Can you predict whether you will be a teacher’s star students or the most dreaded hour based on when you have their class? While different subjects warrant different rules, the general consensus is to be a good student and human.
“Be aware, you can work with that,” ELA teacher Alex Schaper said.
The hours that seem to be consistently teachers’ favorites are the ones right around lunch. This seems to be a sweet spot as students are awake, in a rhythm, and not yet too hyper. A couple of teachers commented that early hours, like second and third, were their most preferred hours to teach because sleepy students are easier to teach.
While there may not be one hour in a day where good behavior spikes, the qualities that make a good class are consistent. Be prepared, focus on the work given, participate in discussions, and know when to be quiet.
In fact, most teachers prefer a class that is chatty to one that is silent. The ideal is to have students talk about the lesson and not have unrelated discussions. Teachers will even give time to have personal conversations after they are done with the lesson.
When asked how positive qualities can be nurtured in a class, math teacher Stephanie Seidel had some describing words to share.
“Structure and routine,” Seidel said.
And Matthew Barker, when asked the same question, had other words.
“Good kids,” Barker said.
Kids believe their class has good behavior when the teacher is laid back, but still enforces good behavior.
Structure is needed, but that does not have to come from a teacher being strict. Most teachers when asked if they believed themselves strict adamantly answered no. Schaper and Seidel even laughed at the question. Teachers may not be strict, but they do have high expectations for their students.
Phil Burthardt, a science teacher, shares how he feels about this topic.
“I pretty much leave students alone if they have an A or B, but if they get a C or lower I become really strict. If you prove to me that you are responsible and can do things on your own I’m going to let you be,” Burthardt said.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, what is the worst hour?
“Honestly, the worst hour to teach is eighth hour,” Burthardt said. “The worst thing is when you have a big class eighth hour because you got a lot of hyper kids that are ready to go home.”
At the end of the day all good behaviors seem to flee in the face of going home. This causes some teachers to prefer juniors and seniors, especially at the end of the day.
One teacher pointed out the behavioral reminders that are announced at the beginning of the year. These warnings of punishment are always directed at the freshmen, while the older kids have seemed to figure it out.
So, in the end, the hour of your class doesn’t matter, behavior does.
