Every 8 school days, I cover an end-of-day study hall for another teacher so he can collaborate with other teachers in his subject area. For the most part his students are well-behaved, but chatty.
Today I was back in that classroom, and I wanted to grade some quizzes and read some writing my English students had done a couple of weeks ago without taking time to redirect behavior for 25 minutes. After the announcements were read and a couple of students left for other teachers’ classrooms, I redirected a couple of students, and the room fell silent.
And I mean, SILENT. A couple of students studied, some listened to music, some read. And I graded all the quizzes I needed to, filled out a recommendation form, and read about half the writing I needed to.
So today I’m grateful for a group of students I only see once every 8 days who (maybe?) could tell I needed some quiet time to work…or just some quiet.
Sometimes 25 minutes of quiet at the end of the day can really make a big difference.
Julie Rowse 