I was getting pulled into the disciplinarian role. It seemed like I spent most of my day reminding kids to “show me what you should be doing,” and constantly monitoring their behavior. The teachers who I work with also spend a great deal of their energy on monitoring students’ behavior. But when I reflect on what kind of teacher I want to be—rarely does the image of me correcting a child’s behavior appear (especially when working with three to five year olds—who I fundamentally believe should not be disciplined for moving their bodies. Bodies moving at five years old seem very age appropriate and necessary!). There is a balance I must find during student teacher of respecting the routine and expectations in the classroom where I am working and the values that I hold.
After attending the education seminar on Tuesday, I was reminded to find “what is lovable in each child.” I was forced to reflect on the past two weeks of student teaching and quickly come to the realization that I had forgotten to give positive encouragement and affirmations to each child. When children would come up to show me work they have completed (looking for my, “Okay, you can put this away and start your next work”), I would first jump to the mistakes on their work.
I went into my student teaching the next day with a commitment to giving affirmations and connecting in more positive ways with each child. I really do want to love, respect, and admire the children who I work with everyday. When children showed me their work, I made sure to find something that was wonderful and tell them this, before I asked them to double check their work. When a student struggled with her reading, I made a more conscious effort to congratulate her on her reading progress, before focusing on isolating the first sound in the difficult word (and then giving her praise after she finished reading the tricky word). The emphasis on affirming positive behaviors in each child was extraordinary. It seemed as if the teachers became happier and more excited and supportive of their students. The drive home after school became less frustrating and more upbeat. I saw more kids laugh with me (it's so much fun to laugh with kids!) and they smiled to one another more frequently. Maybe all of this was already happening and now I was just open to seeing it. Or maybe an emphasis on affirmations made everyone feel more welcomed in the classroom. Maybe both.
3 comments:
You are so on point, Emma. The trickiest part of teaching is balancing correcting and affirming and affirming, I think, should always win. The question never ends, but the days in which I remembered that I wanted to walk away feeling good and wanted children to walk away feeling good were the best days. The same with my kids at home. You saw how hard it was for me to relax and let them be, especially when others were watching. I wonder what schools would look like if we were more amused at the development of kids instead of feeling like the authority of how they should be acting. I'm looking forward to exploring this question with you and having you keep me honest about my values as an educator and parent!
p.s. I signed in using the wrong account. This is Julia. Sorry.
Much love Children are not violent they are rebelling against being violated. More kids are told they are stupid, the more they have an aversion to anyone in a position of authority. Not so much removing the word retarted but creating the proceses where a child can feel they are creators of the possible. thus the teacher student nexus (p freire) is key to growth and development. Problem is that every child is a work in progress an becoming. How does one shape a educational process thats nurturing at the sametime structured enough to grow creativity. Imagine city of detroit wanted to have 65 children to a class talk about violence, may work if you had 65 tutors mentors. Remember as a child in first grade having trouble saying my s's and practicing in the "retard class", so named by an seen by other children and the kids around them. Kids can be crual. Closed me down. Then we become adult and tell lots of folks to go to hell and rebellion becomes revolution. There is no mental illness in this country only people rebelling against the backward values that no one can live up to. Education: its about about learning how to making a life not just a living!!
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