First Two Minutes
Let's Talk About The First Two Minutes.
At the beginning of class, I would give the class
a pre-determined time (probably 2 minutes)
after the starting time to get ready.
They would be required to go directly
to their seats or group areas but could talk quietly,
socialize and arrange their things for 2 minutes.
If they had questions or issues or reminders
for me, they could tell the group leaders. The group
leaders would be free to roam the class, talk to me
and do anything reasonable. They would take role
for their group.
After two minutes, after informal briefings
from the leaders as needed and after receiving
attendance reports from them, class would proceed
immediately.
While this may sound DRACONIAN to some,
it is really quite liberating to have routine
details managed with a very structured routine!
For example, a student not present in class
may actually be attending school that day,
but may have an appointment or activity
with another school group or staff member which
his/her teammates are very likely to be aware of.
This would eliminate problems caused
by the teacher marking the student absent and then
spending time correcting the mistake after role
was sent to the office. This is a big
deal in public schools.
Also, if a student's behavior has the teacher
concerned, the teacher may find out from the team
leader that the reason for the behavior
is quite innocuous or the team leader may be
able to communicate to the student in a
non-threatening, non-confrontational manner
that the behavior is of concern to the teacher,
and cooperation is more likely with less
intervention.
Or if any individual students or groups
have questions, requests or comments, there
would be a simple, daily routine way
of conducting them that leave the students´
needs satisfied, and also allow learning
activities to proceed without distraction.