Category: English Reflections (Page 1 of 2)

This case study was about a middle school teacher who is having difficulty with her classroom management. Tina has a lot of passion for teaching and wants to make a connection with her students but she needs help with consistent discipline, engagement, and clear expectations. I provide my insight on how I would handle this situation using multiple strategies because there is not always going to be one classroom management plan that will work. Classroom management requires many layers and steps for it to be successful, and even then you still have to be aware that unwanted behaviors may still occur. My evaluation of her classroom would be not only for her but for any classroom regardless of discipline. The biggest thing I wanted to push with my interpretation of the study was that the students need to feel in charge of their own learning. The strategies she uses should be to engage the students and cultivate a community of respectful learners. In a real-world setting, it would be beneficial for a teacher in this situation to talk to her surrounding teachers to gauge what works best in their classrooms and how they handle behavior so there can be more consistency. With an even bigger community, all teachers can work together to create lessons that are interdisciplinary to engage students in real-world problem-solving.  

Thinking through a classroom management system helps to create multiple preventive measures to ensure a safe and effective learning environment. As future teachers, our college education prepares a toolbox with many different pedagogical strategies. Looking at a case study uses a realistic situation for many new teachers, and I now know what I don’t want my future classroom to be like. I can identify issues and use my tools in hypothetical situations to prepare me for my real classroom.  I know that on the first day of class, I want to begin introducing routines and procedures so that all students are aware of the expectations. Having students discuss their needs in the classroom whether that is so they can learn or so they can feel safe. Following through with these and using natural consequences when a child is unable to allow others to learn is just as important. I now have something to refer back to when I come to a bump in the road with behavior and remind myself of what I believe and how I can encourage students to engage in their learning. 

I found that I write the way I talk in some ways. I found revising for this podcast to be easier than I thought it would be. I do think that when recording I realized there were other things I could say but the paper kept my thoughts organized and I had an outline for everything. When writing you can’t really show any tone or inflection in your voice, which I think can make it harder to convey the point or what you are trying to share. Adding questions to my revision showed me other areas that could be used to share a personal anecdote or add more explanation to what I was saying. Even though I wrote something one way does not mean that someone will understand it and it may need to be rephrased or spoken again. My interviewee found it hard to answer some of the questions, I think because she didn’t want to say the wrong thing. This is understandable but I think that it didn’t make the audio as smooth as I planned. I might not be the next big podcaster but I do like the concept of sharing ideas and thoughts with another person and then to a larger audience. I’m not the most creative person in this kind of activity, but I do think it could be something I work on. I liked being able to plan where the conversation would go and how all of the ideas connected to one another. I am not sure if that is necessarily creative or more so controlling.

I think that overall my writing style has stayed pretty consistent. The way I read and digest writing I would say has also stayed the same. I think when it comes to grammar, I would like to think that I have improved. I would say that I did learn a lot this semester. Organizing my writing has probably been my biggest growth and making strong connections.

I think that since I am going to interview the same person again it would be helpful to recall some of the things we talked about when looking at empathy and its limitations. Both I and my interviewee have spent a lot of time learning about people with disabilities and how inclusion and the culture we create affect them but all people as well. How has seeing all sides of disability been helpful in building her empathy and point of view? Why does she think there is so much hatred towards these people and how can see the full range of experiences make a difference in our world? Even moving away from disability how does seeing the full picture affect perspective and biases? Roper-Phelps has an interesting story that not everyone knows and I think we can all learn from it. How can people forgive someone even if they have done or said all of these awful things? How does seeing the “full-bodied experience” change our capacity to forgive? Do you believe exposure and contact are good tools for personal growth?

In ways, I have a love-hate relationship with writing and composing my thoughts. I think that I have a lot of thoughts and it’s hard to organize them into something that is composed. I do a lot of writing and speaking in my classes and will forever be doing this after college. I think that teaching and composing lessons are fueled by the same creative energy. The idea that words and the way we portray information and thoughts can truly have an immense impact on people inspires me. I may not be the best writer or composer but I think that I have things I want to say and it is definitely a skill I want to keep growing. I danced for 16 years of my life and I think that’s where I felt the strongest in my composition. I began to find more joy in other activities related to fitness, but I haven’t really found anything that gives me that same feeling.