The cerebrum -- which is just Latin for "brain" -- is the newest (evolutionarily) and largest part of the brain as a whole. It is here that things like perception, imagination, thought, judgment, and decision occur. I hope you are thoughtful as you leave your comments on this blog.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Classroom Management by Gene Van Tassell
With respect to paradigm shift, analyze and give your thoughts about "structure" versus "process" as it relates to the classroom management theories in this article.
In respect to the paradigm shift, I feel that assertive discipline can definitely have negative effects. For example, a teacher may have constantly used assertive discipline and complete control of her classes year after year. Unbeknownst to her, she had been negatively affecting her students’ self esteem constantly, never realizing it until it was too late; one of her students had committed suicide. Could this be related to the reason that suicide rates have increased as stated in the article? Whether yes or no, this teacher may now approach classroom management with a different view, and feel strongly about reducing assertive discipline in her classroom.
I agree with the recommendations of role playing in reality, so teachers are able to get a true sense of what situations they may encounter. I also think classroom management should be a topic often revisited by educators; new techniques arise, some will not always work. More importantly, the students walking through our doors each September are different from previous years.
After reading "Classroom Management" by Tassell, I reflected back on an incident that occurred during my observations last semester. The incident involved a fifteen year teacher and a tenth grade student. The student entered the classroom and appeared to be angry and frustrated. He sat down at his desk and began talking to another student about a fight that was going to take place after school between him and another student. The teacher overheard his conversation and told him to stop talking and get to work. He looked at her in disbelief and said, "F@%! this" and refused to take off his backpack. She began to scream and threaten him with sending him to the Principals office. She also jotted down that he was being uncooperative and told him that he was going to get a check minus for his behavior today. Again, she threaten him with the Principal. Suddenly he responded, "I don't care Ms., fail me send me to the Principal, I don't care" to this the teacher yelled louder and kicked him out. He happily gathered his belongings and told her he would prefer to be in the Principals office than in her class. I agree with Melissa's statement that assertive discipline may lower self esteem. In this particular incident it was obvious that the student entered the classroom angry and didn't care if the teacher overheard his conversation. He was already feeling bad and totop things off he gets kicked out for expressing his feelings to a classmate. She could have taken a different approach and asked to speak to him outside the class. This would have given him an opportunity to state his feelings and prevent him from having to get kicked out and missing another lesson.
I also feel role playing can be effective but the reality is we should always expect the unexpected from our students. Every teacher wants to control her classroom and the students but most some students are constantly controlled in one form or another by parents or peers and the last thing they want is to be controlled for 7 hours, five days a week.
I'm guessing the paradigm shift here is assertive discipline to other models of classroom management. Previously, teachers believed the best classroom management system to use is assertive discipline but research showed that this type of disciplining had negative effects on students' self esteem.
Recently I watched this video on what really motivates people. This one software company decided to give their employees 24 hours to work on whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted however they wanted and then to show the results to the company at the end of the 24 hours. By being less controlling, employees were able to come up with a whole array of software fixes and new products ideas within 24 hours otherwise would have never emerged. Which makes me relate it to how if a teacher is really controlling in the classroom how much of the students' creativity and innovation are being suppressed?
I agree with both Melissa and Priscilla. As aspiring teachers or for those who are already teaching, we understand that we are life-long learners. Which is why like Melissa said, classroom management techniques should be re-evaluated. This shows me how important it is for teachers to be flexible.
As for the story that Priscilla shared, it shows how important it is for teachers to be empathetic.
It definitely will be challenging though to exercise these new theories in the classroom. During one of my classroom observations there was a student who was not completing his homework assignments. He wasn't allowed to play in recess and he also had to go to the assistant principal's office. Upon his return to the classroom he was really upset and the assistant principle spoke to him in front of the entire class, "If you do not do your work, I will have to call your father in, do you want me to do that?" He ended up bursting out in tears. As Professor Smith said, one of a child's worse fear in school is public embarrassment. For the rest of the period the little boy had his head down on the table and refused to do work. The teacher tried to console him though which I thought was nice because I think at that point we all felt pretty bad for him.
Something else that resonated with me in this article is how when 60 to 70 years olds were asked to think back to their school experiences, a majority of them were negative ones. When I moved to America I didn't speak a word of English. When I was placed into a 2nd grade classroom my teacher sat me next to a girl who spoke both Chinese and English. She would be my peer tutor in class. In the 3rd grade I sat next to the same girl. One day, my 3rd grade teacher yelled at us for talking so much and separated us. I remember crying in class. It turned out okay though. But it just goes to show that public punishment really leaves a mark.
