back-to-school

It's not even 9 and I'm already tired. I guess it's taking me a while to get back in the school schedule. Last week, I started student teaching again in a 5th grade class...very different from my last placement. There are 34 students as opposed to 20. Most of them speak espanol at home...so, lots of english language learners. Two girls in the class, Hilda and Evelyn, don't understand a word I'm saying. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to sit in class all day where everything is in a foreign language. I try to explain some things with the ten words of spanish that I know. It's so much harder to teach in spanish than everyday conversation stuff. I wish I knew more espanol. Yo quiero a aprender mas en espanol. entonces puedo a ayudar mis estudiantes. don't know if that's right or not. BTW, any classroom management tips for 5th graders? I think I just need to be more strict and lay down the law...a lot more than I did with 2nd graders. This is one of the most difficult areas for me....it's hard to be reeeeally mean. But then I have to or else they won't behave and learn. So far, I've already heard conversations about weed, other drugs, being on house arrest, etc., in the class. There's also a trend of wearing dog tags...like around the neck. And all the tags are memorabilia of someone who passed away...i.e. friend, family member. Sad. I wonder if that's the trend at other schools too.