kathy

Kathy Tevelson EDUC 531 Classroom Management Dr. Patricia Williams  ** Chapter 2 Reflection ** Chapter 2 of // Building Classroom Management //transported me back to my elementary, middle, and high school years. I remembered how I felt being a student at each level of school; the thrill of being the biggest kids in the school, the 4th graders, and the fear of being the youngest as a 5th grader, and the anxiety and dread when my we moved to a new town after my freshman year in high school and not only did I attend a new school, I was the new student. I sympathize and empathize with the new kids in the school—they kids who feel like they don’t yet belong. During that time I looked to my fellow students for that sense of belonging but where I really gained that acceptance initially was from my new teachers. Looking at this experience from an adult perspective I see how important it was for me to receive a sense of security, hope, and belonging from my teachers. As a future teacher I understand that I will be the one that students will look to for that acceptance. I grew up in a white, middle class, Christian township, and unlike my experience, I will be teaching children who come from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. I must recall how I felt being the new student and I must draw on those feelings to connect with my diverse student population, especially if obtain my ELL certification. I must ensure that my students obtain a sense of acceptance, competence, and hope from me so that they succeed and not succumb to inappropriate habits and temptations. I will help my students to champion themselves to guard against poor behavior choices and I must ensure that I do not succumb to personal frustration, and I must provide effective guidance for and feedback to my students.  ** Chapter 3 Reflection ** While growing up I do not remember encountering children with behavioral conditions. We used terms such as “bad,” or “trouble maker.” The science of diagnosing children with neurological-based behavior didn’t exist as we know it today, at least not to our knowledge. If children in my school were “problem kids,” they were given detention or expelled. Oftentimes, teachers took matters into their own hands and children were hit, pushed, or loudly yelled at—humiliated—children in my school days were humiliated into better behavior, but that didn’t always work. Problem kids were the ones who usually became the “burn outs,” ie, the kids who resorted to drugs to cope with their issues. I do not remember children in my classes with learning disabilities; I do not remember if special needs kids were in our school and shut away in a special education room or if they were shipped off to special needs schools. The only special needs kid I remember was in my high school. He had cerebral palsy and was mainstreamed for most of his classes. He also was a popular kid because his brother was the jock of the school. If he didn’t have his brother in the same school he would have been ostracized. Diagnoses such as ADHD, ODD, and bipolar disorder were unheard of in mainstream society and using medication for bad behavior simply wasn’t done.  ** Chapter 4 Reflection ** Because I attended elementary school in the late 1960s early 1970s and middle school in the early through mid-1970s, corporal punishment was still used in our schools, and especially in catechism, or CCD. Although many of these theorists were prominent in the 1950s through the 1970s, I do not remember teachers using the concepts these theorists presented. I remember specific teachers who we thought had “withitness,” but most of the teachers didn’t have withitness. Most of my teachers taught in an old-fashioned style and used punishment as a form of behavior control and classroom management. They did not try to manage behavior. Some teachers had better classroom management than others, but I do not recall the practices of these theorists being used. Although the theories are important and helpful, I did not find this chapter particularly interesting.  ** Chapter 5 Reflection ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I believe that Morrish’s “Real Discipline” approach is a good one. Teaching children respect, responsibility, and cooperativeness is extremely important, especially teaching them right from wrong. However, today’s society allows much leeway; consequences do not seem to matter to today’s kids. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The difference between today’s kids and the children of my generation (I’m dating myself) is that our parents were the ones who taught us how to behave, how to be respectful, and how to accept authority and this would carry over into school. We would never think of treating an adult, let alone a teacher, disrespectfully. We knew that our parents would discipline us and although we would have to comply the consequences would not be acceptable. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">