Class-Dismissed

Courtney Langton

Courtney is an aspiring high school teacher. Her teachables are History and English, but she's happy to teach anything that doesn't involve numbers or formulas. Her particular interest is in promoting gender equity and anti-oppression both in and outside the classroom. She writes a detailed To-Do list every morning, and enjoys nothing more than a good book and a plate of bacon on a rainy Saturday.

Jonathan Wong

Jonathan's primary interest is moral education. His teachable subjects are English and Music. He encourages critical thinking and hopes to teach his students to recognize, and strive for, what is truly important to them without forgetting to be compassionate, tolerant, and open-minded along the way. He likes making analogies and his favourite is one that compares life to jumping on a trampoline.

LINKS: Blogger
Canadian Chalkboard
Coffee, Calculations and Colombia!
Mewlings
Progressively Unnecessary
TeacHer Finance
It's Not All Flowers and Sausages
So You Want To Teach?
Classroom Confessions
Teach Hub
Web English Teacher
Blogging the Renaissance

ARCHIVES: June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 March 2010

RE: Disciplinary Measures

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Apologies for my lack of posting this past week. Jon has been very patient and accommodating while I sorted out my personal life a bit. All is well, so now I must get down to responding to his brilliant musings. And post at least one of my own! So stay tuned.

A good chunk of my teaching experience before I started university came during my time as an Air Cadet. By the time I was 15, I was teaching classes and learning how to instruct effectively. I spent a lot of time with 12-, 13-, and 14-year-olds, who in turn spent most of their time squirming around in their uncomfortable uniforms, wanting to talk to their friends or test paper airplanes instead of learning about citizenship and drill. Being that Cadets is a military-esque organization, well... let's just say I didn't take a lot of (for lack of a better word) crap from them.

The summer before university, I was an instructor at an Air Cadet summer training centre in Bagotville, QC. I was responsible for one group of 25 kids, aged 13-15, for three weeks, and when they left another batch took their place for the last three weeks. I taught them classes during the day, but I also played the role of camp counsellor, rounding them up to go to the beach, making sure their beds were made and uniforms spotless, and marching them in formation from place to place.

Put a bunch of early teens in a remote location, miles and miles from any parental contact, with 24 partners in crime at their disposal and not much to do in the evenings, and you've got a 'classroom' management situation that would terrify even the toughest of teachers (aka middle school teachers). Aside from the usual angsty drama, my kids also did the following, in no particular order:

- tortured a kid so much that he peed in a bottle rather than face leaving his tent

- vomited on my boot

- accidentally shot a staff member during archery (no one was seriously hurt, thankfully)

- had a fight with Axe body spray in an enclosed area

- ate so much candy that one kid had headaches that made him scream and cry the next day

- crushed up Tylenol and snorted it

The list goes on and on, but those are the highlights I can remember right now. Oh, and the Tylenol thing? The incident was reported to myself and my supervisor right away, but the boys vehemently denied it and my boss felt that they were being honest. The next summer, I ran into one of my former cadets, and he informed me that several kids actually had snorted the Tylenol. The kid who initiated it all? He was given an award for leadership and exemplary conduct at the end of the summer.

Anyway, all this to say-- I'm fairly no-nonsense when it comes to discipline. I will do my utmost to make my classes interesting and to engage all students, but sometimes that's not enough. I firmly believe that even older students still need routine, structure, and a certain degree of authority in the classroom.

If I had to describe my disciplinary style, I would invoke Mary Poppins. She's ingenious, always thinking of unique and interesting things to do and making ordinary things seem extraordinary. But when it comes down to it, she's in charge. She'll use humour or mild sarcasm to get her point across, but the point gets across, no exceptions.

As long as I provide my students with a stable, open, and safe classroom environment, it is within my rights to expect them to provide me with their cooperation for 75 minutes a day. The students I plan to teach are learning to be adults. I will treat them with the respect I treat adults if they act with adult-like maturity in return. Is that too much to ask?

Probably. There will be many students who don't keep up with their end of the bargain. I'm still fleshing out my disciplinary style and have yet to decide what steps I will take when particular students consistently cause serious problems. As Jon said though, once you figure out how to engage a kid, how to make him or her WANT to learn, the problems seem much less daunting. So I guess I'll start with that.

Please comment if you have any personal insights on classroom management and disciplinary style-- or if you have equally horrific camp-counsellor stories!

Labels: big questions, classroom management, discipline, students

Courtney posted at 7:30 PM - Comments (0)

Disciplinary Measures

Thursday, July 9, 2009

So I recently read this article: "Yes, these children can"

Followed by this rebuttal: "KIPP Schools and What Can We Do For Urban Poor Kids?"

I've always thought the authoritarian method of teaching a class to be an interesting line. And I mean that insofar as the question of how discipline contributes and affects our ability to teach.

