Friday, February 3, 2012

diversity of an unexpected sort....

A couple of substitute teaching jobs the first of the week have been on my mind since I survived two days in the public school classrooms. Pondering the differences in management styles has created some interesting unanswerable questions...Observing how individuals choose to apply and enforce discipline has been educational and thougth-provoking. Knowing that being a teacher is one of the most thankless jobs ever - and getting more-so on a daily basis, I'm certainly not the person who has Any of the answers to how one might go about instilling discipline when there is often none in other areas of a five year olds' life.

Both classes were students who were first grade level - and there is often a huge variance in the abilities, skills and overall maturity level of little people that age. Just spending one day with them, and taking the time to listen to them read a couple of sentences, either doing it smoothly, or stumbling over 'sight words' that they should easily recognize makes it plain that some have a home life that involves books. That they receive time from their 'elders', with individual attention devoted to the written word, and people in their lives who know what they will need to be on track for success as they advance through the system.

I spent several hours in one class with a little boy who lead  me to believe he was disrespectful, defiant and had an all 'round bad attitude. But when he was reading to me, one-on-one, I was astounded at his ability to whiz right through those little 8 page books. He is far more capable, advanced than what the teacher was having him do. I know there is value in repetition- but his was 'way ahead of her in that 'game', ready for second grade (or higher) challenges with his reading material.

The class I was with on Monday was general all-around chaos. A group of twenty kids who apparently had little to no 'impulse control', continually chatting and highly distractable. Really unable to stay on task and finish work due to being so 'sociable' - which in itself, is not a bad thing. But when being so willing to converse causes one to never finish an assignment, it is definitely not a good thing. They were just like a group of magpies - in constant conversation.

It's so difficult for a substitute, not knowing names, unable to identify students by name, and correct behavior on an individual basis to Nip It In The Bud, it was a very frustrating day. I had several people who came in the room during the course of the day: a rotating para-pro, a couple of high school students, who could 'pin' names on them, who were helpful. Sonetimes it is just a matter of calling out a name, catching their attention and giving that particular wanderer the 'stink-eye' to get him/her back on the right path

I believe a lot of management/control is just being able to call someones' name to get their attention: name-to-kid. The teacher did try to help with that, leaving construction paper 'tents' (paper folded in half the long way) for them to write their names on that should have been helpful - but ultimately that idea only served as a great distraction as they kept playing with, decorating, moving them all day. So though I could identify the most likely suspects/culprits by the end of the day, I could not actually attach names to them.

On the second day, I was the Para-pro, and moving through the day in two different, adjacent classrooms (in addition to lunch room duty for a head-ache inducing hour). Those teachers, maybe the whole school, with a different 'tenor', discipline theory established by the administration, were Very Firm. Both I spent time with were quite strict in the way they managed classrooms, expected standards of behavior to be maintained. Really enforcers of propriarty/minimum standards. I was at times a little taken aback at the way they talked to the kids, but believe if you establish high standards from the get-go, and show you are willing to enforce your expectations, they are much more likely to be met.

So I guess with all they are expected to accomplish in the course of the day, week, school year, the kids come closer to meeting the goals someone in the remote state Dept. of Ed. sets for five and six year olds is mostly met.

It's been very educational - for me. And I'm not the one who needed to know. It reminds me of a conversation I had recently with someone who was trying to correct behavior of a seven year old: I commented at how impressed I was with the adults' willingness to be the 'enforcer', stay with the child until the task was completed. That time devoted to the follow through seems to be equally as important as the initial instruction: if you don't stick around to see that it is thoroughly completed, not willing to devote yourself to knowing it was really done - it likely won't be finished, and you will find yourself saying 'arggghhh' when you are the one picking up the remnants of fun from hours ago. Remnants that are no longer fun, but an annoying nusiance since the person who created the amusement was not made to take responsibility for the activity. Not fully aware - as few if any, little people are: actions have consequences.

Which is basically what I see at the issue here: kids with no impulse control, not being taught that there will always be consequences to what they do (or don't) get accomplished. Which causes them to engage in so much impulsive behavior. (This includes kids of all ages who do not think through the responsibility that goes along with pet ownership..because if they did - there would be fewer household animals in need of on-going, never ending maintenance.)

But now that I have seen it - I understand every time I go into a classroom how under-valued our teachers are. And how thankful I am that I am not 22 and out there as a freshly minted education major, expectantly thinking to be an agent of change...

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