I went to a marriage counseling session this evening and the topic was on conflict management. Everything the presenter talked about not only helped me put things into perspective in my relationship but also in my classroom. Conflict occurs in my room on a daily basis, whether it's student to student or student to teacher. I started thinking, I wonder if I could teach my students the conflict management strategies we're learning for successful relationships? I will definitely have to break it down a bit, but I think it could be really beneficial for the kids, if I can teach and model it correctly and give them lots of practice.
These are the steps I learned tonight about problem-solving:
1. Define the problem (listen, summarize, collaborate)
2. Brainstorm possible solutions
3. Analyze the ideas and select one to try
4. Create an action plan
5. Do it
6. Come back and evaluate the progress
Right now I'm thinking to spend 1 week on each step so the kids have lots of opportunities to practice. I've seen things like this happen with "peace tables" but I'm a little worried about making a peace table because I know my kids will take advantage of always wanting to go, so I'm thinking to just teach it and encourage them to practice it during non-instructional times. That will also give them a chance to calm down instead of trying to solve the problem while they're emotionally charged.
I've definitely never taught anything like this, so I'll just do my best and see how it goes! If you have any thoughts, suggestions, or experiences from your own classes to share, I'd love to hear them!
Showing posts with label management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label management. Show all posts
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Reflecting on my Classroom Culture
I am currently reading the book Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College by Doug Lemov. I love what I have read so far and am slowly implementing techniques as I can. I've been going over chapter 5 a lot in my mind because I'm having trouble with creating a strong classroom culture. I want to take a moment to reflect on the five principles of classroom culture and how they are playing out with my students.
According to Lemov, these five principles are discipline, management, control, influence, and engagement. They all work together to create a strong classroom culture, but many teachers focus on one or two instead of all five. I am guilty of this as well, which is why I need this reflection.
Discipline
Discipline is often thought of as something we do to students, but it is actually something we should teach students. Lemov defines it as "teaching students the right and successful way to do things." It took me a while to understand that even the simplest things like how stand quietly in a line needed to be taught. I have finally come to terms that EVERYTHING in my room needs to be taught, not just curriculum but procedures, communicating with peers, and staying organized as well. I'm getting better at teaching these things, but I wish I had known this beforehand because now I finally understand what the first six weeks of school should have looked like so I wouldn't have to take the instructional time to do it now. I've also noticed that my students are quite visual so I need to have posters and pictures of all these things as well.
Management
I found out that management is really what I thought discipline was, "the process of reinforcing behavior by consequences and rewards". I was focusing heavily on this at the beginning of the year through the use of a color chart to serve consequences and stickers & prize box to serve as rewards. I have since learned that I cannot rely on those alone, that the other four principles need to be in place as well. I'm trying not to overuse them, but I'm still worried that my students will become desensitized and start thinking they don't have to behave unless a reward is attached. I was against this type of system in the beginning, but my students weren't responding to just logical consequences and redirection so I finally caved in. The other day I was praising my students for walking in the hallway so quietly and one said, "so where's our sticker?" This is exactly what I was afraid of, but I explained to her that I was still rewarding her by giving her verbal praise. I explained to the class that they won't get stickers every time they do something right because that's not how it works in real life and the expectation is that they behave well because it is the right thing to do, not because they are getting a reward. I'd like to continue building up the other four principles so I'm not relying as much on my consequences and rewards to manage them.
Control
I'm still trying to understand exactly what Lemov means in his description of control. He's right that it is the kind of word that puts people on edge, including me. I tend to think of myself as a teacher who has started out trying to control my kids. I've been told by my coaches that I need to relax a little bit, so that's what I've been working on....not trying to control every single thing and every single behavior. It's hard because there are still moments of chaos and students not on task, which is really difficult for me to witness, but I've also noticed that I'm less stressed when I'm not trying to control every situation. Lemov also talks about the power of language and relationships. I've improved my tone of voice a lot where it is much more firm and deep so the kids know I'm serious. I'm still building relationships by having lunch with them, but I noticed this week that I'm not showing them enough love. I see other teachers love them up like mothers and I haven't reached that stage yet. I don't think I can be that maternal because I don't have kids of my own, but I know I can show them I care about them more.
