Routine or Comfort?

I'm definitely feeling as though I've slipped into a routine here--not a bad one or a good one, necessarily. I think what it really is is that I'm feeling more comfortable now. I know all of my students and I'm starting to recognize their habits, I know their work ethic and what to expect from them, which is something I never fully experienced during practicum. When I have students do a free write, they are completely honest and open with what they say. I hope it's because they are comfortable with me, but I think some of it has to do with them still thinking H is the one reading them. I say this because there have been some comments about me that I don't think were necessarily intended for me. It wasn't anything bad, one student called me arrogant, and one student said he wished H would take her class back, so it's not like I feel threatened or fear for my safety or anything like that. Since then though, at least one of those students, possibly both have had different attitudes toward me, so I hope that their comments were mostly based on situations pertaining to those class periods.

I've also realized how much I dislike doing whole class instruction all the time. SpringBoard is actually pretty good about varying instructional techniques, but sometimes it calls for whole class instruction, and I feel, with my larger classes especially, as though they stare at me like I've got three green heads or something. I much prefer when they're working in small groups or individually so that I can circulate and check in and have conversations with them. I also like having students come in to see me before school, during break/Connections, during my preps, and after school because I get the one on one and small group time with them still, but outside of class. Having the more personal interactions with students helps me to get to know them better and build more of a relationship/rapport with them, which is important because I'm only here for part of the semester compared to the entire year. It's going to make the transition to MB in a few weeks hard...