Teaching the Student

The book states "Teachers shape lives, not by providing a sturdier network of social services, not by helping the child explore the psyche, not by standing on the sidelines and providing strategies designed to capture the game point, buy by equipping students with the intellectual wherewithal necessary to make their way in a world that increasingly demands academic preparation for full societal participation." I really liked this, we're not just teaching students curriculum or certain subjects, it's more than that. What good would any of it do if they didn't know how to take their knowledge, understanding, and skills into society. We need to teach students to be life long learners. But, how do we do this? One of my favorite quote from the books states, "we rarely succeed in teaching subjects unless we teach human beings as well." I think it is so important to teach to the individual rather than teach a subject. We must get to know our students as much as possible. We need to know their strengths and weaknesses so we know better how to help them succeed. Students need to feel affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. It is our job as teachers to ensure that in them. My second grade teacher did a good job at this. I was a very shy student and would rather sit in the back and go unnoticed, but I still felt like I was his favorite student and I could accomplish anything. I think he was able to make all of us feel that way and instill great confidence in each of us. He never made us feel dumb or like we couldn't accomplish something. I think this is one of the most important things you can give a student.

Possibilities

I was reading my friend Randees blog and she wrote about her favorite quote from the reading that I really liked as well. The quote states “Remarkable teachers are aware of the restraints and imperfections of schools. Somehow these teachers see the possibilities more clearly than the impossibilities. They look beyond the things that they can’t change toward the young people, learning environments, curricula, and instruction they can change.” This will probably be kind of difficult at times, but I think it’s so important to stay focused on things you can change and improve rather than things that are out of your control. As a teacher I think there will be many things that we wish we could change for our students, but focusing on things we can’t change and impossibilities is such a waste of time and will get us nowhere. I think focusing on the possibilities not only in teaching but all aspects of life will lead to greater success.

Classroom Communication

Without effective communication it is very easy to be misunderstood. If students understand you as a teacher and how your classroom is run, they will be more willing to help the classroom run smoothly and effectively. Communication in the classroom can also:

• Build a group Identity
• Ensure that the teacher has ways of getting to know students better.
• Enable the teacher to share his or her thinking about teaching.
• Provides shorthand for quick communication among members of the classroom community.

To me these all sound like great things to achieve and have in the classroom. It’s worth taking the time and energy to have effective communication in the classroom. I want to know each of my student’s individual strengths and communicate to them that they are important and valued in my classroom. Students will feel valued if their ideas and thoughts are considered. It’s important to try and see things from their perspective as well as your own. So how do we set this kind of classroom up? Here are some strategies.

• Hold Goal-setting Conferences
• Use Dialogue Journals
• Incorporate Teacher Talk Groups in Lesson Plans.

Many students will talk more freely in small groups than in whole class exchanges. I know I was one of those students. I hated talking in front of the whole class and got too nervous to focus on what I wanted to say. It’s important for all students to be able to communicate in some way. One thing that keeps coming to my mind about classroom communication is morning meetings. If done right I think this could be your biggest tool in helping achieve communication in the classroom. 

Classroom Environment

The classroom environment plays a big role in helping maximize each student’s growth and the class as a whole. It also forms communication from the teacher to the student. There are many different factors that form the environment of the classroom. My first field teachers always had students work up around the classroom. I think this communicated to the students that their work was important and she valued it. She was always changing the stuff on her walls to the unit they were working on. She had posters and word walls up about their current units to offer help and support. I feel she created a great classroom community. If students can’t make connection with the environment around them it probably won’t mean anything to them.

Some other strategies to help build positive environments are:

• Study Students’ cultures- It’s important to understand our students and a little bit about their background in order to help them succeed and grow
• Convey Status-this will not only help build they student who you are recognize doing important and worthwhile things it will also help other students see positive attributes in others. I also think this will help them to look for and notice for themselves positive attributes in others rather than negative.
• Commend Creativity
• Make room for all kinds of learners-It’s important for teachers to realize students learn in all different ways. We must make it possible for all students to learn and grow to their max.
• Help students know about one another- There are many ways to help students get to know each other. My favorite it probably morning meetings. I feel if these are done right they can really bring classroom community and a sense of everyone helping each other learn and succeed. I think the more students really know each other the more they’ll want to help one another succeed.
• Celebrate success – Everyone likes to feel successful. Success helps motivate us to keep learning and growing.

Classroom Vision

In the first part of Chapter three it talks about really getting to know and care about our students. We as teachers need to be much more than dispensers of information, sergeants of behavior, and captains of the test prep.Sometimes it gets overwhelming thinking about everything we will need to know and be able to do. I think it's so important to get to know and really care about our students. I want to be the kind of teacher that shapes my students lives and gives them greater hope and confidence for the future. We've been told several times that our students probably won't remember necessarily what they learned in our classroom, but they will remember how they felt. 

It was also comforting to me to know that even good teachers lose their focus from time to time, but sooner than later the teacher will search for and come back to what their vision is and focus on those students again. I want to see the possibilities more than the impossibilities in my future classroom and learn more then I teach!

Now back to holding my cute new little nephew!!

Student Needs

All Students have needs, some more than others. If we as teachers can't connect with students emotionally we're not going to be very successful at teaching them. If students don't feel safe and secure in the classroom they're going to be more focused on their emotions than learning.  There are five needs learners seek for, which are:

1. Affirmation: I am accepted and acceptable here. I am safe here as I am. People listen to me here. People know how I'm doing, and it matters. My interests and perspectives are acknowledged and acted on. People believe in me here.
2. Contribution: I make a different in this place and in the work in this place.  I bring to this place abilities and perspective that are unique. I help others and the class as a whole succeed. I am connected to others through mutual work on common goals.
3. Power: What I learn is useful to me now. I make choices that contribute to my success. I understand how this place operates and what is expected of me. I know what quality looks like here and how to achieve it. There is dependable support here for my journey.
4. Purpose: I understand what we do here. I see significance in what we do here. What we learn reflects me and my world. The work we do makes a difference in the world. The work absorbs me.
5. Challenge: The work here complements my ability. The work stretches me. I work hard. I am accountable for my own growth and contribution to the growth of others. I often accomplish things here I didn't believe were possible

It’s so important to meet all of your students needs and make them feel safe and valued. It breaks my heart that for a lot of kids, school may be the only place that some or even all of these needs are met. We may never know what they’re facing outside of school so we need to help as much as possible in the classroom. 

My husband and I taught thirteen year-old's at church this week. It was on learning and education. Every one of them said they hated school and asked why they needed to learn certain things they were learning in science, math, and other subjects. They said they would never use it again and it wouldn't help them in life. I think it’s important to teach students what they’re learning is significant and the importance of it. We also need to make learning fun and enjoyable as much as possible.  I'm excited to try things in my classroom to help me all of the needs of students!