Synthesis 1

Rachel Lorenzo

09/19/11

LAE 4530.001

Tara Payor & Nina Graham

Synthesis 1

            Upon entering the class, I felt nervous about my internships and being a teacher. My thoughts have been that I may not be able to handle a classroom, that I may be just as stuck as my students on a concept and not be able to help them. I have questioned my credibility. Though I am still apprehensive when reflecting on these questions, I am beginning to feel excited about entering a high school classroom as a teacher.

            My last internship taught me I need to be stricter with classroom control. That might have scared me into thinking I cannot handle a classroom. Since then I have had a great piece advice from my dad who is also a teacher: “Teachers are like plumbers, students are like pipes. You have to keep a pipe tightly closed at the beginning of your job. As you become familiar with the pipe, you can loosen the valve ever so slightly. But if you loosen it from the beginning, you will quickly lose control and the water will overpower you to the point where it can’t be closed again.” This makes it clear that while teachers may want to show all the kindness in their hearts to their class right away, they have to first establish class discipline so that students do not walk all over them from beginning to end.

            In this class we have greatly concentrated on perspectives so far. Understanding a student’s perspective may help the teacher to understand why students behave a certain way and how to react to it. In this way teachers may be able to better control the classroom. The perspective assignment we had with the large picture would be useful in finding this out. Students who have their minds occupied with certain worries may express themselves by transposing their thoughts onto a character in a picture they know nothing about.

            As far as the teacher’s behavior goes when the classroom begins to go haywire, I would model my reaction as my favorite teachers have done in the past. I would not raise my voice or get visibly upset as that would only give students the impression that they have control over me. Some students like to get a rise out of a teacher. These are sometimes attention-seeking students.

            As Dr. McHatton explained, it is these attention-seeking students that teachers can most take advantage of. Usually these students make for good leaders. For classroom purposes, teachers can give these students important positions in groups, have them occupied in a way that they become an example for the rest of the class. When they try to pull off antics and get attention in that way, it is probably best to simply not grant them that attention. Instead of calling them out in front of the class, the teacher can calmly walk up to the student and softly give them a warning. Should behavior persist, the teacher can do the same or write the student a note (placing it on their desk in a nonchalant manner) asking to see him or her at the end of class. If this kind of student attains the spotlight of being reprimanded in front of the class, the student will have the image in front of others as being “bad,” or a rebel.

            As I have learned, students would rather have others perceive them as being bad than being dumb. If a student is called on to write an answer on the board but he does not know it, he may escape the humiliation of having to admit this by drawing something profane on the board instead. Now the attention is away from the question at hand and rather at the misconduct. The teacher reprimands the student and he or she no longer has to answer the question. Other students do not think he or she is “stupid,” rather they think he is cool and rebellious.

            How a teacher chooses to identify and deal with this is important so that it does not happen again. Instead of ignoring the reason why the student was called up in the first place, the teacher can tell the student to erase the drawing with an apathetic air. Not being able to easily fluster the teacher, students see less humor in the situation. The offending student has also lost his escape from the task at hand. Now he may either admit his need for help or continue trying the teacher’s patience. Either way, the teacher has remained in control.

            Throughout this semester I have heard from several teachers that one learns the subject material best when they teach it themselves. With experience I hope to feel more comfortable in my favorite subject. Though I know I have always excelled in English and have done a fair job at helping others to understand it, English is a vast subject the covers a lot of ground such as art, history, science, and so forth. I am a decent writer but cannot be sure that I will be able to transfer my ease to others.

            Even with these doubts I am hopeful and excited because I know I will have the support of my class, professors, and host teachers. I am also excited to get back to public school and challenge myself to make classes entertaining enough that students will walk out with a smile.