Old teacher, New Ways

I started observing yesterday and one of the teachers I’m observing for is relatively older than the rest. The class is made up of 18 boys and 3 girls and the boys rule the class.. they don’t shut up and they don’t even stay in their own seats. The poor lady sat in the front for a good 10 mins before the boys even realized that she was waiting for them to shut up. At first she started punishing them by taking points off their test they had recently taken but the boys straight out told her they didn’t care. Then she told them she was going to talk to their coaches and make sure something was done to punish them. All of a sudden they were quite. After class she told me how as she gets older the less of a connection she has with her students and less control she has over her class. She told me when she started teaching it was much easier for her to get their attention and keep them focused. She told me that her students used to see her out of the classroom and would always stop and talk to her, now they simple wave and walk by. As we were talking she started to tell me how she really wants that connection back with her students. Her idea was that she was going to start going to her students athletic games and even cheer for those who don’t shut up. At first it sounded kind of pointless but then i started to understand. She wants her students to be able to see her in a different light than just the old teacher that lectures the entire English class, she wants her students to see her outside of the classroom and maybe they will respect her more. Thinking about it, it actually seems like a really good idea and hopefully for her sake it works. I found it really interesting how even a teacher who’s retirement is around the teacher still cares about strengthening her connection with her students.