Week 3

Teachers have the very important responsibility of shaping the lives of young, impressionable children. With this responsibility comes great pride and joy. Therefore all teachers should strive for what can be considered to be a “good teacher.” A good teacher can be defined as someone who always pushes students to want to do their best while at the same time trying to make learning interesting as well as creative. A positive or negative influence from a teacher early on in life can have a great effect on the life of a child. Teachers, especially at the elementary level, must be very creative with their teaching styles. Not every child learns the same way, nor are they interested in the same things. It is difficult to keep the attention of 16 children under the age of ten. Classroom setup and design is a good way to get and keep the attention of students. This is what my teacher has done in the class. She has seated Pilli( a child with severe behaviour problems) near her chair so that he doesn’t get distracted. I have seen her using workstations in class many times. Workstations are a good way to encourage different types of learning. By allowing children a chance to choose which activities they want to participate in, children are taking control of their own education. By setting high standards for a student, the teacher is encouraging the student to do the same and will eventually develop high expectations for him or herself. A teacher who is constantly looking for the best possible work from the child will force the child to try his or her hardest in order to please the teacher. Going along with this idea is the whole idea of the teacher being interested in the subject matter.

If the students know that the subject they are studying is something that greatly interests the teacher, they will be motivated to try their hardest in order to please the teacher. My colleague teacher is the best example of this type of teacher. Whenever she presents ideas about prehistoric man, her eyes light up and she gets so excited and students are forced to listen to whatever she say.  When time comes to write a draft on particular part of the evolution of man, I found that most of the students tried harder than they ever would just to fascinate the teacher. I consider her to be a good teacher because even if she does not care too much about what she is teaching, she presents it in a way that make it seem like it is her life. This helps students to want to learn Teachers must be open to many different types of people, ideas and cultures. They also must always try to respect the views of everyone. Children from lots of different backgrounds are going to be together in one classroom. The teacher must learn to incorporate everyone’s beliefs into the daily curriculum. Teachers have a lot of responsibility and need to make sure that they make learning a positive experience for all. By being sensitive to the needs of everyone and presenting different ways of doing things, it can be possible for everyone to have an equal opportunity to do their best. Like most prospective student teachers, I was a little apprehensive about "taking the plunge" into classroom teaching.  I had taken a number of methods courses, but I realized that no theoretical class I had even taken could perfectly simulate a real classroom.  The intangibles in any given class, in any given school, can never be encapsulated in a textbook or someone else's methodology.

I would like to talk about two students in my class that always interest me. 

Pilisio is suffering from ADHD. At times, he can be very bossy and irritating and he reacts strongly to criticism. I have found that he really works well with the younger kids. When I observe him out of the class, I often find him helping or playing with kinder-garden students. He is very egoistic and shows off most of the time in front of class. To gain his attention, teacher starts lesson with enthusiasm, excitement, visual signals or with humour and story-telling. To focus his attention, my teacher try and make him draw different things by visualising. This will help him remember lessons. I think to maintain his interest, teacher should give him chance to talk in the class or may be to use computer for desired activity. Avoid doing more than 20 minutes of seat-work with him and try to give him simple decisions to make for himself. A firm but fair structure is essential for daily activities and routine should be strictly adhered to. This enables him to know what is expected of them, knowing that their work is closely monitored. Sufferers generally respond well to the three "R"'s, Routine, Regularity and Repetition. Highlight his strength rather than weakness and use positive reinforcement. William is the gifted student in my class. He is always quiet in the class and has mature thoughts. I always find him worrying about others and have an unusual sense of justice. He always exhibit interests that are different from the rest of the class. He grasps ideas more quickly and in greater depth than his peers. He is very sensitive and has emotional problems. To cater to his needs, Teacher should develop a few other extension activities at the end of the lesson to keep him on-task. He can be paired up with someone who is not as good and might need help. This will keep both of them engaged. Teacher can build challenging curricula that address their needs. William should be encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities so that he can work positively.