Influence
I've never thought about influence before, and I have a lot of work to do in this area. I don't think I'm inspiring enough, and I'm not quite sure how to get there. I can tell them they can do it, but many of my kids have already experienced so much failure in their lives that they still don't believe it. I do have some students that already have the intrinsic motivation to behave well and do their work, but I haven't reached them all yet. I think I should come up with some key phrases and challenge myself to use them a certain number of times throughout the day. I will also need to research what other teachers do to influence their students.
Engagement
This is also an area that I have found some difficulty with. I've been talking with my literacy coach for ideas on how to make my lessons more engaging, so I'm trying those this week. I'm looking at using more games for math (in my lessons, not just center time), and am thinking about administering a multiple intelligence survey to the class (if I could just find one that's easy enough for 3rd graders to understand). I'm also hoping that when the Promethean board gets installed in my classroom, I will have an easier time with incorporating technology into my reading, writing, and math lessons.
I still have so much work to do in order to have the kind of classroom culture I require. It's definitely going to take me all year, but I know in the end I will be a better teacher for it.
According to Lemov, these five principles are discipline, management, control, influence, and engagement. They all work together to create a strong classroom culture, but many teachers focus on one or two instead of all five. I am guilty of this as well, which is why I need this reflection.
Discipline
Discipline is often thought of as something we do to students, but it is actually something we should teach students. Lemov defines it as "teaching students the right and successful way to do things." It took me a while to understand that even the simplest things like how stand quietly in a line needed to be taught. I have finally come to terms that EVERYTHING in my room needs to be taught, not just curriculum but procedures, communicating with peers, and staying organized as well. I'm getting better at teaching these things, but I wish I had known this beforehand because now I finally understand what the first six weeks of school should have looked like so I wouldn't have to take the instructional time to do it now. I've also noticed that my students are quite visual so I need to have posters and pictures of all these things as well.
Management
I found out that management is really what I thought discipline was, "the process of reinforcing behavior by consequences and rewards". I was focusing heavily on this at the beginning of the year through the use of a color chart to serve consequences and stickers & prize box to serve as rewards. I have since learned that I cannot rely on those alone, that the other four principles need to be in place as well. I'm trying not to overuse them, but I'm still worried that my students will become desensitized and start thinking they don't have to behave unless a reward is attached. I was against this type of system in the beginning, but my students weren't responding to just logical consequences and redirection so I finally caved in. The other day I was praising my students for walking in the hallway so quietly and one said, "so where's our sticker?" This is exactly what I was afraid of, but I explained to her that I was still rewarding her by giving her verbal praise. I explained to the class that they won't get stickers every time they do something right because that's not how it works in real life and the expectation is that they behave well because it is the right thing to do, not because they are getting a reward. I'd like to continue building up the other four principles so I'm not relying as much on my consequences and rewards to manage them.
Control
I'm still trying to understand exactly what Lemov means in his description of control. He's right that it is the kind of word that puts people on edge, including me. I tend to think of myself as a teacher who has started out trying to control my kids. I've been told by my coaches that I need to relax a little bit, so that's what I've been working on....not trying to control every single thing and every single behavior. It's hard because there are still moments of chaos and students not on task, which is really difficult for me to witness, but I've also noticed that I'm less stressed when I'm not trying to control every situation. Lemov also talks about the power of language and relationships. I've improved my tone of voice a lot where it is much more firm and deep so the kids know I'm serious. I'm still building relationships by having lunch with them, but I noticed this week that I'm not showing them enough love. I see other teachers love them up like mothers and I haven't reached that stage yet. I don't think I can be that maternal because I don't have kids of my own, but I know I can show them I care about them more.
