Respect

The hardest thing about student teaching is getting the respect needed to effectively teach a class full of teenagers. Lately, I feel like they've been trying to walk all over me, but I think I've caught it early enough. I've had to be really strict. I think part of the problem is my age. I'm only 7 years older than some of the students. I have to be really careful that they don't think of me as a friend, because then they think they can get away with anything they want to. So, lately that has made me a little mean. As soon as I feel like I have the control, I think I can become a little more relaxed. I don't like being the bad guy, but right now I need their respect more than their friendship. Some of the students at the high school want to have a pre-twirps (Twirps is a dance they have) party at my house. I really don't think that is a good idea. I've been really careful to make sure none of my students know where I live. They need to know there is a line between them and me.