Teacher Talk Tuesday
Say what?! That's right... it's returned. I'm not exactly sure how regular these will be but I have been once again inspired to write something related to the wonderful world of teaching.
During the first two weeks of August I taught summer school for our incoming Kindergartners. It was two hours per day and we focused on very basic "school" things like knowing our names, counting, ABC's, and most importantly rules and procedures within our building. It was great fun and I loved having my own group of kids again. This is when I met Jonathon (not his real name btw). When Jonathan came into our classroom on the first day he took a good hard look around the room and when I told him where to sit he gave me a dead stare and said, "no thanks, I think I'll sit here," and plopped down at an empty table far from where I had his name tag. Jonathon was a boy who liked to control his situation, this I knew from the moment he walked in, but how to break him... that's where the real fun of teaching begins.
I decided for the first day to allow J-man to do exactly what he does best... control the situation. He didn't join us on the carpet for story time, he didn't eat snack at the same table as our class, and he decided he wanted to play on a different playground than the rest of the kids during recess. I took these opportunities to talk with Jonathon, very casually with no agenda, just friendly chit chat. Jonathon already knew his name, how to write it, and how to write lots of words, "tracing is for babies," he told me. Jonathon has an older brother (who I knew quite well). He lives at home with his mom and brother and his mom is going to have a new baby. Jonathon likes to ride his bike but he doesn't like to ride his bike with his brother around because he gets a little embarrassed. Jonathon really liked the snack we had that day but he didn't want to eat with us because his mom was going to give him some when he got home. When it was time to go home, I asked Jonathon if he'd hold my hand while we walked out of the building. He agreed. When we got the walkway outside our building I turned to Jonathon and said, "I really look forward to seeing you tomorrow Jonathon, I had a lot of fun getting to know you today and I can't wait to see how you'll do with tomorrow's activities." He looked at me funny, gave me hug, and waved goodbye. I had him right where I wanted him.
Over the next few days I sllloooooowwwlly convinced Jonathon that listening to me would open a world of possibilities. For example, if you listen to my directions you get to be my line leader. If you follow my directions, you get to be the first one to get their snack. If you listen to the words I say you can even pick the playground where everyone can play ("Boys and girls, Jonathon thinks you'll have much more fun on this playground so we're going to let you play here today!!"). I also made sure to make Jonathon's activities ever so slightly different than the rest of the class for the rest of the week. Instead of tracing letters and words, Jonathon got to try writing them on his own using his sounds. Instead of drawing a picture story, Jonathon got to write words to tell his story. Every time Jonathon did something I asked, I praised him like a puppy learning to sit. On the last day of the first week of summer school Jonathon came in, sat down and did his work, then walked over to me and said, "Mrs. Pentek, is there anything I can help you with to get ready for today?" Success. The second week of summer school was a treat. Jonathon even drew a picture of himself learning and gave it to me on the last day.
On the second day of school I saw Jonathon in the lunch room. I waved at him from across the room and he smiled really big and waved back. I noticed Jonathon was standing next to a boy who was choosing to throw his milk into the air and catch it with both his hands. I walked over to the little boy and said, "excuse me sir, we don't throw our milk here." He threw the milk again and I stretched my hand out and said, "now your milk is mine." He pulled his milk to his side and yelled, "you're not taking my milk."
Jonathon stepped out of line and stood between me and this boy and said, "don't talk to her like that," with the same look he gave me when he first stepped into our classroom. The boy handed me his milk and when I returned it to him to drink with his lunch, the milk was no longer launched in the air.
Loyalty. I can honestly say I knew nothing of this concept until I met our students. It takes some finesse to earn it but once you do, you're set for life.
During the first two weeks of August I taught summer school for our incoming Kindergartners. It was two hours per day and we focused on very basic "school" things like knowing our names, counting, ABC's, and most importantly rules and procedures within our building. It was great fun and I loved having my own group of kids again. This is when I met Jonathon (not his real name btw). When Jonathan came into our classroom on the first day he took a good hard look around the room and when I told him where to sit he gave me a dead stare and said, "no thanks, I think I'll sit here," and plopped down at an empty table far from where I had his name tag. Jonathon was a boy who liked to control his situation, this I knew from the moment he walked in, but how to break him... that's where the real fun of teaching begins.
I decided for the first day to allow J-man to do exactly what he does best... control the situation. He didn't join us on the carpet for story time, he didn't eat snack at the same table as our class, and he decided he wanted to play on a different playground than the rest of the kids during recess. I took these opportunities to talk with Jonathon, very casually with no agenda, just friendly chit chat. Jonathon already knew his name, how to write it, and how to write lots of words, "tracing is for babies," he told me. Jonathon has an older brother (who I knew quite well). He lives at home with his mom and brother and his mom is going to have a new baby. Jonathon likes to ride his bike but he doesn't like to ride his bike with his brother around because he gets a little embarrassed. Jonathon really liked the snack we had that day but he didn't want to eat with us because his mom was going to give him some when he got home. When it was time to go home, I asked Jonathon if he'd hold my hand while we walked out of the building. He agreed. When we got the walkway outside our building I turned to Jonathon and said, "I really look forward to seeing you tomorrow Jonathon, I had a lot of fun getting to know you today and I can't wait to see how you'll do with tomorrow's activities." He looked at me funny, gave me hug, and waved goodbye. I had him right where I wanted him.
Over the next few days I sllloooooowwwlly convinced Jonathon that listening to me would open a world of possibilities. For example, if you listen to my directions you get to be my line leader. If you follow my directions, you get to be the first one to get their snack. If you listen to the words I say you can even pick the playground where everyone can play ("Boys and girls, Jonathon thinks you'll have much more fun on this playground so we're going to let you play here today!!"). I also made sure to make Jonathon's activities ever so slightly different than the rest of the class for the rest of the week. Instead of tracing letters and words, Jonathon got to try writing them on his own using his sounds. Instead of drawing a picture story, Jonathon got to write words to tell his story. Every time Jonathon did something I asked, I praised him like a puppy learning to sit. On the last day of the first week of summer school Jonathon came in, sat down and did his work, then walked over to me and said, "Mrs. Pentek, is there anything I can help you with to get ready for today?" Success. The second week of summer school was a treat. Jonathon even drew a picture of himself learning and gave it to me on the last day.
On the second day of school I saw Jonathon in the lunch room. I waved at him from across the room and he smiled really big and waved back. I noticed Jonathon was standing next to a boy who was choosing to throw his milk into the air and catch it with both his hands. I walked over to the little boy and said, "excuse me sir, we don't throw our milk here." He threw the milk again and I stretched my hand out and said, "now your milk is mine." He pulled his milk to his side and yelled, "you're not taking my milk."
Jonathon stepped out of line and stood between me and this boy and said, "don't talk to her like that," with the same look he gave me when he first stepped into our classroom. The boy handed me his milk and when I returned it to him to drink with his lunch, the milk was no longer launched in the air.
Loyalty. I can honestly say I knew nothing of this concept until I met our students. It takes some finesse to earn it but once you do, you're set for life.
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