There's no question that an attentive class makes it easier for you to teach and for them to learn. And there's no question that it can be supremely frustrating to teach a class when you're constantly interrupted by a few students. We just posted about "keeners" and how it's important to make your class as relevant and interesting as possible so that, at least, you as a teacher have nothing to reproach yourself about as far as effort, patience, and aptitude...

But as all teachers know, sometimes, there are students who simply don't care. I've heard some teachers tell me that it happens more in Applied classes. I myself have seen it enough times in Academic classes to know that it's a little more universal than that. Every so often, you'll have students that, try as you might, just don't care to be in your class and refuse to see any value in anything you teach. When that happens, the issue is no longer a question you "dealing with a problem kid" to quote a popular catchphrase. The question becomes, is it fair for the rest of the students that their teacher's attention is constantly being diverted towards a particular student?

I have never been able to come up with a good answer for this. On the one hand, I have 1 or 2 students that I can't seem to hook into my class. We talk a lot about "classroom management" in our own education classes but I have yet to hear one good solution for dealing with 1 particular student who just seems like he/she couldn't care less about you, your class, or their peers. And on the other hand, I have 20 other students in my class that deserve better than what I am able to deliver when I have to constantly attend to a troublemaker (or two).

I know people are against the KIPP method of teaching/private schools because they find that authoritarian style of classroom management stifling. And to an extent, it's true. But at the same time, you have to strike a balance somehow don't you? If you have a school where a student that's sent down to the principal's office simply gets a slap on the wrist and sent back up to your class... I can't see how this is very good for you, the student, or his/her peers. As parents, we enforce a set of rules regardless of what our children think because it's for their own good. Should the same principle not apply, to some extent, to a class as well? I constantly worry that, in an effort to get away from control and stunted creativity and all the negative things about a harsh disciplinary system, we might have moved too far into student-driven learning where a teacher is only there to teach/guide the students that *want* to be taught/guided. Is there a point where our lack of disciplinary measures results in an actual inability to curb students who are literally unresponsive to everything else?

Being able to teach is one thing. Being able to teach despite students who don't want to learn is something else entirely. It's the reason why I've always thought that university professors don't really have any excuse not to be good teachers. I mean, think of how many elementary/high school teachers there must be who would LOVE to teach in a class where their students either pay close attention, or at least keep quiet if they don't?

Labels: big questions, classroom management, discipline, students

Jonathan posted at 9:11 PM - Comments (0)


