Am I too lenient?

Teaching kids has its moments.

In my regular weekly class, the kids seem to constantly test the boundaries. One of the kids tries it on to see if he can shock me with "outrageous" questions. Another seems to get his sense of security in being the centre of attention. Once he's assured of his privileged place in the pecking order, he'll sit down to listen to what you have to say. Still another will listen quietly as long as there's a Freddo at the end of the lesson. If not, he pretends that he's not at all interested.

Today I wondered if I'd been too lenient. I admit, it's hard to gain acceptance when you're only there for half an hour a week. But in my quest to reach the kids, had I let too much get past me? To be honest, I didn't immediately reprimand the boy who called me a name today. I only stepped up the discipline when one of the other kids said "You can't call her that!" (it wasn't a swear word, so I sat him facing the wall all lesson. His teachers thought otherwise, and he's been given a detention).

It's an interesting balance. I am in a position of authority, so I need to be respected. But I also come with an important message, that needs to be listened to. I'd far rather it was heard willingly than reluctantly, so I try not to be draconian. But when you struggle to be heard, yelling and threatening is a highly tempting course of action...

Great lessons to learn for future teaching years.