This was a very interesting article. One thing that surprised me was the constant use of the word "control." Many teachers associate control with classroom management, when in turn, after reading this article and the previous one as well, I think possibly less emphasis on control will benefit the classroom environment more. I have seen classrooms that are "controlled" in a sense where the students do not act out at all...yet they don't look like they are enjoying their time in the classroom. It is important for a student to enjoy learning, and not just go through the motions because they are afraid of their teacher. The class I an observing in now, there are very few times where the teacher reprimands a student for misbehavior. There are students who act out a few times a day, however, the teacher does not make a big deal out of it, meaning she will say something like, "What do you think you could have done better? Are you making good choices?" Also, this class is very student centered. The students are very independent (this is a 1st grade class) and are constantly moving around and enjoy their time in school. I think by the teacher allowing the students to be more autonomous, they don't feel the need to act out in a rebellious way. "Many students do not know how to manage their behavior." I agree with that statement said by Edwards, because it is our job to teach these students how to manage their behavior as well, that way they can learn to do it on their own.
Training is important, but as teachers we need to be flexible and creative, in that we need to constantly think and invent new strategies to accommodate our students, because a one day seminar class is not enough.
About two years ago I had a girl in my ninth grade class that quietly refused to participate in classroom activities. I approached her many times about her inactivity and she would always swear she would try harder the next day. Finally, I went to her previous teacher and asked him why she was so unresponsive and disconnected. He told me “I don’t know, she’s been failing all year, she doesn’t care” and shrugged his shoulders. I went to her guidance counselor and asked if there was anything I needed to know about her family or school history that would maybe explain her behavior. I found out that at the beginning of the school year her mother packed up and left in the middle of the night and never gave her father, or her siblings, any reason why. As teachers, we never truly know what goes on when that child leaves our class. I never heard of a paradigm shift before but reflecting back on my experiences, the situation with my ninth grade student was definitely eye-opening. Soon after, a school intervention took place with her teachers and her father in order to help her deal with her grief and improve her grades. The article by Gene Van Tassell discussed old and new classroom management techniques. What I think is important to remember (and what we discussed in class) is that what techniques work for you, may not work for the teacher across the hall. The article talks about assertive discipline and how important control is inside of a classroom… “This emphasis on control is so pervasive that control by teachers is often seen by educators as more important than the learning that goes on in the classroom”. I thought this quote was so ridiculous and seems to be outdated in its theory (it is from 1994). The focus should not be control; instead, the focus should be on being an effective teacher. A teacher should get to know each and every student in order to understand that student’s behavior, whether it be positive or negative. I believe that teachers should question WHY a negative behavior occurs instead of chalking it up to “…she doesn’t care.” I agreed with the quote from Curwin and Mendler that points out that some teachers are wrong with their assumptions on poor behavior, “…behavior problems in the classroom might possibly be a function of poor teaching”.
I thought Jenny's blog was so interesting about the employees given freedom to create..."By being less controlling, employees were able to come up with a whole array of software fixes and new products ideas within 24 hours otherwise would have never emerged. Which makes me relate it to how if a teacher is really controlling in the classroom how much of the students' creativity and innovation are being suppressed?" I agree completely. If students are given no privileges or not allowed to express themselves creatively, how much learning is actually taking place? The more options a student is given, the more active role that student will take in the learning process. This goes back to increasing autonomy by allowing a student to try out different roles in the classroom or by providing options.
We discussed in class that paradigm shift means a change in basic assumptions. This article had a lot of information conatained in it which would allow one to change their basic assumptions of the ffectivness of assertive discipline. I had the same reaction as Olivia, in that I was surprised at how often the word 'control' was used. Personally, I think control can have a very negative connotation. In the control theory, it states that the teacher should teach the students to choose how they act. I agree that it is important for the teacher not to control their students, but to demonstrate and teach students to make the right choices about their behaviors. In a similar sense, Glasser states that it is important that teacher's allow students to make decisions about wanting to learn and wanting to do well, rather than demanding it. I had previously learned about Theory X and Theory Y in a Business Management class. We watched several videos of companies who employed the 2 different methods. In the end, Theory Y always proved to be more productive with its employees. Richard Brandson, one of the wealthiest and most famous business men in the world, is a strong believer in Theory Y. He has a very unique way of managing his employees. He is a large advocate and being personal, being creative, and allowing for autonomy. The amount of success he has seen proves that having complete control is not always the best way to manage. I liked the quote, "a vision of a perfect classroom has less room for managers, but lots of room for leaders." The paradigm of structure versus process is that a structure leaves little room for change or altering to fit the needs of different students. Whereas process focuses on what methods/actions work so that the students overcome obstacles and come to a state of self-control and self-motivation.
