Frustrations
Tonight was a frustrating night at Sylvan. It was frustrating enough that at the end of the night I thought to myself how I didn’t want to ever go back. Both hours I was there I had 3 extremely hyperactive kids that needed constant attention (2 of them I had both hours). None of them would listen to me, none would do their work, all were hyperactive. Usually I have fun while I’m there (otherwise I wouldn’t be there), but tonight was not fun. On top of having kids that needed constant prompting, they were all almost entirely guided practice. It was extremely difficult teaching 3 different things at one time.
The 2 hours mentally and physically exhausted me. The two boys I had, both in 5th grade, would not stop talking to each other or to the table behind me. Typically I have great table management skills, teaching ISS for a year will do that for you, but it’s hard to have table management when they don’t listen at all.
One of the girls I had was frustrating as well, but that wasn’t her fault. The work she had she could not comprehend. It was an independent practice activity and she needed to be guided through the entire thing, and she still couldn’t find the answers. I feel bad for not being able to help her more, especially since the two boys I had required the majority of my attention. The other girl required me teaching a new math lesson, while trying to deal with the two boys who seemed to be even worse the second hour. I hope Saturday goes smoother.