new year, new plan

Each new school year is a mystery waiting to be unraveled. It doesn't matter that the children come in at the same age, or that they learned the same skills last year as they do every year. Their unifying features may make them look the same: boys and girls in uniforms with big smiles and bigger voices.

Sure, there are typically some things that remain the same from year to year. A puzzling lack of math fact retention, a need for security in a routine, a great desire for recess to arrive. But for the most part, when that door opens on the first day of school and the children pour into your room, you really have no idea what to expect.

This year, I have some interesting challenges. Although my new batch of students are soaring above my expectations academically, they are struggling by the minute to control their actions. I don't expect perfection. Hardly. It's never been my desire to create a room filled with compliant drones. Still, some order is necessary.

Typically, I fill my room with music and fun and chanting and cheers and general awesomeness. General awesomeness is a little difficult to achieve right now. I feel more like a drill sergeant than a master of funtime-learning. It makes my heart a little sad.

So, time to make some plans. Thankfully I'm rockin' some new knowledge on patterns and changes within systems with my new pals at Human Systems Dynamics, so I can lean heavily on what I've learned there so far in order to work through my classroom conundrum.

I'm working through the process now, and will post more soon. I plan to spend this weekend focusing on putting together my first plan of action. It's good to have a goal and an idea of how to get there!