Throughout my student teaching this semester, I have had the luxury of using my CT’s already established classroom culture. I observed her through her first several weeks of school where she established procedures and expectations, and while reading these chapters, I was struck by how closesly my CT followed these guidelines. Because of the solid foundation of expectations and respect she created with my students, I have been able to teach my French II classes with very little difficulty pertaining to class room managemnt. Unfortunately, during my first year of NYU, when I was teaching elementary school in France, I had a terrible time managing my classes and did not have a CT to le Continue reading Starting Out on the Right Foot
Monthly Archives: December 2015
Classroom Behavior Is Also The Top Priority
Classroom Behavior in Fires in the Bathroom
by Kathleen Cushman
reply by Shu Shi
“One behavior may carry a number of meanings. For example, students give a lot of reasons for putting their heads down on their desks: They may be physically ill, tired or sleepy, frustrated, angry or stressed, daydreaming, depressed, bored, or just confused”. —Cushman Continue reading Classroom Behavior Is Also The Top Priority
Avoiding Public Shaming
“‘Don’t cross the line into insulting a student by the way you talk to them–the line can be fuzzy.’ – Alexis”
– Cushman, “Classroom Behavior” (p. 50)
I found the quotations throughout this book chapter to be spot on representations of how I experienced middle school teaching. I was thankfully trained and certified in middle school methods during my undergrad, so I was very much so aware of the ramifications of publicly shaming a student. Still, some things you don’t really understand until you are in the trenches and experiencing it for yourself. I found out it’s possible to insult or embarrass a student by accident, so not only did I have to remember not to actively shame a student, but I had to be hyperaware of my word choices and responses to ensure they always contained a positive reinforcement and could not be misconstrued by a sensitive ego. Continue reading Avoiding Public Shaming
Reflecting On Why We Are Here…
“Why do you or did you want to become a middle school teacher?
What characteristics do you think a middle school teacher needs to have?
Understanding one’s content is one criterion for successful teaching — but only one. Effective educators at all grade levels possess something more significant than content knowledge: a deeper understanding of their students.”
(You Want To Be A What?, Chapter 1, Brown & Knowles)
This was my favorite text from all the texts we’ve been given the entire semester. I currently work with middle school students and am at a point where things have become very stressful and time consuming. To name a few things that have been keeping me busy; I am completing finals for my 5 graduate classes, inputting grades for parent teacher conferences, lesson planning for both jobs, and attempting to not pass out every chance that I get. It is so easy to forget why I am doing all of these things. Continue reading Reflecting On Why We Are Here…
Useful advice for middle school teachers
If we want students to be successful in middle school, we must be aware of and respond to the changes in their development, understand the changes that lie ahead of them, and listen to what they say… Both academic and behavioral success were more likely in places where teachers and administrators bought into the value of basing their work on the principles of child and adolescent development.
— You want to be what–middle school teacher, Brown Knowles, 2007
Basically, I learned three most important advice for middle school teachers. The first is to be patient and listen to what students say. It happens a lot that a teacher jumps to the conclusion so quickly that she ignored what the student really wants to say or she even doesn’t listen to the student. This is very important to build up the teacher’s authority and leave students the impression that the teacher is trustworthy. There are situations that the student may be too emotional to have a conversation, especially when they are bullied. Patience is critical in this situation.
The second advice is that the teacher should understand that middle schools students are in the “special period” so she should try to take students’ perspectives but not still treat them as kids who need strict management. In my observation at Essex Street Academy, I observed one teacher asked the boy who made a loud noise to step out of the classroom. I am not sure if it is an appropriate reaction since boys in this period have a quite strong self-esteem. If the teacher could take this student’s perspective, I assume there would be a more proper solution.
The last advice is never focusing on the content but on the students’ developmental and academic needs. In the classroom, it’s essential that the teacher should address students’ needs from different aspects in the curriculum, and not only for most regular students but also focus on those who are far way ahead or behind. Only when students’ developmental needs are satisfied, could they make progress in their academic and behavioral performance.