7 comments:
In respect to the paradigm shift, I feel that assertive discipline can definitely have negative effects. For example, a teacher may have constantly used assertive discipline and complete control of her classes year after year. Unbeknownst to her, she had been negatively affecting her students’ self esteem constantly, never realizing it until it was too late; one of her students had committed suicide. Could this be related to the reason that suicide rates have increased as stated in the article? Whether yes or no, this teacher may now approach classroom management with a different view, and feel strongly about reducing assertive discipline in her classroom.
I agree with the recommendations of role playing in reality, so teachers are able to get a true sense of what situations they may encounter. I also think classroom management should be a topic often revisited by educators; new techniques arise, some will not always work. More importantly, the students walking through our doors each September are different from previous years.
After reading "Classroom Management" by Tassell, I reflected back on an incident that occurred during my observations last semester. The incident involved a fifteen year teacher and a tenth grade student. The student entered the classroom and appeared to be angry and frustrated. He sat down at his desk and began talking to another student about a fight that was going to take place after school between him and another student. The teacher overheard his conversation and told him to stop talking and get to work. He looked at her in disbelief and said, "F@%! this" and refused to take off his backpack. She began to scream and threaten him with sending him to the Principals office. She also jotted down that he was being uncooperative and told him that he was going to get a check minus for his behavior today. Again, she threaten him with the Principal. Suddenly he responded, "I don't care Ms., fail me send me to the Principal, I don't care" to this the teacher yelled louder and kicked him out. He happily gathered his belongings and told her he would prefer to be in the Principals office than in her class.
I agree with Melissa's statement that assertive discipline may lower self esteem. In this particular incident it was obvious that the student entered the classroom angry and didn't care if the teacher overheard his conversation. He was already feeling bad and totop things off he gets kicked out for expressing his feelings to a classmate. She could have taken a different approach and asked to speak to him outside the class. This would have given him an opportunity to state his feelings and prevent him from having to get kicked out and missing another lesson.
I also feel role playing can be effective but the reality is we should always expect the unexpected from our students. Every teacher wants to control her classroom and the students but most some students are constantly controlled in one form or another by parents or peers and the last thing they want is to be controlled for 7 hours, five days a week.
I'm guessing the paradigm shift here is assertive discipline to other models of classroom management.
Previously, teachers believed the best classroom management system to use is assertive discipline but research showed that this type of disciplining had negative effects on students' self esteem.
Recently I watched this video on what really motivates people. This one software company decided to give their employees 24 hours to work on whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted however they wanted and then to show the results to the company at the end of the 24 hours. By being less controlling, employees were able to come up with a whole array of software fixes and new products ideas within 24 hours otherwise would have never emerged. Which makes me relate it to how if a teacher is really controlling in the classroom how much of the students' creativity and innovation are being suppressed?
I agree with both Melissa and Priscilla. As aspiring teachers or for those who are already teaching, we understand that we are life-long learners. Which is why like Melissa said, classroom management techniques should be re-evaluated. This shows me how important it is for teachers to be flexible.
As for the story that Priscilla shared, it shows how important it is for teachers to be empathetic.
It definitely will be challenging though to exercise these new theories in the classroom. During one of my classroom observations there was a student who was not completing his homework assignments. He wasn't allowed to play in recess and he also had to go to the assistant principal's office. Upon his return to the classroom he was really upset and the assistant principle spoke to him in front of the entire class, "If you do not do your work, I will have to call your father in, do you want me to do that?" He ended up bursting out in tears. As Professor Smith said, one of a child's worse fear in school is public embarrassment. For the rest of the period the little boy had his head down on the table and refused to do work. The teacher tried to console him though which I thought was nice because I think at that point we all felt pretty bad for him.
Something else that resonated with me in this article is how when 60 to 70 years olds were asked to think back to their school experiences, a majority of them were negative ones. When I moved to America I didn't speak a word of English. When I was placed into a 2nd grade classroom my teacher sat me next to a girl who spoke both Chinese and English. She would be my peer tutor in class. In the 3rd grade I sat next to the same girl. One day, my 3rd grade teacher yelled at us for talking so much and separated us. I remember crying in class. It turned out okay though. But it just goes to show that public punishment really leaves a mark.
