Sometimes it feels like crowd control trumps true teaching in a class of many children. That's why it's so important to institute rituals, a sense of community, and team. As much as possible children have to understand and work towards effective care and collaboration--the ability to work together, support one another, and follow a simple list of rules so that everyone gets as much voice, attention, and teaching as possible.
Today I increased the expectations, and now I need to have that meeting about how we're going to support each other as we reach to study, collaborate, and learn more. We'll have that meeting tomorrow. Rarely is there a dull moment in teaching--all teachers know that.