*Courtney Langton* Courtney is an aspiring high school teacher. Her teachables are History and English, but she's happy to teach anything that doesn't involve numbers or formulas. Her particular interest is in promoting gender equity and anti-oppression both in and outside the classroom. She writes a detailed To-Do list every morning, and enjoys nothing more than a good book and a plate of bacon on a rainy Saturday.	*Jonathan Wong* Jonathan's primary interest is moral education. His teachable subjects are English and Music. He encourages critical thinking and hopes to teach his students to recognize, and strive for, what is truly important to them without forgetting to be compassionate, tolerant, and open-minded along the way. He likes making analogies and his favourite is one that compares life to jumping on a trampoline.
LINKS: Blogger Canadian Chalkboard Coffee, Calculations and Colombia! Mewlings Progressively Unnecessary TeacHer Finance It's Not All Flowers and Sausages So You Want To Teach? Classroom Confessions Teach Hub Web English Teacher Blogging the Renaissance	ARCHIVES: June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 March 2010
RE: Disciplinary Measures Thursday, July 16, 2009 Apologies for my lack of posting this past week. Jon has been very patient and accommodating while I sorted out my personal life a bit. All is well, so now I must get down to responding to his brilliant musings. And post at least one of my own! So stay tuned. A good chunk of my teaching experience before I started university came during my time as an Air Cadet. By the time I was 15, I was teaching classes and learning how to instruct effectively. I spent a lot of time with 12-, 13-, and 14-year-olds, who in turn spent most of their time squirming around in their uncomfortable uniforms, wanting to talk to their friends or test paper airplanes instead of learning about citizenship and drill. Being that Cadets is a military-esque organization, well... let's just say I didn't take a lot of (for lack of a better word) crap from them. The summer before university, I was an instructor at an Air Cadet summer training centre in Bagotville, QC. I was responsible for one group of 25 kids, aged 13-15, for three weeks, and when they left another batch took their place for the last three weeks. I taught them classes during the day, but I also played the role of camp counsellor, rounding them up to go to the beach, making sure their beds were made and uniforms spotless, and marching them in formation from place to place. Put a bunch of early teens in a remote location, miles and miles from any parental contact, with 24 partners in crime at their disposal and not much to do in the evenings, and you've got a 'classroom' management situation that would terrify even the toughest of teachers (aka middle school teachers). Aside from the usual angsty drama, my kids also did the following, in no particular order: - tortured a kid so much that he peed in a bottle rather than face leaving his tent - vomited on my boot - accidentally shot a staff member during archery (no one was seriously hurt, thankfully) - had a fight with Axe body spray in an enclosed area - ate so much candy that one kid had headaches that made him scream and cry the next day - crushed up Tylenol and snorted it The list goes on and on, but those are the highlights I can remember right now. Oh, and the Tylenol thing? The incident was reported to myself and my supervisor right away, but the boys vehemently denied it and my boss felt that they were being honest. The next summer, I ran into one of my former cadets, and he informed me that several kids actually had snorted the Tylenol. The kid who initiated it all? He was given an award for leadership and exemplary conduct at the end of the summer. Anyway, all this to say-- I'm fairly no-nonsense when it comes to discipline. I will do my utmost to make my classes interesting and to engage all students, but sometimes that's not enough. I firmly believe that even older students still need routine, structure, and a certain degree of authority in the classroom. If I had to describe my disciplinary style, I would invoke Mary Poppins. She's ingenious, always thinking of unique and interesting things to do and making ordinary things seem extraordinary. But when it comes down to it, she's in charge. She'll use humour or mild sarcasm to get her point across, but the point gets across, no exceptions. As long as I provide my students with a stable, open, and safe classroom environment, it is within my rights to expect them to provide me with their cooperation for 75 minutes a day. The students I plan to teach are learning to be adults. I will treat them with the respect I treat adults if they act with adult-like maturity in return. Is that too much to ask? Probably. There will be many students who don't keep up with their end of the bargain. I'm still fleshing out my disciplinary style and have yet to decide what steps I will take when particular students consistently cause serious problems. As Jon said though, once you figure out how to engage a kid, how to make him or her WANT to learn, the problems seem much less daunting. So I guess I'll start with that. Please comment if you have any personal insights on classroom management and disciplinary style-- or if you have equally horrific camp-counsellor stories! Labels: big questions, classroom management, discipline, students Courtney posted at 7:30 PM - Comments (0) Disciplinary Measures Thursday, July 9, 2009 So I recently read this article: "Yes, these children can" Followed by this rebuttal: "KIPP Schools and What Can We Do For Urban Poor Kids?" I've always thought the authoritarian method of teaching a class to be an interesting line. And I mean that insofar as the question of how discipline contributes and affects our ability to teach. There's no question that an attentive class makes it easier for you to teach and for them to learn. And there's no question that it can be supremely frustrating to teach a class when you're constantly interrupted by a few students. We just posted about "keeners" and how it's important to make your class as relevant and interesting as possible so that, at least, you as a teacher have nothing to reproach yourself about as far as effort, patience, and aptitude... But as all teachers know, sometimes, there are students who simply don't care. I've heard some teachers tell me that it happens more in Applied classes. I myself have seen it enough times in Academic classes to know that it's a little more universal than that. Every so often, you'll have students that, try as you might, just don't care to be in your class and refuse to see any value in anything you teach. When that happens, the issue is no longer a question you "dealing with a problem kid" to quote a popular catchphrase. The question becomes, is it fair for the rest of the students that their teacher's attention is constantly being diverted towards a particular student? I have never been able to come up with a good answer for this. On the one hand, I have 1 or 2 students that I can't seem to hook into my class. We talk a lot about "classroom management" in our own education classes but I have yet to hear one good solution for dealing with 1 particular student who just seems like he/she couldn't care less about you, your class, or their peers. And on the other hand, I have 20 other students in my class that deserve better than what I am able to deliver when I have to constantly attend to a troublemaker (or two). I know people are against the KIPP method of teaching/private schools because they find that authoritarian style of classroom management stifling. And to an extent, it's true. But at the same time, you have to strike a balance somehow don't you? If you have a school where a student that's sent down to the principal's office simply gets a slap on the wrist and sent back up to your class... I can't see how this is very good for you, the student, or his/her peers. As parents, we enforce a set of rules regardless of what our children think because it's for their own good. Should the same principle not apply, to some extent, to a class as well? I constantly worry that, in an effort to get away from control and stunted creativity and all the negative things about a harsh disciplinary system, we might have moved too far into student-driven learning where a teacher is only there to teach/guide the students that want to be taught/guided. Is there a point where our lack of disciplinary measures results in an actual inability to curb students who are literally unresponsive to everything else? Being able to teach is one thing. Being able to teach despite students who don't want to learn is something else entirely. It's the reason why I've always thought that university professors don't really have any excuse not to be good teachers. I mean, think of how many elementary/high school teachers there must be who would LOVE to teach in a class where their students either pay close attention, or at least keep quiet if they don't? Labels: big questions, classroom management, discipline, students Jonathan posted at 9:11 PM - Comments (0)