when my students stood against me

Most teachers, especially new teachers, must have ever faced that kind of situation in the class, the students stood against the teacher. Sometimes it happened because they are tired, had too much home works and projects or even bored with the class activity.

Once, it happened like this;
Student : Ms, I think you should learn to make the slides more interesting. Try to learn from
Ms. Ova (the other subject teacher)
Me : O really? do you think so? What is it with my slide? not enough animation to make you
understand the idea?
Student : Just learn, Ms.
Me : Suggestion accepted. But I want challenge you too, may I? Could you make a
presentation slide for me about the next topic?
(She stopped for a while, thinking. and continue with a shy smile...)
Student : No, you are.

The other day happened like this;

I was so ready with the presentation. I prepared it better. I brought movie, animated slides, colorful, imaginative, new ideas. But, their spirit were not as much as I brought to the class. They even seemed were not in the class. Like they were full enough with my subject matter. "God, what should I do?" I thought for a moment and I started to blame my self for my mistakes on another day as I could remember to be the caused of the fatigue that day. But it was not, they were just so tired and had bunch of works and I was trying to push another new lessons to them.

From that kind of experience...
I thought, I can be able to manage my class better after few months since my first start, even dealing with that sarcastic opinion. I thought, I would be able to get along with them, understand them, knowing their class learning types, paying attention on their daily moods, even each of them. But after one semester, the process would not ever stop as I expected. Of course, this was not a miscalculation. It is the reality. It is a life that we are facing every day, a dynamic life. They are changing, they are having their puberty, they are bringing problems into the class.

Since we are the adult, apparently it is us who should always show great support, optimism, positive thinking to them. We can not create them into some one we want. We just can provide them the long life learning environment. Make them sure that it is the learning process to be better that we appreciate from them, day by day. Well, in the end, all of it will not work out without hope, pray and great effort. I am still learning on it. Try not to give up on my students, especially their undesirable behavior. But the most important thing is, I am the one who is not supposed to give up on them. Always show them that I believe in them that they are great persons that we knew already.