Thursday, March 5, 2009
Discipline
I am now working with 7th and 8th graders and am intrigued by the level of discipline that is necessary to accomplish anything in the classroom. I am curious as to if these students are simply accustomed to teachers with little expectations of them? Also, had the students started the year with a teacher who had and enforced their expectations, would they be any different?
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Hey Kimberly, you bring up an interesting point. I do think that the kids would probably behave differently if the teacher set clear expectations and boundaries at the begining of the year, and worked with the students to meet those expectations. What you're seeing now, is probably far removed from your last placement, in that the students you were working with had learned how to conduct themselves in a classroom environment (and were much older and more mature). They say that sometimes the most valuable things you learn in your placement are what not to do in your own classroom. And I think you're probably learning some valuable lessons!
ReplyDeleteAbsoulutely yes!!! I am convinced that a large part of our observation evaluations when it comes to classroom management is at least as much a reflection of our cooperative teacher's ability to maintain disclipine rather than ours. I was so frustrated with some of the observations I received. I had to tell the kids in the one class I was in that they had to act differently than they normally do - a reflection of their lack of discipline. They did great for me when I had my formal observations. I didn't get a 4 but at least it wasn't a 1 or 2!! I was also frustrated when my cooperative teacher pointed things out that he thought I should do differently when it was he who was doing it. He thought I should wait for every student to be quite when I spoke. Which I did with some practice. He spoke over students talking all of the time!! That was just one example. Anyway, keep your chin up and be prepared to hear things from your teacher that he expects of you and doesn't practice himself. Things will be different when you have your own classes.
ReplyDeleteDevelopmentally they are so different from high schoolers in maturity and physical maturation. However, their cognitive development is crucial, too. It doesn't have to be "Muddle School.!"
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