This was a very interesting article. One thing that surprised me was the constant use of the word "control." Many teachers associate control with classroom management, when in turn, after reading this article and the previous one as well, I think possibly less emphasis on control will benefit the classroom environment more. I have seen classrooms that are "controlled" in a sense where the students do not act out at all...yet they don't look like they are enjoying their time in the classroom. It is important for a student to enjoy learning, and not just go through the motions because they are afraid of their teacher. The class I an observing in now, there are very few times where the teacher reprimands a student for misbehavior. There are students who act out a few times a day, however, the teacher does not make a big deal out of it, meaning she will say something like, "What do you think you could have done better? Are you making good choices?" Also, this class is very student centered. The students are very independent (this is a 1st grade class) and are constantly moving around and enjoy their time in school. I think by the teacher allowing the students to be more autonomous, they don't feel the need to act out in a rebellious way. "Many students do not know how to manage their behavior." I agree with that statement said by Edwards, because it is our job to teach these students how to manage their behavior as well, that way they can learn to do it on their own.
Training is important, but as teachers we need to be flexible and creative, in that we need to constantly think and invent new strategies to accommodate our students, because a one day seminar class is not enough.
About two years ago I had a girl in my ninth grade class that quietly refused to participate in classroom activities. I approached her many times about her inactivity and she would always swear she would try harder the next day. Finally, I went to her previous teacher and asked him why she was so unresponsive and disconnected. He told me “I don’t know, she’s been failing all year, she doesn’t care” and shrugged his shoulders. I went to her guidance counselor and asked if there was anything I needed to know about her family or school history that would maybe explain her behavior. I found out that at the beginning of the school year her mother packed up and left in the middle of the night and never gave her father, or her siblings, any reason why.
As teachers, we never truly know what goes on when that child leaves our class. I never heard of a paradigm shift before but reflecting back on my experiences, the situation with my ninth grade student was definitely eye-opening. Soon after, a school intervention took place with her teachers and her father in order to help her deal with her grief and improve her grades.
The article by Gene Van Tassell discussed old and new classroom management techniques. What I think is important to remember (and what we discussed in class) is that what techniques work for you, may not work for the teacher across the hall. The article talks about assertive discipline and how important control is inside of a classroom… “This emphasis on control is so pervasive that control by teachers is often seen by educators as more important than the learning that goes on in the classroom”. I thought this quote was so ridiculous and seems to be outdated in its theory (it is from 1994). The focus should not be control; instead, the focus should be on being an effective teacher. A teacher should get to know each and every student in order to understand that student’s behavior, whether it be positive or negative. I believe that teachers should question WHY a negative behavior occurs instead of chalking it up to “…she doesn’t care.” I agreed with the quote from Curwin and Mendler that points out that some teachers are wrong with their assumptions on poor behavior, “…behavior problems in the classroom might possibly be a function of poor teaching”.
I thought Jenny's blog was so interesting about the employees given freedom to create..."By being less controlling, employees were able to come up with a whole array of software fixes and new products ideas within 24 hours otherwise would have never emerged. Which makes me relate it to how if a teacher is really controlling in the classroom how much of the students' creativity and innovation are being suppressed?" I agree completely. If students are given no privileges or not allowed to express themselves creatively, how much learning is actually taking place? The more options a student is given, the more active role that student will take in the learning process. This goes back to increasing autonomy by allowing a student to try out different roles in the classroom or by providing options.
We discussed in class that paradigm shift means a change in basic assumptions. This article had a lot of information conatained in it which would allow one to change their basic assumptions of the ffectivness of assertive discipline. I had the same reaction as Olivia, in that I was surprised at how often the word 'control' was used. Personally, I think control can have a very negative connotation.
In the control theory, it states that the teacher should teach the students to choose how they act. I agree that it is important for the teacher not to control their students, but to demonstrate and teach students to make the right choices about their behaviors. In a similar sense, Glasser states that it is important that teacher's allow students to make decisions about wanting to learn and wanting to do well, rather than demanding it.
I had previously learned about Theory X and Theory Y in a Business Management class. We watched several videos of companies who employed the 2 different methods. In the end, Theory Y always proved to be more productive with its employees. Richard Brandson, one of the wealthiest and most famous business men in the world, is a strong believer in Theory Y. He has a very unique way of managing his employees. He is a large advocate and being personal, being creative, and allowing for autonomy. The amount of success he has seen proves that having complete control is not always the best way to manage. I liked the quote, "a vision of a perfect classroom has less room for managers, but lots of room for leaders."
The paradigm of structure versus process is that a structure leaves little room for change or altering to fit the needs of different students. Whereas process focuses on what methods/actions work so that the students overcome obstacles and come to a state of self-control and self-motivation.
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