the learning curve

I'm still having some difficulty with classroom management. I suppose it's a tangle of problems. Spring arriving. Overly high expectations of 5 year-olds. Inheriting another teacher's management plan. The cooperating teacher and I bouncing back and forth between who is "in charge."

My cooperating teacher told me today that I'm using a sharp voice too often. I'm not necessarily "yelling" at kids, but I'm not using a soft, reasonable voice often enough when correcting behavior.

I'm in a difficult spot. Often times, when I try to get order, the kids simply do not listen. I haven't gained the respect of many of them. They respond to their regular teacher, but not as much to me. I'm overwhelmed by everything I'm trying to learn, trying to figure out how to manage time and personalities and expectations, and trying to figure out how to teach. It seems like, in my bewilderment and/or frustration, I'm resorting to being "sharp" sometimes, in an effort to gain control and/or respect.

That's definitely NOT the method I want to be using. I don't want to yell at kids. But I also don't feel like they yet see me as their teacher. As the person they should be listening to. And I'm not sure how to get there, at this late point in the year.

Usually, when I try to get order and they ignore me, the teacher steps in. As a result, I think they might have developed the response that they only really need to respond when SHE talks. Or, I have the theory that their brains are "trained" to respond to the sound of her voice, but not yet to mine. When it is noisy, and I talk, they don't hear me - they aren't trained to respond to my voice. But they are trained to tune in to her voice, so they hear her, even if we speak at the same volume.

I'm going to focus on this even more, and see what kind of changes I can make.

Oh, and I still need to work on SLOWING DOWN.