Influence
I've never thought about influence before, and I have a lot of work to do in this area. I don't think I'm inspiring enough, and I'm not quite sure how to get there. I can tell them they can do it, but many of my kids have already experienced so much failure in their lives that they still don't believe it. I do have some students that already have the intrinsic motivation to behave well and do their work, but I haven't reached them all yet. I think I should come up with some key phrases and challenge myself to use them a certain number of times throughout the day. I will also need to research what other teachers do to influence their students.
Engagement
This is also an area that I have found some difficulty with. I've been talking with my literacy coach for ideas on how to make my lessons more engaging, so I'm trying those this week. I'm looking at using more games for math (in my lessons, not just center time), and am thinking about administering a multiple intelligence survey to the class (if I could just find one that's easy enough for 3rd graders to understand). I'm also hoping that when the Promethean board gets installed in my classroom, I will have an easier time with incorporating technology into my reading, writing, and math lessons.
I still have so much work to do in order to have the kind of classroom culture I require. It's definitely going to take me all year, but I know in the end I will be a better teacher for it.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Awful Day
Today was not a good day at all. I feel like I'm in crisis mode where if I don't get the class under control, we won't learn anything all year. I have a wonderful coworker who took me to another school to introduce me to her mentor teacher and we talked for a while. She even gave me some manipulatives to use with one particular student. I'm so grateful to have her support, especially when there are some really fake teachers I work with who are waiting and hoping for me to fail. That's been hard to face, but I'll let God take care of them.
So, what am I going to do tomorrow? We're going to completely redesign the classroom. I'll be moving my carpet to a new location so I can move my desks around. We'll be facing a different board, and I'll be stripping down the class rules to make new ones. I'm also getting rid of some levels on the behavior chart so the students have less chances and reach more severe consequences quicker. Basically, I've been told that I have to be a drill sergeant. It's gonna be a challenge for me but I'm going to do my best. I'll keep building relationships, but the fun has to be sucked out of the room for now because my kids can't handle having fun. It's hard to say that but everyone can see they're not ready for fun, and they're not ready for lots of choice.
I was able to reward my students who are able to make strong choices with fun while those who made poor choices watched the others have fun. I'm gonna keep working on that...it's just hard when I can only be in one place at one time.
My head is spinning with so many ideas that are always shared, and I'm overwhelmed. I feel like I keep changing something everyday, but my kids keep giving me reason to. For every thing I come up with, they come up with a counter behavior for it. Somehow someway I have to show them that I'm the boss and I run the show, not them. *sigh* Let's see how tomorrow goes....
So, what am I going to do tomorrow? We're going to completely redesign the classroom. I'll be moving my carpet to a new location so I can move my desks around. We'll be facing a different board, and I'll be stripping down the class rules to make new ones. I'm also getting rid of some levels on the behavior chart so the students have less chances and reach more severe consequences quicker. Basically, I've been told that I have to be a drill sergeant. It's gonna be a challenge for me but I'm going to do my best. I'll keep building relationships, but the fun has to be sucked out of the room for now because my kids can't handle having fun. It's hard to say that but everyone can see they're not ready for fun, and they're not ready for lots of choice.
I was able to reward my students who are able to make strong choices with fun while those who made poor choices watched the others have fun. I'm gonna keep working on that...it's just hard when I can only be in one place at one time.
My head is spinning with so many ideas that are always shared, and I'm overwhelmed. I feel like I keep changing something everyday, but my kids keep giving me reason to. For every thing I come up with, they come up with a counter behavior for it. Somehow someway I have to show them that I'm the boss and I run the show, not them. *sigh* Let's see how tomorrow goes....
Monday, September 27, 2010
Reflection 1
Just wanted to reflect on my day. I tried something new where I mapped out the entire day so that I would know everything I wanted to do and in the right order. I noticed that in my room there is a lot of down time for the kids to get into trouble because I'm not always prepared with what comes next, so I wanted to fix that this week. It ended up being 4 pages long, just for Monday, but it helped me stay on task and on track. We even managed to get through all of our subjects, from Morning Meeting to Writing to Reading to Second Step (violence prevention program) to Math to Specials to Science. So I'm happy that we got through every lesson. It didn't necessarily change the behavior issues I'm having, but there was more time on task than there was last week.
