Congratulations, JLC! I am very excited for you, and hope you'll find great
joy and satisfaction in this position. It does sound challenging.
As for rules...you are wise to want to start your time with them with a
well-planned system. I have come up with many sets of rules that I have used
over the years. The first set of rules I composed was simple and covered
just about any situation. I don't have a copy of it in front of me, but if I
remember correctly, the rules went like this:
1. Respect the PEOPLE in the art room. This includes your classmates, your
teacher, any visitors, and yourself.
2. Respect the "STUFF" in the art room. This includes the furniture, the art
supplies, the equipment, the visuals, the artwork that is created, the
teacher's belongings, the walls and floor, and any other objects in the
room.
3. Respect the TIME you spend in the art room. Spend it wisely by paying
attention to the lessons, following directions, and cleaning up promptly.
Time here is precious. You don't get much of it.
4. Respect all school rules here in the art room.
These 4 rules should be easily understood by the older students in you age
group. The younger students might need more specific rules.
Her are my specific expectations that I explain to my classes (I call them
"expectations, not "rules"):
1. Come in and sit down quietly.
2. When Mrs. Broady speaks, STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN. *
3. Participate in class discussions and demonstrations appropriately. (This
one can be shortened to "participate appropriately.")
4. Follow directions.
5. Work hard and work quietly.
6. Stay in your seat, and sit in it properly.
7. Use good manners and share.
8. Accomplish what you need to get done.
9. Stop working when asked.
10. Clean up quickly, quietly, and put everything in the right place.
11.Class should not be interrupted by bad behavior.
This list may seem excessively long and overly specific, but I have found
that it helps me to identify to each class what they are doing well, and
also where specifically they need to improve.
(* Regarding this expectation--#2--: I go over it again and again, week
after week. You HAVE to be consistent. I tell them, "If you are talking,
STOP talking; if you are walking, STOP walking; if you are working, STOP
working...whatever you are doing, when I speak to the entire class, STOP.
LOOK at me so that I can SEE that you are listening, and LISTEN to
everything I say. If I do not see your eyes, you are not looking at me, and
I do not know that you are listening Do not start doing what I tell you to
do until I am through talking," and so on. But you have to be consisent and
ENFORCE this!!!! I use my right hand to make a "stop" sign and then an
"L" --it's facing the right way for the students, not me-- and an "L" again,
for "look" and "listen,")
If they start trying to get attention/waste class time by tattling on their
classmates, you may want to teach them, "M.Y.O.B." To most people, this
means 'Mind Your Own Business," and I have told students that in my
classroom it also means "Mind Your Own BEHAVIOR." In other words, be
reponsible for YOU, not anyone else. Do what YOU'RE supposed to do, Be where
YOU'RE supposed to be. Or, you could shift the emphasis: DO what you're
supposed to do. BE where you are supposed to be.
If a student repeatedly gets out of their seat instead of raising their
hand, I simply look at them and say, in a neutral (neither rude nor
impatient) voice, "Where are you supposed to be?" in response to anything
they say, until they "get it" and go to their seat and raise their hand.
I hope that maybe some of this can be of help as you formulate your system.
You are fortunate to have a little bit of time to prepare. I was called at
about 4pm on a Wednesday, and expected to start my job at 7:30 am on
Thursday. Less than 24 hours notice! But it worked out fine. I was already
familiar with the school and had been talking to the long-term sub as the
school was waiting for the security clearance to hire me, so I was not
entirely unprepared. (This was in December, so, like you, I started in the
middle of the school year. But this isn't my first position...I taught
several years before I put my career on hold to raise my kiddos.)
Best wishes! Keep us posted!
Amy
P.S. As for projects, sounds like crayons, markers, and colored pencils will
need to be utilized frequently. Also, cut paper projects will adapt well to
a waterless classroom. For a version of painting, perhaps watercolor crayons
or water soluable colored pencils might be neat enough to use. The fact that
it is part-time means that you will have more time in the day to rest
(teaching is exhausting, especially when you are just starting a new job!!!)
as well as more time to plan. That is very good. It should help you to
manage the stress of being a first-year teacher in a non-traditional,
less-than-ideal setting. This could turn into a real professional triumph.
Most of the really great teachers I know had to teach under some very
stressful situations early in their career, and what they learned helped
them to become outstanding educators.
