Stickin' to my Guns

Alright, so I was supposed to pick a class and stay consistent with my rules for two weeks. Well, I tried, but, honestly, I don't know if I succeeded. Its hard enough to be in a classroom with thirty kids, trying to teach, while still having an Ole Miss homework assignment lingering in the back of your head. I hope I'm not the only one to admit this, but - I don't think about my assignments while I'm teaching. That's not to say that I don't think about Teacher Corps. So much of the advice, suggestions, and encouragement has followed me into that classroom every day, and I am so grateful for it. But, when it comes down to a situation with a student, and he/she is putting their learning at risk, and other students learning at risk, my highest concern is handling the situation in the most effective way possible. Now, in the course of my last three months of teaching, I've discovered that consistency with my rules does not always prove to be the most effective way of de-escalating a situation. However, I do not want to make the claim that consistency is poor advice given by the teacher corps - if anything, consistency is GREAT advice that I wish I was able to follow. What I have learned from the experience of not finding it effective to stay consistent, is not that the advice needs to alter,but that my rues need to change. I am trying to implement better rules for my classroom so that they are somethig I am comfortable staying consistent with. What makes this task so difficult, is the number of unique details and circumstances that each new day and incident brings with it. Soemtimes, I'm not in the best mood - and, sad to say it, this will effect how I want my class to run that day. Sometimes, a whole class is being disruptive, and - instead of giving them all the consequence - I might choose to make an example out of one of them. Other days, thoough, I might just stick my head out in the hallway and invite the assisstant principal t come in and slowly start pulling them out one by one. It just depends. That seems to be my most consistent rule, actually - I will dtermine the proper disciplinary action for each individual action. It may not be fair, but, what I say goes. Wow! Sometimes "teacher-me" is such an *!%**!.