Quiet Time

Yesterday, 7A got Quiet Time. They're fun kids, but they have a really hard time settling down for class. There are only 10 of them and sometimes I have them imagine what it would be like to have 30 (or more) of them in a class, like it would be in the Honduran public school. Sometimes, they get so rowdy that I have to stop teaching them or stop whatever activity we were doing and have them sit at their desks and do busy work. Yesterday, we were reviewing for their quiz tomorrow and I was answering questions they have about the chapter we're studying (reptiles). I gave them their final warning - the review would stop if they didn't settle down. They were quiet for about 30 seconds, then started up with their chatting and laughing. "That's it," I said, "It is now Quiet Time." I gave them book work to do, which became extra homework when they didn't finish it in class.

What is the magic behind those 2 words? Quiet Time. Is there something ominous? I didn't say the words with nearly the voice of impending doom that my father was able to impart when my brothers and I (mostly my brothers) were being rowdy in the back seat of the car, but somehow, they quieted the class down. They would slip into their usual routine and try to ask each other questions about the work they were doing or start telling each other stories, which is more likely, and I would just remind them that it was Quiet Time to get them to focus on their work again. For a brief 20 minutes, the students of 7A were doing the preposterous (an 8th grade new word) by quietly working at their desks.

Please note that I am under no delusion that this will ever work again in the future. I will try it, but it is preposterous of me to think that I will sometime soon get to enjoy a few minutes of Quiet Time.