So today, and for the next three days, I'm back in the classroom mentioned here, the one where the same group of seventh graders come by three times, for math, social studies, and a horrible space of time called SSR/leadership/study hall, in which nothing in the title gets done. I honestly don't know why I agreed to this, except that this teacher has been very good to me and my pocketbook in the past and I want to maintain that relationship. Also, as I work on my math endorsement, I want to keep her as a friend/mentor/reference. So, I take on her horrible seventh graders.
Today I actually instituted the "marks on the board" system, that aged piece of classroom management that modern educators rail against. Mine is set up in a = / - T-Chart and if by the end of the day Tuesday they have more on the + side, they get a treat when the teacher comes back. They get negative points if they are still talking at the end of a "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" countdown or if they are doing naughty things with the rulers, and positive points for doing well with the countdown, cleaning up, or all finishing the assignment on time.
Score so far ... 7/7. This roughly translates to "you weren't so awful that Ms. GT is going home to cure her migraine with a bottle of Jack and a bullet, but there is room for improvement."
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