Class Takeover by Marie Smith

Coming into the 9th grade was one of the most exciting things that has happened in my life. It made me feel as though I had achieved so much because I was finally in high school. My first three classes were all taught by teachers who had years of experience so they knew every trick in the book. There was definitely no running over any of them. It was the last class of the day. I walked in the class and I heard the heavens sing. Finally a teacher that looked young enough to be my sister. I already knew this was going to be my favorite class. As all the students filled the class, I noticed a nervous look on the teacher’s face. All my friends and other classmates noticed it too. As soon as the bell rang we all began to just talk like our lives depended on it. The teacher tried her best to quiet us down, but her soft tone phased nobody in the class. Even though it may have not seemed like it, we were just as nervous that first day as she was. The only difference is she showed it on her face everyday. This happened everyday for about a month. Excessive talking, walking around the class, and basically just doing what we wanted. By the middle of the semester we had formed a routine, and there wasn’t anything our teacher could do about it. She was scared of us and it was obvious. There were times she would “yell” at us but every time that happened she was quickly shut up by a student. Now those “yelling” moments didn’t even exist. It soon got to the point where we ruled the class and the teacher just sat there. By the end of the semester, she had completely given up on trying to get us to cooperate. On the last day of school we all noticed a change in her attitude. She seemed a lot more happy and alive. We all knew why. That day when the bell rang for class to begin, we were all sitting quietly in our seats. Our teacher was both shocked and upset. It was the last day of school and we had finally done what she’d been wanting us to do since the beginning of the semester. She gave us a twisted look, blew her breath, and just sat down. We had accomplished the take over of the class, and our teacher knew it.

Most new teachers don’t know what to expect coming into a new school, whether it is elementary, middle, or high. The environment’s different, and you don’t really know anybody. Advice to the teachers…STAY STRONG!! One of the worst things you could do is go into a classroom and show that you’re scared and probably don’t know what the heck you’re doing. That gives the students a reason to run over you and take control of your class. Go in strong with a confident smile on your face. Don’t go in with an attitude because that’ll make the students shut down and just not even try to listen or cooperate with you at all. But let them know that you mean business and lay down the rules. Let your students know how you plan on things to happen and that the only person who has control of the class is you. Doing all that will make your semester at the school a lot easier and make you a lot happier.