One implication is there is a gradual increase of responsibility for the teacher. Through courageous conversations teachers are having with collegial coaches and their peers, teachers are taking charge of their classrooms, and not waiting for the administrator or mentor to give advice. Teachers are answering open-ended question from coaches and peers and making self-reflections that are having positive impacts in their classrooms. The second implication is the courageous conversations that the teachers are having in their buildings. Teachers are coming out of their classrooms and meeting with other teachers and sharing strategies, and asking questions that have other teachers thinking about how to have more successful classroom experiences.
Ms. Rodgers mentions that the class rules and reward program play a major part in trying to prevent behaviors. Her reward program provides points for students for achieving certain academic goals, behavioral goals and classroom goals as a community. She has set forth and feeling of community in her classroom, using the student’s desks as “houses” and with students sitting close to one another, her class is run like a neighborhood. She uses things like being nice to your neighbor and “doing things for the community” as positive behavior reinforcement. She shared with me an example that one of her classified students did in order to receive reward points.
For example, if a student is in this specific teacher's class, he or she will be bombarded with material the teacher presents. Even though this can be vigorous, the student will attain a greater amount of intellect. The downside to informative teachers is that they barely have time to develop a relationship with their students, being that they are spending most their time solely teaching. Secondly, nonchalant teachers are the type to have most students fall asleep in class. Known to be very mono-toned and apathetic, nonchalant teachers are extremely boring in many opinions.
Mike Rose, an American professor, was doing research in many classrooms around the country. He had visited good and bad classrooms until he was impressed with these rooms which he called the democratic classrooms because they presented “the embodiments of democratic ideal” (45). He concluded his theory that the authority had to come from both students and teachers, which made the democratic classroom successful. First, Mike Rose described the good authority of safety and a respectful space. The teacher provided physical and mental safety from insult and diminishment.
When going to a class, one should hope for a professor with strict guidelines and grade policies in order to retain the knowledge necessary to excel in college. The average student would praise the instructor that came to class for a short amount of time and didn't show any interest in the classroom, got done early and left. But that doesn't help the student in the least. A good professor shows they care by asking questions and getting the class involved in the lecture. They don't just please the overall thirst for an “easy A.” Strict professors are good professors when it comes down to getting the job done in the classroom.
“A Minnesota teacher of seventh and ninth grades says that she has to spend extra time in class editing papers and must 'explicitly' remind her students that is is not acceptable to use text slang and abbreviations in writing” (Cullington 89). Also, “many complain that because texting does not stress the importance of punctuation, students are neglecting it in their formal writing” (Cullington 89). These points are valid, but the evidence is limited because it is based on a few personal experiences, rather then a large study with much more research.
Professors want to convey plenty of knowledge to today’s students. It is the duty of teachers to preserve the cultural heritage of the students. Most of our students have no desire to take some of the courses in college, but take them just to fill graduation requirements. Some job schedules make it impossible for them to attend more than thirty percent of classes. These students never have any study time or time to do homework.
My cooperating teacher told me that it’s a good thing if the administration knows your name for positive things not for discipline problems you cannot take care of in your own classroom. As I have had to learn by experience and practice, classroom management is all based on judgment calls. There is no rule book for classroom management and each and every class is different. Having read this book a few months ago when EDU 511 first started I have had a lot of time to be in the classroom. In practice, there are certain behaviors that I have learned to ignore.
I tried to keep focus but my solitude was starting to become unbearable. Yes there were many students around but they all seemed to have their own network since they knew their classmates from their previous schools while all of my friends were in regular ed classes. I started to rebel and slacked off so much that teachers began to wonder why i was in a advanced class since they thought i couldn't hack their work load when in reality all i wanted to do was be placed in regular ed just to be with my friends. Odd and dumb reason, i know but I didn't know that at the time. Eventually I was moved from classes due to my insubordination and i was content at the time.
It ceased to be an AP English class; it had become a free-for-all open period. Ultimately this became a disadvantage both for the teacher, and her students. Because of her lack of authority, we learned very little in