Jenny:

5th period almost made me cry today.

They were blatantly ignoring things I was saying to them and I snapped and basically was just asking “why don’t you respect me? What is so wrong with me that you won’t respect me?

You probably aren’t going to like this response because it’s not immediately actionable. That said, it’s true: Students will respect you the moment that you put out the vibe that you demand respect.

I struggled with this for years. But, at this point, I can control a room of complete strangers with very little preparation. I’ve put a great deal of thought into how this is even remotely possible and the answer is this: I’m confident in a way that I just assume that my students will respect me.

A big part of this is finding your groove. I made all of the rookie mistakes. I took everything they taught me in graduate school and put it into practice. None of it worked. I was an absolute mess until the morning when I threw out the rules and started over. For me, my strength comes in the form of humor and flexibility. Your super powers might be different.

Teaching is not a recipe. If it was, anyone could do it. The truth is that most people can’t because they never find their voice. Find your voice. Use this experience to figure out what works for you. I turned my class around in late January—so, it’s not too late.

Good luck.