren’t. One day they will remember and appreciate you. I look back of the teachers that I thought were Mean, and today I have fond memories of them. Good luck

what i would do, is everytime they give you lip to send them to detention or something like that. i had classes with people like that and i dont understand why they gave the teacher such a hard time. well maybe you can talk to them, ask them what their problem is. its also because they dont understand what to do so they are confused and instead of asking questions(because they are afraid to look uncool) try to give them a little bit more attention to the bad students. try to be nice at first and if they still are not listening then do a detention with you. and im sure they’ll have homework from your class. and when they have detention after school with you, make it just them. so when they need help they might ask for help and show them that you care and create a connection with them. that way they’ll feel comfortable with asking you questions.and make sure, let them know you are always there to help them out. i know it sounds cheesey but they probably dont have anyone else in the world who really cares. OK?