Another thing I did differently that helped end the day a bit more smoothly was do our class jobs and get ready for dismissal an hour before we actually dismiss. Since school began, dismissal has been one of the worst parts of my day because it has been so hectic and chaotic, especially with so many parents picking up their kids early. So today I had us dismiss (pack up our backpacks and whatnot) right after they came back from specials, and then we went into the science lesson and used that to finish the day. It was much smoother, so I'm going to stick with it.
I also tried to end the day with a final closure where we shared something we learned, but many of the students were mentally checked out so it wasn't as powerful as I had hoped. I will keep pondering over that.
Let's see...I also got rid of transition time, which was a 2-5 minute period where students could go to their locker or sharpen their pencils. Most kids took it to mean free time and were just chilling and getting into trouble, so I decided to nix it. Now I let students sharpen their pencils when they need to and just ask me before they go to their lockers. It worked pretty well, though the kids were bummed to lose their "free time".
Tomorrow I'm going to talk to them about what types of behaviors will make them move their color (we use a color chart with clothespins). My only concern is that so many students exhibit those behaviors so frequently throughout the day that it's hard to keep up with and sometimes I have to let certain things go. I'm nervous that now that these behaviors are written explicitly on a chart they will start to notice that I can't always keep up. For example, I can't always stop the lesson to tell someone who is talking to move their color because they are ALWAYS talking and I would never get through the lesson. So I tend to highlight the super disruptive ones who actually interrupt me, but it still feels inconsistent. I'm not really sure what to do with that.
Last thing, I'm often told that I always need to keep my voice level and not let the children see that they are getting to me. I find this to be extremely difficult for me because I'm a super transparent person and most people can always read my emotions. Even today, I got so frustrated that I told the class they were making me angry and I would have to start taking away their PE time if they kept it up. I just don't know how to hide it...I'm an emotional person by nature and I get irritated by all the misbehaving. Any advice?
Another thing I did differently that helped end the day a bit more smoothly was do our class jobs and get ready for dismissal an hour before we actually dismiss. Since school began, dismissal has been one of the worst parts of my day because it has been so hectic and chaotic, especially with so many parents picking up their kids early. So today I had us dismiss (pack up our backpacks and whatnot) right after they came back from specials, and then we went into the science lesson and used that to finish the day. It was much smoother, so I'm going to stick with it.
I also tried to end the day with a final closure where we shared something we learned, but many of the students were mentally checked out so it wasn't as powerful as I had hoped. I will keep pondering over that.
Let's see...I also got rid of transition time, which was a 2-5 minute period where students could go to their locker or sharpen their pencils. Most kids took it to mean free time and were just chilling and getting into trouble, so I decided to nix it. Now I let students sharpen their pencils when they need to and just ask me before they go to their lockers. It worked pretty well, though the kids were bummed to lose their "free time".
Tomorrow I'm going to talk to them about what types of behaviors will make them move their color (we use a color chart with clothespins). My only concern is that so many students exhibit those behaviors so frequently throughout the day that it's hard to keep up with and sometimes I have to let certain things go. I'm nervous that now that these behaviors are written explicitly on a chart they will start to notice that I can't always keep up. For example, I can't always stop the lesson to tell someone who is talking to move their color because they are ALWAYS talking and I would never get through the lesson. So I tend to highlight the super disruptive ones who actually interrupt me, but it still feels inconsistent. I'm not really sure what to do with that.
Last thing, I'm often told that I always need to keep my voice level and not let the children see that they are getting to me. I find this to be extremely difficult for me because I'm a super transparent person and most people can always read my emotions. Even today, I got so frustrated that I told the class they were making me angry and I would have to start taking away their PE time if they kept it up. I just don't know how to hide it...I'm an emotional person by nature and I get irritated by all the misbehaving. Any advice?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A Random Venting Session
I've been wanting to blog for a while and haven't set out time to do it. I have a lot on my mind in regards to my classroom and what's going on, so I'm not sure what this post will look like in the end.
