I'm heading up Friday recess detention this 9 weeks for middle school students. Middle school students who get in enough trouble throughout the week get put into Friday recess detention. Last year, I did this a bit differently, and now - other teachers and the principals have decided that all teachers who head up Friday recess detention this year will head it up the way that I did last year.

Basically, I have the students wear themselves out and have a miserable time - in hopes that they will remember how horrible Friday recess detention is and not get into trouble anymore. We spend the whole time (40 - 50 minutes) doing calisthenics - they're not allowed to talk (not even to me), and I shout orders. If they're not quick enough to follow orders, they do the imaginary chair for awhile.

I have them run in place, do jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, hold their arms up in the air for a few minutes, hold a push-up position for 30 seconds before beginning push-ups, do the imaginary chair on the wall, and my Wii Fit gave me another idea yesterday evening - an exercise called a "plank". You basically get into a push-up position using your forearms and stay in that position for 30 seconds - I'm planning on trying this out with students today.

I don't really like this job, but I try to do it well. Last year, I overheard some students in the hallway saying, "I'd rather be shot than put into recess detention." If you comment on this post, please do not use my name - remember, I try to keep my blog anonymous so my students won't find it on a GoogleSearch.