So, here is what I did. I made an announcement that the purpose of the grade-sheets were to double-check to see if I had made any errors, not an opportunity for them to correct any of their errors (such as not coming to class or not turning in papers on time). I am pretty sure that I was pretty loud when I was saying it too. Being loud was not planned. I was trying to get their attention when several side conversations were going on, AND I think I got caught up in the moment.
If it is not yet obvious, I will just tell you that what I struggle with most as a teacher is being "too nice." I really want my students to feel comfortable in the classroom and to feel comfortable in approaching me for help. These are good goals, however; sometimes this combined with my general tendency toward conflict avoidance, lead to me being perceived by students (and my colleagues) as a push-over. I continue to try to improve in this area.
So here is a question for you:
Is it better to be "tough" in the beginning of the semester and then loosen up as the semester progresses OR to take the opposite approach?
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