What I can say for sure right now is that I'm a first year classroom teacher who is in survival mode. I remember reading about these different modes from the book "The First Days of School" by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong, and survival mode definitely sounds like me. I am really struggling with classroom management, and every day I'm just trying to get through it. It sucks a lot because I really love to teach and I want so badly to be good at it, but management does not come naturally to me.
I read all the time about how some teachers are naturally good at it but most of us have to work at it to improve. I'm constantly working and pushing myself to try different strategies, and some things work but others do not. I'm just so frustrated right now because I'm really unhappy with the behaviors in my classroom, and I feel at a loss for how I can really change them.
I have a tendency to complain about the behaviors they exhibit that I really don't like, but I don't want to get caught up in all that here. I do it enough at work and am trying to quit. The funny thing is that I really love most of my students. I'll admit there are a couple who work my nerves on the daily and it's taking me a bit longer to warm up to them. And it's those kids who are causing the majority of the behavior problems in my classroom, which are trickling down to the rest of the class. But someone told me to be curious about them, and really get to know and figure out why they behave the way they do. So I'm working on that relationship building. I've already eaten lunch with all of my students at least once (in small groups), and now I'm eating with each child one-on-one.
I'm trying to keep believing that things will get better, but I'm also realistic and as we get closer to November, I'm starting to accept the fact that this is who they are and there is only so much I can say and do to build character in them. This may be the reality of what my classroom is like all year.
I will continue to gather strategies from everywhere: other people, books, observations, etc. I will continue to hope it will get better, but I don't want to set myself up for disappointment either. Hopefully, I will be able to make more time to blog about specific issues and continue to reflect on my role in the class and what dynamic I bring to the culture that I have created. Because one thing I will not do is place all the blame on them....I recognize I play a big part in this too and I've started to ask myself what I'm doing wrong, since at the end of the day I'm the only person I can really control.
Anyway, this has all been just some random babblings. I have a lot on my mind and I just needed to get something down on "paper" and out of my heart. I hope my future postings will be more streamlined and focused than this.
What I can say for sure right now is that I'm a first year classroom teacher who is in survival mode. I remember reading about these different modes from the book "The First Days of School" by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong, and survival mode definitely sounds like me. I am really struggling with classroom management, and every day I'm just trying to get through it. It sucks a lot because I really love to teach and I want so badly to be good at it, but management does not come naturally to me.
I read all the time about how some teachers are naturally good at it but most of us have to work at it to improve. I'm constantly working and pushing myself to try different strategies, and some things work but others do not. I'm just so frustrated right now because I'm really unhappy with the behaviors in my classroom, and I feel at a loss for how I can really change them.
I have a tendency to complain about the behaviors they exhibit that I really don't like, but I don't want to get caught up in all that here. I do it enough at work and am trying to quit. The funny thing is that I really love most of my students. I'll admit there are a couple who work my nerves on the daily and it's taking me a bit longer to warm up to them. And it's those kids who are causing the majority of the behavior problems in my classroom, which are trickling down to the rest of the class. But someone told me to be curious about them, and really get to know and figure out why they behave the way they do. So I'm working on that relationship building. I've already eaten lunch with all of my students at least once (in small groups), and now I'm eating with each child one-on-one.
I'm trying to keep believing that things will get better, but I'm also realistic and as we get closer to November, I'm starting to accept the fact that this is who they are and there is only so much I can say and do to build character in them. This may be the reality of what my classroom is like all year.
I will continue to gather strategies from everywhere: other people, books, observations, etc. I will continue to hope it will get better, but I don't want to set myself up for disappointment either. Hopefully, I will be able to make more time to blog about specific issues and continue to reflect on my role in the class and what dynamic I bring to the culture that I have created. Because one thing I will not do is place all the blame on them....I recognize I play a big part in this too and I've started to ask myself what I'm doing wrong, since at the end of the day I'm the only person I can really control.
