Procedures, Procedures

During Ann’s class in the summer I kind of scoffed at the whole concept of planning out every procedure in intimate detail for the kids. It struck me as insulting for them and boring for me. Then, about 36 hours before I started teaching, I freaked out and realized that I had to control five actual classes of 30 kids. So I cracked open Wong and Wong and started planning out procedures. I didn’t actually do them in as much detail as some people I’ve seen, but I had procedures for walking in the hall, fire drill, passing in papers, starting class, leaving class, asking a question, and going to the restroom. It’s amazing how slow some of these kids are to get a handle on the procedures. That being said, they’ve already made my life easier. The kids know how to pass in paper or go to the bathroom, and when they screw up I don’t have to correct them because one of their classmates does.