Goodbye Mr. Chair

I have some kiddos who like to tip their chair. I was a young boy once, and I actually tipped my chair some myself. I still do, from time to time, as an adult. When I was younger I actually tipped back and hit my head, gashing my head open. It probably seemed worse than it was, but I still tell people that I split my head open.

Where am I going? Right, chairs in class! So I have given reminders upon reminders about 6 legs on the floor, four for the chair and two for you. But that got tiresome. Following the idea that the punishment should fit the crime, I decided that you'd lose your chair if you tipped your chair after being warned (got all that?).

I took a chair away yesterday at 1:30, and then had to do it again this morning... at 9:06am. No problems thereafter. After the first 2-3 times of him asking, he stopped asking and was on his knees by his desk, or working under his desk. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully he keeps his chair.

Our Own Worst Enemies

Ideally student teaching is collaborative. The intern is watching and questioning the master teacher in order to gain more knowledge for the who/what/when/where/(and most importantly) why of the classroom. In that ideal paradigm, the intern transitions into the classroom and troubleshoots instruction, management, etc with their master teacher.

Unfortunately we are human, and the ideal doesn't necessarily work out. In my case it has been quite collegial, but I am not so sure for others in other schools. Why? Well we get in our own way, and we begin to think that we can do things better than the people before us. Even worse is ignoring the experience of the classroom teacher in favor of your own new world perspective, the first person to see land... "Ahoy!"

Where am I going? Well the two cohorts that are student teaching met yesterday to discussion management issues we might be seeing in our respective classrooms. The phrase told to us before and after, a large small (4 groups of 15+ roughly) group discussion was "You all are your own best resources." We are, we can offer a myriad of experiences as well as the wealth of 40+ different master teachers (likely 200-400 years, collectively, of classroom experience).

I don't believe that statement is meant to mean: you alone are the best resources you have. Instead, we should be troubleshooting from what we have seen/experienced, and with something more than a nod to our master teachers attempts to quell management issues. I doubt that our master teachers are at their "wits end," leaving us to clean up a mess. Perhaps they have in other cases, but I haven't seen it. While I certainly have management issues to work through, I don't see them as much different from those that my master teacher was dealing with.... so you start from what has already been done, you think about the root of the issue, and you work to find a solution that will work for the betterment of the greater learning environment.

Learning How to Line Up

We learned how to line up today. I've let some of the little things go- kids on chairs at circle, some kids sitting at desks at circle, a little less orderly in line. My glossing over those things doesn't help when we flip flop, because when someone else expects them to be in order (or be more than a mob) they won't comply. I need to take stock of my surroundings, and understand that my own looseness isn't helping them in the long run. I their teacher for 6-10 weeks, while this is their home for 6 YEARS. When in Rome, be a bit more Roman, no?

It isn't that I am Napoleon visiting Rome, or even some wee serf. I have been fortunate to try out some ideas, and to have some work fairly well. But I must also be aware of how my classroom, and my kids, are perceived by others in the building. If we walk down to lunch as a mob (more happy and hungry than angry) while others are in lines, I should instill some discipline and get them in a line. My tolerance for noise is another one of those items that is less bothersome to me, but makes me look like I have little to no order.

All of this makes me want to read the Last Days of Socrates again.