Anyway, this has all been just some random babblings. I have a lot on my mind and I just needed to get something down on "paper" and out of my heart. I hope my future postings will be more streamlined and focused than this.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Candid Conversation
Myself, along with two other teachers, have started a 4-H club at our school. Currently we have about 12 female students in 4th and 5th grade. This week, we decided to have a "girl talk" about relationships. Our intention was to focus on relationships with boys, as some of the girls have "boyfriends" (we do not approve), but somehow the conversation turned to student-teacher relationships. I don't even remember the comment/question that created the shift, but I do remember the honesty in the responses these girls gave.
Last week a teacher was so frustrated that she started crying in front of her kids. She came down the hall looking absolutely miserable and ready to throw in the towel while we all comforted her and offered words of encouragement. When we brought up this incident with the girls, we asked them why the students treat her so poorly when they wouldn't think of treating us the same way. What we got was a very simple and honest response:
"Because we respect you."
Our ears perked up and more questions came pouring out of us teachers, curious to get into the minds of the students and why they behave the way they do. We probed further into why they respected us but not the other teacher, whether it had anything to do with race (she's white and we're black), what kinds of consequences they expect to have, why any of this should matter when it comes to basic respect. Here is a summary of what I learned and took away from the conversation:
-The kids don't respect her because they think she is soft. She appears soft because of her emotions.
-With classes that have lots of behavior issues, one reason is because they feel the teacher can't control the class because they know nothing will happen to them if they do something wrong. So why bother act appropriately?
-Some suggested consequences included: referrals, taking away recess, calling parents (all of which have been done mind you, but the kids still misbehave). But they say that when someone acts up the teacher just looks at them or walks out of the room, or the teacher is only concerned with the behavior of the "problem child" in that class.
-Other teachers get respect because the kids are afraid of them. One girl said, "if you come around the corner we straighten up cuz we know we're in trouble."
-The kids want structure.
-It does not have anything to do with race (we asked this question more than once and every time they all said no).
This was such an interesting conversation for me because I myself have struggled with being the nice or soft teacher. In my few years I have toughened up a lot, and I do see a difference in the respect I'm given and my ability to manage the students. The difficult part for me is, however, that I am not naturally mean or "hard" as they put it. One girl told me that "I'm hard when I need to be", which lately I feel like is all the time. I empathize with the teacher who cried because I feel her frustration with her students.
But the kids have spelled out the reality: don't even cry in front of them, don't "act soft". They'll take those emotions as a sign of weakness and take advantage of it (I personally don't believe crying is a sign of weakness, but that's just my opinion). Even being nice has to be handled carefully. You can't give them a reason to think you're not in control.
If I get my own classroom next year, I'd like to have a conversation with my class about this topic. I hope that I can get them to see that whether someone shows emotion or not does not warrant blatant disrespect, no matter how you view it. We should treat all people with the same decency and respect regardless of how we feel about them. We treat them this way because that's who we are as pleasant human beings.
I hope they will be able to understand and internalize this message. But at the same time, I will continue to put on my "tough act" and do my best to give them the structure and discipline they subconsciously (or consciously) crave.
Last week a teacher was so frustrated that she started crying in front of her kids. She came down the hall looking absolutely miserable and ready to throw in the towel while we all comforted her and offered words of encouragement. When we brought up this incident with the girls, we asked them why the students treat her so poorly when they wouldn't think of treating us the same way. What we got was a very simple and honest response:
"Because we respect you."
Our ears perked up and more questions came pouring out of us teachers, curious to get into the minds of the students and why they behave the way they do. We probed further into why they respected us but not the other teacher, whether it had anything to do with race (she's white and we're black), what kinds of consequences they expect to have, why any of this should matter when it comes to basic respect. Here is a summary of what I learned and took away from the conversation:
-The kids don't respect her because they think she is soft. She appears soft because of her emotions.
