New Realizations

The more time I am in the classroom student teaching, the more I am learning, whether I realize it or not. Some things are minor "tricks of the trade" so to speak, like covering one year long bulletin board with a seasonal board to save the time of taking one down, putting one up, taking that one down, and putting the original back up (thanks Jnet!).

Other things are much bigger, things you don't learn in teacher prep classes.

The first thing I am realizing is that you have to be consistent. Of course we talk about this related to assessment and things like that, but nothing related to classroom management. I am the type of person who likes to give people a ton of second chances, so instead of adhering to the discipline system of our school (the Make Your Day protocol) I tend to give warnings... again and again. When I am up in front of the class I don't even realize I am giving so many warnings, but when I reflect on my teaching for the day, those warnings surface in the forefront of my mind and the students sure realize that they can get away with much more when I am teaching than when my cooperating teacher is in the front of the room. Luckily I realize this early enough and I have been working on not giving warnings, just setting expectations and helping students choose the consequences for not following those expectations.

That idea directly relates to my other realization for the day: you really do need to start off the year firm with the students. I am a softy if there ever was one. I do not like being firm with the students because I am always worried that my firmness will hurt their feelings. However, I really do realize the more I am student teaching that you really do have to be firm with students. That's not to say you have to be mean, because that is not the case at all! It is just necessary to set expectations for students and hold them to those expectations. In a way, teachers have to train their students to behave the way that will enable them to get the most from their learning and to understand what actions are appropriate for each activity, whether that be math, writing, or walking in the hallway. In addition, the students really respond positively to the firmness. They may not always like it in the heat of the moment when they are being held accountable for their actions, but overall, they build so much more respect for the person who holds them accountable as well as trust for that person as a teacher and support system in their lives. This firmness gives students boundaries and a clear cut way for them to understand what is okay, as well as what is not okay to do during the day. As the year progresses, I can see a teacher being able to be slightly less firm with the students because they will have been trained to act appropriately and follow certain expectations, that those actions will become almost second nature to them. Until then, it is necessary to be firm with students, regardless of how much I am hesitant to do so.

All in all, I am really enjoying student teaching: learning the little tricks that help teachers or just inadvertently making a huge realization that will positively impact the management of the classroom this year, as well as the management of future classrooms I will be in charge of.

If I can give one piece of advice to any student teacher out there it would be to spend as much time as possible in the classroom. The time you devote to learning the ins and outs of the profession now will pay off in a big way in the long run!