Category Archives: Creating Classroom Community

Don’t Take it Personally

Creating Classroom Community

“Assuming the best is an underlying orientation that enables us to treat both our students and ourselves with respect and dignity. It helps us understand that when students act out, they are sending us a message that they want a positive connection. Then we can start to see “discipline moments” as opportunities for teaching an essential piece that students want to learn.” (Smith & Lambert, page 6)

Student misbehavior is something teachers will deal with in their career. However, some teacher in some schools deal with more and worse misbehavior than others. The tendency for teachers overwhelmed by students’ misbehavior is to perceive the misbehavior as an affront to him or herself, rather than as a result of something within the student. This is a toxic orientation for teachers to hold toward misbehavior, as it leads to a mindset where students and teachers are confrontational forces in the classroom. Such an orientation only worsens existing problems. Adopting Smith and Lambert’s orientation to misbehavior allows teachers to view disciplinary problems and disciplinary intervention in such a way where students and teachers are collaboratively working for growth while maintaining mutual respect and dignity. Continue reading Don’t Take it Personally →

Much more than content knowledge

Creating Classroom Community

“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 deep understanding of their students. Commer (2005) noted the following in studying over a thousand schools across the United States:
It became clear that 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. The focus on child development that is largely missing from the preparation of educators probably contributes more to creating dysfunction and underperforming schools than anything else. (757-58)” Continue reading Much more than content knowledge →

“We are all your students.”

Creating Classroom Community, Urban Adolescents

“It matters to students that teachers like being in their company. But when teachers appear to like some students more than others, they feel uncomfortable, whether or not they count among the favored.” – “Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness”

I think favoritism is something for a teacher to avoid. Like the above quote says, sometimes even though you want the teacher to like you, it can be uncomfortable if they like you more than other students or if they like other students more than you. I have had experience being called the teacher’s pet. And while academically it was good for me, socially it was not. I felt isolated from my peers. What good did it do then that my teacher liked me if my friends hated me for it.

I also noticed this in my focal learner study. A literature teacher had called out names of people who were working on their in-class assignments as he saw fit. He said “Maria’s doing an excellent job. So is Jade…” While for some students this may encourage them to stop talking and do their work so that they get complimented as well, sometimes if the same people are complimented in front of the class like that, it can be damaging to the students. Personally, I knew that that teacher favored my focal student from the get-go. He was always talking to her and he called on her to read once, and it was predictable to me and this was my first day here. If I was a student who always experienced this, I would not appreciate it.

So, it’s important to give our students positive feedback and tell them they are succeeding, perhaps there are better times and places to do so. Like in person, just the two of you not in front of the class. That way they know that you care about their education but they are not singled out or feel neglected.

Being a middle school teacher is not easy

Creating Classroom Community

“As a middle level teacher you will need:
– A sense of humor that you share with students regularly
– Flexibility that you demonstrate in your instructional curricular planning and delivery. “
Brown & Knowles (2007) You want to be a What?

These characteristics of middle level teachers really speak to me because I completely agree with these statement. I have spent a lot of time teaching middle school students English and American history. The key issue I found with adolescents is that they are very easily to be distracted, the average length for them to focus on a subject is not as stable as adults. For teachers, having a good sense of humor could easily amuse students and be popular among them. Therefore, it’s more likely to manipulate them to obey your order.

Secondly, adolescents cannot complete follow your expected routine. Adolescence is a period of time with exploring spirit, courage, and disobedience, so flexibility of pedagogical approaches is crucial to reach out students. Rigidly asking them to follow direction would only stimulate them to act more violently against us. Also, using various ways to reach students can help teaches, as well as students themselves, to better know their potential.

Teacher’s attitude toward students in an intercultural classroom

Creating Classroom Community

Teacher’s attitude toward to students in an intercultural classroom

“Treat students consistently, but also as individuals. Don’t play favorites, alienating some kids to be friendly with others.”

  • Cushman (2003) Classroom Behavior

This passage reminds me that in an intercultural classroom, influence of ethnic, gender and physical appearance are considered as important aspects to measure students’ academic work. As educators we should enforce the mentality of unbiasedness. It might be a myth that treating every student consistently because every teacher creates his or her own action zone in the class. It is fact that teachers always like to interact those students who seem to be brighter and more active in class and those students’ names are easier to be called on; or maybe those has the same cultural background as teachers’. Nevertheless, teachers are trying their best to engage all the students in the class because you can also hear that “I want to see different hands. Or I want to hear different voices.” I mean giving opportunities to every student is a good start to be immune to stereotype in the intercultural classroom.