-With classes that have lots of behavior issues, one reason is because they feel the teacher can't control the class because they know nothing will happen to them if they do something wrong. So why bother act appropriately?
-Some suggested consequences included: referrals, taking away recess, calling parents (all of which have been done mind you, but the kids still misbehave). But they say that when someone acts up the teacher just looks at them or walks out of the room, or the teacher is only concerned with the behavior of the "problem child" in that class.
-Other teachers get respect because the kids are afraid of them. One girl said, "if you come around the corner we straighten up cuz we know we're in trouble."
-The kids want structure.
-It does not have anything to do with race (we asked this question more than once and every time they all said no).
This was such an interesting conversation for me because I myself have struggled with being the nice or soft teacher. In my few years I have toughened up a lot, and I do see a difference in the respect I'm given and my ability to manage the students. The difficult part for me is, however, that I am not naturally mean or "hard" as they put it. One girl told me that "I'm hard when I need to be", which lately I feel like is all the time. I empathize with the teacher who cried because I feel her frustration with her students.
But the kids have spelled out the reality: don't even cry in front of them, don't "act soft". They'll take those emotions as a sign of weakness and take advantage of it (I personally don't believe crying is a sign of weakness, but that's just my opinion). Even being nice has to be handled carefully. You can't give them a reason to think you're not in control.
If I get my own classroom next year, I'd like to have a conversation with my class about this topic. I hope that I can get them to see that whether someone shows emotion or not does not warrant blatant disrespect, no matter how you view it. We should treat all people with the same decency and respect regardless of how we feel about them. We treat them this way because that's who we are as pleasant human beings.
I hope they will be able to understand and internalize this message. But at the same time, I will continue to put on my "tough act" and do my best to give them the structure and discipline they subconsciously (or consciously) crave.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Give & Take Power Play
After a long hiatus of inclusion teaching, I finally worked my schedule where I could go back into the classroom consistently for math instruction. I started again last week and I found myself stuck in a situation that I wasn't quite sure to handle, and I've been thinking about it ever since. It revolves around the issue of giving vs. taking power away from the teachers when dealing with classroom management.
In one class the kids were doing well with staying engaged in the lesson and participating in our guided practice, but when it came time for independent work, it felt like chaos ensued. Not because they didn't understand the material (they all did very well answering the questions), but because of what happened when their work was complete. The general ed teacher and I were walking around looking at their work and helping when needed, but they all finished roughly around the same time and it became a myriad of kids calling out our names or coming up to us to have their work checked, which ultimately led to a lot of moving bodies & elevating noise levels which distracted those who were still working.
Now, I'm not a teacher who is afraid of movement & noise, but I prefer it to be structured and relevant to the task at hand. Needless to say, this was a bit much for me, especially because I would be conferencing with one student and 2 or 3 were calling my name elsewhere in the room, without ceasing even when I pointed out that I was already working with someone else & they needed to be patient. My immediate solution was to use the technique that I use in my own classroom - when you're finished simply give me a thumbs up & wait till I get to you, don't call my name. Some of the kids did that when I told them about it, but the rest just stopped calling for me and went over to their general ed teacher instead.
Then, in another classroom, I came in after the regular lesson and the kids were beginning their independent work. I parked myself next to one of my ELL students to help her figure out the problems while the gen ed teacher went to the back to talk to a student who was refusing to do his work. There were only a few other students on task and the rest were running around the room. Two students even found a blow-up globe to start throwing around the room. I continued to work with my student and we made it through the whole assignment, but it was definitely not in an environment conducive to learning.
Now, I don't tell these stories to make the teachers look bad in any way. They're both new teachers and have been struggling with management all year, and the kids can be a big handful especially in the afternoons. What I have been wondering though, is what should my role look like as a support person in their room? Should I be imposing rules on the kids and aiding in managing them when they're rules are different from my own? Or should I just sit there and do what I'm supposed to do which is help my ELLs access the material (and help others who don't get it as well)?
