respect and responsibility

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respect and responsibility
By Poohbear

I've taught 8th grade before and thought they were precious. They are old enough to handle a lot more responsiblity. Keep in mind that their bodies are constantly changing, that they are prone to good days and bad days
due to how their hormones are behaving, and that their moods can change within a class time. Also their main purpose at this time of their life is to "fit in". A lot of your classroom managment should be silent, like looks, gentle touch on the shoulder of the person who is talking, etc. This will remind them how to act and keep them from being embarassed. "Getting on to" someone in front

of everyone should be a very rare occurance. If you ever feel like you are going to loose your cool, get away from this audience of the other students before having your discussion with the misbehaving one. The child will respect you more for respecting him enough to not embarass him.
You can treat these students more like young adults. They should know from the beginning that their "job" is coming to school, doing their work, etc. and you are the boss. It gives them a sense of grown-up responsibility.
Hope this helps.
Poohbear