My Teaching Experiences

I forgot to write the other day on something very important: Ms. Gratton's teaching style and classroom management. I've been noticing it lately and the ways in which it differs from my own. Ms. Gratton seems more detached from the kids on a very defined teacher/student plane and seems to seldom allow them to have fun. But she's a fun teacher, so they relate to her easily and seem to respect her. Ms. Gratton does not let her students get away with anything at all and will call them on their errors in front of the whole class. For instance, if a student walks in late, she'll say "Susan, do you have a tardy slip?" rather than waiting until they're working individually and asking Susan (a false name) at her work station about a tardy slip. The group conversation never goes awry; in fact she almost discourages students to talk about extraneous things that they see as relative to the topic.

At first I was really caught off guard about her micro-managing, which extends to her relations with me. Sometimes it comes off to me to be expending extra energy that could be diverted elsewhere. Sometimes I'll be standing off to one side of the room watching her and the kids - watching their interactions, watching how they manage to get themselves off task, watching how and when she notices when someone has a question - but before I can jump back in on my own, she's whispering at me across the room, moving her hand in a circular motion, telling me to "circulate, Ms. Hagans!" when in fact, I'm learning a lot from just standing there watching. I know it probably looks like I'm loafing, but I'm not.

Lately, I have come to more of an understanding with the way she runs the classroom; I am less bothered by what I see as micro-managing activities and more engaged in the things that really seem to be wonderful management tools that I want to adopt. I like the way that she holds everyone in the classroom accountable for good behavior and doesn't feel compelled to speak to them individually, but rather out in the open to let everyone know the standard of behavioral excellence. And she never does it in a way that makes the kids feel bad or embarrassed in front of their peers, which I could see happening easily - espcially with this age group. I really like - and have since day one - how she uses everyone's names to get their attention. It really works. She also does something very simple yet effective that I have had problems with in my own teaching. She will explain what the students are to do for the day and then she repeats the directions at least once more.

As of now, these are just some observations - very little reflection involved. I just wanted to get them down in the early stages of my observations for future comment.

My Teaching Experiences
I'm a graduate student at Boise State University just starting to work with the school districts. This no-frills blog is my account of my experiences in the school setting. Archives: January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007	Sunday, February 12, 2006 I forgot to write the other day on something very important: Ms. Gratton's teaching style and classroom management. I've been noticing it lately and the ways in which it differs from my own. Ms. Gratton seems more detached from the kids on a very defined teacher/student plane and seems to seldom allow them to have fun. But she's a fun teacher, so they relate to her easily and seem to respect her. Ms. Gratton does not let her students get away with anything at all and will call them on their errors in front of the whole class. For instance, if a student walks in late, she'll say "Susan, do you have a tardy slip?" rather than waiting until they're working individually and asking Susan (a false name) at her work station about a tardy slip. The group conversation never goes awry; in fact she almost discourages students to talk about extraneous things that they see as relative to the topic. At first I was really caught off guard about her micro-managing, which extends to her relations with me. Sometimes it comes off to me to be expending extra energy that could be diverted elsewhere. Sometimes I'll be standing off to one side of the room watching her and the kids - watching their interactions, watching how they manage to get themselves off task, watching how and when she notices when someone has a question - but before I can jump back in on my own, she's whispering at me across the room, moving her hand in a circular motion, telling me to "circulate, Ms. Hagans!" when in fact, I'm learning a lot from just standing there watching. I know it probably looks like I'm loafing, but I'm not. Lately, I have come to more of an understanding with the way she runs the classroom; I am less bothered by what I see as micro-managing activities and more engaged in the things that really seem to be wonderful management tools that I want to adopt. I like the way that she holds everyone in the classroom accountable for good behavior and doesn't feel compelled to speak to them individually, but rather out in the open to let everyone know the standard of behavioral excellence. And she never does it in a way that makes the kids feel bad or embarrassed in front of their peers, which I could see happening easily - espcially with this age group. I really like - and have since day one - how she uses everyone's names to get their attention. It really works. She also does something very simple yet effective that I have had problems with in my own teaching. She will explain what the students are to do for the day and then she repeats the directions at least once more. As of now, these are just some observations - very little reflection involved. I just wanted to get them down in the early stages of my observations for future comment.