herding cats

I love that piece of imagery--herding cats. That's exactly how it is in 7th period every day, down to the fact that I don't like cats. But today, the kitties/kiddies weren't so bad. Full of energy as usual, but I played off their energy. I also set up a chair in the front of the room that was my "time-out" chair, though I didn't call it that. I sent students there for 5 minutes when they were talking out of turn... Time-outs work--even with 9th graders! Today, my kids were on-task, did all their questions, participated by RAISING THEIR HANDS, and discussed THEME!

One student whom I was having a REALLY hard time with has been coming after school the last two days to make up missing work. He's such a good kid, and I had a good time talking with him about wrestling and playing the drums. In the course of two days, he's brought his grade up from an F to a C!

Am I getting better at herding cats??? ... No, it's probably more because 8 students were absent, 3 of which are Trouble, bringing my class count to a manageable 26. Still, it was a good day in 7th period. I'll take it!