Why I needed to start testing strategies

This is the start of my fourth year teaching, and yet, from the first day of school, I knew that this class was different than the other classes I had had in the past. Usually there is somewhat of a honeymoon period where the kids are quiet before they start getting rowdy and talkative. My first day with this class was already loud, and not following the procedures.

My theory about having a difficult class was only confirmed in the days that followed. The students were not consistently raising their hands, and my old techniques were falling flat. I knew I had to make a change somewhere, and it just so happened I needed a focus for my teaching program anyways, so the goal became making my class well behaved. I would settle for as under control as previous years were.