That's what led me to this question about giving and taking power away from teachers. I'm not comfortable with coming into someone else's classroom & imposing my own rules, because that takes power away from the teacher. In fact, even if I tell a child to do something that they haven't practiced and is not a normal routine in their room, it will most likely be ineffective, or only work in the short term while I'm there.
I thought about offering some suggestions to the teachers, but I have my own insecurities about my management skills (I basically feel they're not where I want them to be) and I ask myself, who am I to tell them how to manage? I know these are my doubts & fears getting in the way yet again, but I'm also the youngest teacher in the school and I'm only in my 3rd year so I'm no pro by any means. I do know these teachers pretty well and I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we sat down & came up with some ideas together, but I know they already feel helpless & I don't want it to seem like I have the magical answer, because frankly I don't.
But I'm curious readers, how do you handle the power balance? When is it ok to step in if a teacher is struggling with managing one kid or the whole class? Have you done it in a way that doesn't take away the teacher's power? What should a support teacher's role be in the general ed classroom?
Please share your thoughts.
In one class the kids were doing well with staying engaged in the lesson and participating in our guided practice, but when it came time for independent work, it felt like chaos ensued. Not because they didn't understand the material (they all did very well answering the questions), but because of what happened when their work was complete. The general ed teacher and I were walking around looking at their work and helping when needed, but they all finished roughly around the same time and it became a myriad of kids calling out our names or coming up to us to have their work checked, which ultimately led to a lot of moving bodies & elevating noise levels which distracted those who were still working.
Now, I'm not a teacher who is afraid of movement & noise, but I prefer it to be structured and relevant to the task at hand. Needless to say, this was a bit much for me, especially because I would be conferencing with one student and 2 or 3 were calling my name elsewhere in the room, without ceasing even when I pointed out that I was already working with someone else & they needed to be patient. My immediate solution was to use the technique that I use in my own classroom - when you're finished simply give me a thumbs up & wait till I get to you, don't call my name. Some of the kids did that when I told them about it, but the rest just stopped calling for me and went over to their general ed teacher instead.
Then, in another classroom, I came in after the regular lesson and the kids were beginning their independent work. I parked myself next to one of my ELL students to help her figure out the problems while the gen ed teacher went to the back to talk to a student who was refusing to do his work. There were only a few other students on task and the rest were running around the room. Two students even found a blow-up globe to start throwing around the room. I continued to work with my student and we made it through the whole assignment, but it was definitely not in an environment conducive to learning.
Now, I don't tell these stories to make the teachers look bad in any way. They're both new teachers and have been struggling with management all year, and the kids can be a big handful especially in the afternoons. What I have been wondering though, is what should my role look like as a support person in their room? Should I be imposing rules on the kids and aiding in managing them when they're rules are different from my own? Or should I just sit there and do what I'm supposed to do which is help my ELLs access the material (and help others who don't get it as well)?
That's what led me to this question about giving and taking power away from teachers. I'm not comfortable with coming into someone else's classroom & imposing my own rules, because that takes power away from the teacher. In fact, even if I tell a child to do something that they haven't practiced and is not a normal routine in their room, it will most likely be ineffective, or only work in the short term while I'm there.
I thought about offering some suggestions to the teachers, but I have my own insecurities about my management skills (I basically feel they're not where I want them to be) and I ask myself, who am I to tell them how to manage? I know these are my doubts & fears getting in the way yet again, but I'm also the youngest teacher in the school and I'm only in my 3rd year so I'm no pro by any means. I do know these teachers pretty well and I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we sat down & came up with some ideas together, but I know they already feel helpless & I don't want it to seem like I have the magical answer, because frankly I don't.
But I'm curious readers, how do you handle the power balance? When is it ok to step in if a teacher is struggling with managing one kid or the whole class? Have you done it in a way that doesn't take away the teacher's power? What should a support teacher's role be in the general ed classroom?
Please share your thoughts.
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