Numbers

Typically, at our school, numbers are all the rage the first week of school. Heck, even the first two weeks of school. They're something to complain about. "What do your numbers look like?" they ask. Well, she has this. He has that. If we each lost this many, we would have enough. Get a grip man.
The numbers being asked about are the kids. I have 27 third graders in my class. And if each third grade teacher had 27 few kids, some teachers would be in the negatives. Just ask Mrs. Davidson, the self-proclaimed professional on classroom numbers. Every day she asks you how many kids you have in your class and, on some days, I have no clue. Because I don't give a crap because I do not control the hiring or the numbers. I am so worried about what I am going to teach and the giant mess in my room that how many kids I teach is just a number.
Of course it is the first week of school and once kids get comfy this can all change. I can tell , though that my kids are getting used to me. They all came in quietly, looked at the board and commenced to working. They all were ready to go over homework at 9:05, just as I had specified. And only two kids did not do it. Okay, three. One did it right before we corrected it. I called the other two parents and had it taken care of first thing in the morning. I felt like a Nazi for it but these things I want taken care of NOW. And I value parent/teacher communication. i do need to throw in some positive information though. Because I want the kids to know that I care about the good things they are doing as well. This is proven to be beneficial to kids' education. So that is something I will work harder to do. It is a simple thing but it takes time and at this point that is something I do not feel I have enough of.