Learning To Be Flexible

This morning my CT called to warn me that our class schedule had been changed and that we would no longer be teaching the ninth grade Survey of Literature class. I knew that there was a possibility that schedules might change because class sizes are not ideal and case loads seem to be rather uneven among staff in the same department. I was excited to hear that our second period combined seventh and eighth grade class would now be split into a second period seventh grade class and fifth period eighth grade class. Because new students were continuing to register and show up unexpectedly throughout the first week, the class had grown from somewhere around 30 to 38 students in one week. It is kind of a relief to see the class split because there were so many bodies in that class that we were barely able to move about the room.

I think this definitely in the best interest for the students and in the long run it will be better for everyone however, in order to split the two classes we had to give our fifth period ninth grade class to someone else. This is particularly devastating to me because this was the class I had just taken over. They were my first students. I knew all of their names by Thursday and although we got off to a bit of a bumpy start, I was really enjoying learning how to plan in accordance to their learning styles. I felt like I was really starting to grasp where they were at and how much they could handle. I was learning how to manage disruptive students by being proactive and creating lessons that engaged all learning styles and paces in the room. There were some challenging students in that class and instead of being scared and dreading it everyday, like I was afraid I might be, I was really starting to embrace the challenge and learn from and for my students. I feel a little cheated because I started with this group but I'm not going to finish with them. I feel like there are things left undone. That being said however, in the long run I do believe this is best for students. I will adjust and focus on my junior high and sophomores now and possibly in the long run, it will be better for me too since I will have more time to devote to each class and student. If anything, I'm learning to be flexible and make the best of the situation.