Teaching thought
Apr. 7th, 2006 06:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
velvetpageThis is a comment I posted in a friend's journal, but I thought it would be important to share it here. It's about my answer to the question, "How do you control your class?"
I think I became an effective teacher on the day that I realized my kids needed something from me emotionally, and if I gave it to them in a firm-but-fair way, they'd give me respect in return.
They need to feel that they're important to me - that I honestly care what happens to them and how they're feeling. If they don't believe that I feel that way, they're never going to try to please me, and my class will be total chaos.
There are, of course, other elements to effectiveness in the classroom. There's a certain presence I project when I need their attention, accompanied by a simple hand signal or verbal cue, that usually works for me. There's an expectation that they are capable of behaving as I wish them to, and that they need to make every effort to do so - but also that mistakes happen and we'll deal with them when they do.
But the key is that honest empathy. If for some reason I don't feel that for the majority of my class, or they act badly enough to damage it partway through the year (as happened last year) then my job takes a sudden downswing.
People ask me how I control 25 kids and get them to do what I want. The truth is, I don't control them. They control themselves, because they want me to be pleased with them and easy to get along with.
I think I became an effective teacher on the day that I realized my kids needed something from me emotionally, and if I gave it to them in a firm-but-fair way, they'd give me respect in return.
They need to feel that they're important to me - that I honestly care what happens to them and how they're feeling. If they don't believe that I feel that way, they're never going to try to please me, and my class will be total chaos.
There are, of course, other elements to effectiveness in the classroom. There's a certain presence I project when I need their attention, accompanied by a simple hand signal or verbal cue, that usually works for me. There's an expectation that they are capable of behaving as I wish them to, and that they need to make every effort to do so - but also that mistakes happen and we'll deal with them when they do.
But the key is that honest empathy. If for some reason I don't feel that for the majority of my class, or they act badly enough to damage it partway through the year (as happened last year) then my job takes a sudden downswing.
People ask me how I control 25 kids and get them to do what I want. The truth is, I don't control them. They control themselves, because they want me to be pleased with them and easy to get along with.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-08 01:36 pm (UTC)Ah but back to the post. What level do you teach? I teach college but much of what you have said applies even though I sense you do a much younger age? I think I will forward this post to a good friend who teaches middle school french here in the states. You sound very compatible. Excellent sentiments...and appropriate for me because I'm considering a possible switch in teaching to something younger. I just feel scared sometimes about the thought of teaching younger ages because I am not sure if I project the right emotions? (Sometimes I feel quite out of touch). I can do the maternal thing...but at the college level that's often taken advantage of rather than respected.
Sorry to ramble! Btw, the breastfeeding quote was lovely too although emotional for me because I had HUGE difficulty at first and the metaphor still applies I suppose-- sometimes we have lots of love to give and it is rejected. :(
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-08 02:17 pm (UTC)I teach grades 4/5, in a split class - or rather, I did. Now I'm on maternity leave. :) They still accept some maternal behaviour at that age - I call everyone "hon" most of the time, for example, and it's rare that I've had a student ask me to stop.
I feel for your friend. I used to teach middle school French - in Canada it's a mandatory subject, but they know very well that all they have to do is pass grade nine French and then they can drop it. It's considered the worst job description to have around here, because the kids still need the rapport but refuse often to admit that they need it. And if you don't have it, look out - they will make your life hell for the rest of the school year. (There's a reason I went to a lower grade!)
I had some issues with nursing Elizabeth at first, but they were resolved fairly quickly, for which I'm very grateful. I was lucky - I had a good support system and lots of people around to help, and my problems weren't that big. I suppose the thing to remember is that he wasn't rejecting your love - just your method of delivery. That said, I remember how horribly incompetent I felt when my doctor suggested I might need to supplement. It's hard to get past the negative emotions when you haven't seen your own bed in what seems like months.