Andrew+D

Andrew Dua __ Chapter 10 __ I found many connections with Marvin Marshall’s approach to discipline in the classroom. I first noticed that Marshall was a teacher himself which makes taking advice from more noteworthy. I constantly try to find my students’ internal motivation towards Spanish, which is why I look for interesting review games, and impose group interaction and discussions. However, being a first year teacher, I find this to be a continual stressful demand of my job. He mentions at various times to promote democracy in the classroom, which I admit sometimes I overlook suggestions from my students just to continue with the planned lesson. I also plan to implement next year on the first day Marshall’s Hierarchy of Social Development. I believe now that if I present my students with the various levels of behavior in the classroom, they will be able to know at what level I want them to be. If they stray from that level, I just have to remind them of the level without going into great detail what that level represents, therefore refraining from any possible arguments or disputes. I also found useful guided choice questions that students can fill out when they are not on the level they should be in class. I feel this can be helpful when I am forced to stop my lesson because two students are getting into an argument. I plan to utilize this as soon as possible because currently, when there is a dispute, I have to refer back to the argument after I finish the lesson and students are already working on the activity. I pull the disruptive students outside so we can talk about the problem. I believe by using the guided questions, students will know that any disruption that may lead to acting on other levels of behavior would require guided questions to complete. __ Chapter 11 __ I was really interested in reading this chapter for many reasons. One, Mr. Seganti was a middle school/high school teacher teaching in some difficult areas of Los Angeles. Being able to see what works in those situations would really set the limits for all teaching conditions. Also, his rules of the classroom set the responsibility of the students. I found his tactics for following rules to be straight forward. If the student broke a rule, he/she had a 15 minute detention. I loved his ideas, such as this one; however, in my current teaching situation teachers cannot hold students after school. Additionally, I do not have a classroom to give detentions during lunch. Therefore, much of his beliefs about behavior management may not work in my working conditions. Furthermore, I see where Mr. Seganti is coming from when he says that if the student does not come to the detention, they get suspended from the class until they write the rules to the classroom and come to the 15 minute detention. However, I find that administrators and parents might come down on the teacher for “relatively minor” offenses in the classroom. I feel today, especially in urban settings, this suspension tactic would not work when there are far more problems with to contend. This chapter was engaging and I will take much of what he says into account, especially determining and setting the limits of my classroom on the first day of school. __ Chapter 12 __ I enjoyed how this chapter was a review of previous chapters emphasizing the fact to continually talk to students as people and not force them to see your point of view. I sometimes feel when I teach that I desperately want to stay on the content matter and for the students to see where I am coming from that I don’t take into consideration how they view the lesson. Especially with those constant misbehaving students, I don’t want to listen to what they have to say because it may distract from what I am teaching. I do need to listen more on their suggestions and their input on a lesson. Since I see the different classes once a week, I feel when I am there, I must solely teach the new material. There is no time for misbehaving and I get more frustrated with the misbehaving student each week. However, recently I began taking deep breaths before each class and deal with one misbehaving student at a time. As Stephen Covey and Ginot emphasize to listen more of where your students are coming from, I take my students aside and talk to them about the misbehavior I saw in class and we discuss it as two individuals. Usually, the student says they understand my point of view by needing to stay quiet and listen for instructions. They tend to get their thoughts together before re-entering my class. During the rest of the class period they are relatively back on tract. I liked the point mentioned in this chapter by Tom Daly to take a walk with your student. When I was a TSS worker for a student with ADHD, we would take walks and talk about any topic. Usually his behavior improved after our talks as he was more focused in class. I wish I could do this more with my students but there is no time in the daily schedule. __ Chapter 13 __ I found this chapter to mention many key ideas and beliefs found in previous chapters. Also, it tended to be more universal than directly focused on schools, a theme I did not find as useful as the other chapters. I think the focus on civility in schools is important as Michele Borba, one of the chapter experts states, “schools offer one of the last bastions of hope for developing sound character in our young”. I like Diane Gossen’s “Restitution Triangle” as it makes children focus on what they did and how to change their misbehavior in the classroom and I think I could implement one when I have a classroom. I see this being done when teachers have “cool down” corners where misbehaving students have to reflect on what they did and write about how they can improve their behavior if that situation would arise again. I feel most of the principals established by these experts in this chapter should be directed towards parents, not teachers. After reading this chapter, I feel my job is in two components: teacher and parent. Civility is an issue that I believe should be rooted in the home and only flourish in the classroom. Overall, I found this chapter to only reiterate what other chapters stated and that is to respect students and treat them as they should treat others.

EDUC 531 Chapter 2-5 Reflection

__ Chapter 2 __ This chapter was useful in what to expect for various situations in the classroom. I appreiated the section on what teachers often do to creat misbehavior in the classroom. As teachers are only humans, I sometimes forget that we make mistakes and have to catch ourselves to be more progressive educators. I also found the section going over the age groups and what to expect in a certain grade level is important. I will look this over more when I am planning lessons, always keeping in mind who my students are.

__ Chapter 3 __ Chapter three was very insightful as it focused on many of the behaviorioral, neurological, and emotional problems teachers often see in their classrooms. I was astonished that on page 44, the statisitcs of children with numerous disorders were so high. I feel this chapter focuses on many important factors that effect the classroom and the overall experience of learning and teaching that was not so prevalent even ten years ago. I found the explanations of each disorder and a short scenario allowed me to compare certain behaviors that I see with certain students when I teach. This also allows me to not get as frusterated when a student who has a certain disorder is out of line and not doing what he/she is suppose.

__ Chapter 4 __ I found this chapter to be confusing. While there are many insightful ideas and steps to a more manageble classroom, I feel there are conflicting approaches between all of the creaters of different management systems. However, I did find many universal themes between them such as treating the student as you would want to be treated. Overall, I felt confused and unsatisfied with what approach I should follow more often. Also, this chapter explains what the theorists feel is the correct approach but does not give examples of how their approach works/worked in the classroom.

__ Chapter 5 __ I enjoyed this chapter about Ronald Morrish’s beliefs towards educational discipline. I find what he says to be true with a lot of my classroom management problems, especially because I do not see my students often and he says setting the limits and rules of the classroom are key, an element I often overlooked during the first weeks of the school year. I find the discipline plan he suggests is a clear, simple, and direct way of establishing positive behavior in the classroom. I, overall, agree with his educational discipline style and approach and I hope to implement more of what he suggests to be the route for positive behavior in my classroom.