11/23

Luc annoyed!  Luc frustrated!  Luc smash!  Well...almost.

Remember when I was getting meaner and succeeding in reigning in some out-of-control students?  Since then, I've somewhat reverted back to my overly patient/tolerant/forgiving self.  I have recently been letting students get away with far too many disruptions and today I should have given out about 12 detentions.  Seriously.  The General Music students were so immature today that, in the last class, I resorted to putting names on the board with check marks next to them, promising a detention at 3 marks (which is too many, I didn't give any detentions).  I even told them I would have to treat them like 3rd-graders if they kept acting like 3rd-graders.  They did, so I did.  I'm scared to discipline (partly due to my naive educational ideas about making kids care more about teachers being disappointed in them than in threats of punishment), and I need to get over it.  We're going to watch a movie tomorrow after I tell them that I will be giving detentions when I have to and that after break, I'm dropping the hammer.

I forgot to complain a couple days ago about how I was preparing to show that movie in Theory and noticed that our projector (on a cart in the choir room) was missing.  Nobody knew where it was and I borrowed one from the library.  I've continued borrowing because the projector is still missing and nobody in the HS knows where it is.

My final frustration for today: this week is a waste.  The week prior to any major break from school is a waste; students have left early either physically or mentally.  My solution to this would be to make no pre-break week any longer than Monday and Tuesday (with an early dismissal).  I think that the week before the winter break is a complete M-F, and I'm pretty sure most classes won't be able to accomplish anything worth those 5 days.