[missdolly]

I worked at an all-boys high school in Fukuoka, Japan. After about a year of teaching there, I was asked to improve my discipline skills and to observe a 14-year veteran teacher.

In his class, he spent at least the first 3-4 minutes screaming "Shut up!" to various boys. I felt like Bill Murray in the movie "Stripes" (movie quote - snickering: Who does this guy think he is?) He also had the boys stand up until they could answer a question which I decided to borrow and continue to use.

Later, while team teaching, the Japanese teacher asked me to say "Shut up", but I refused. I merely said to the noisy students, "Do you have a question?" They got a little embarrassed and said, "No, no question" and stopped making disturbances.

I must admit that, over the past three years, I have gotten angry enough to say "Shut up!" (3-4 times). I always regret it later. Some kids still hate me for it, I think. I haven't done it, yet, this year and hope I can control my anger.

Basically, I want to keep my sense of humor and, as Shelley said, show them I care about their learning.