When does Democratic get Chaotic?

I observed a teacher in training making an activity choice with her students the other day. She asked them to complete an assignment, then a student said he would prefer to do another task instead. She responded immediately by saying "okay, how many would rather do what student X just said?" Most put their hands up and she let them do the task that was not prescribed by her. 

A number of issues to consider: 

a. is the teacher mindful of process or afraid to assert her direction? 

b. is the student avoiding responsibility or simply choosing to take responsibility in a different way? 

c. is the teacher letting students override her goals for the lesson or is she anticipating choice AND setting the parameters for reasonable choice? 

d. is the teacher wanting to please or accommodating different but equally valid choices? 

It was my judgment in this situation that the teacher did not think through the implications of letting a student divert the task. It appeared indecisive and lacked justification. 

Inclusive? Holiday Concert

I was speaking to an Associate Teacher today while the teacher in training was winding up her lesson. Mrs. S was impressed with the teacher candidate involvement in the holiday concert last night. The student teacher had rehearsed a French song with the students and led their performance of the song during the concert. But Mrs. S went on to say how difficult it is for her to hope in the future of our schools in view of the direction of inclusion. The word "Christmas" and songs related to the traditional Christmas were not included, but reference to Ramadan and other cultural festivities were celebrated. She mentioned that in her opinion the freedom of access to education and freedom of religion are part of a Christian heritage and set of mores and laws. Why exclude the Christian celebration then? It seems the dominant religion of the past, though having its faults, is now silenced such that the strength of its tenets are lost. 

The Judgment Call

Student teacher Al had the unique experience of working with Mr. P, a grade 8 teacher who had volunteered to take the misbehaving boys in the other grade 8 classes and teaching them all together in his class. His style was democratic and project-based, which seemed to work well with these boys. 
One day Mr. P was away. It was Al's first experience managing the class on his own on his first practicum. A supply teacher came in and the instructions were for Al to do the teaching. The supply teacher would be there for support and of course, for legal purposes as Al was not yet a certified teacher. 
When Al brought the class to the music room to be taught by the regular itinerant music teacher, the boys did not all respond very well. The music teacher Mr. Z's style was more regimented. They typically acted up more in music class because of this. One boy beat the drum while Mr. Z was giving instructions. This prompted a swift "Go to the office!" from Mr. Z and the firm request: "Mr. T (Al), please escort this student to the office! He needs to see the principal for being so rude!" 
Al went into the hall with Jamal. The supply teacher remained in the music room. He made a judgment call. He whispered "I'm not going to take you to the office. Let's go for a short walk and come back to the classroom. I saw what happened. I won't tell Mr. Z. okay?" 
Upon Mr. P's return the next day, Al told him what had happened and how he had handled the situation....
What should Mr. P say to Al? 

Why do I Need to Know This?

For the most part students will go along unquestioningly with the tasks we ask of them. They are acculturated in the system to comply and "just do the work". The occasional question posed "Why do we have to do this anyway?"  can seem disrespectful, even defiant. But I am seeing better now that unless I take the initiative and have the foresight to clearly state at the outset why this lesson or task matters, it is in fact surprising that the challenging question is not being asked more often! 

A good start to a key lesson or unit means stating the BI (Big Idea), the LG (Learning Goal) and the SC (Success Criteria). These three things may seem superfluous when we are in the middle of a busy season of covering the curriculum. But they provide the foundation and energy for raising the level of understanding and motivation. Students have a right to see the relevance of what they are being asked to do. By making a connection to their lives they will be motivated to become more engrossed in the learning. Too often students are detached and disinterested and I as the teacher accept that as normal. As long as I have something to grade and the task is completed, life in the classroom goes on. But the norms of schooling are often at odds with the norms of life-long learning. So it's worth spending an extra few minutes working out the BI, LG and SC clearly and in language students can understand. Without these in place the level of engagement runs the risk of flat-lining or even spiraling downward. It could mean the difference between the appearance of learning and  learning for life. 

Managing the Troublemaker

As teachers we might be better off expecting a non-compliant student to show up in our classroom rather than dreading a situation where that student comes under our care. There are many reasons for this type of behaviour. An Identified condition such as ADHD, ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), or a range of other causes like attention-seeking behaviour, anger, peer rejection, etc. 

What I've found to be most challenging has been to separate my personal feelings (fear, anger, frustration) from the needs of the troublemaker and the needs of the rest of the class. When I have taken defiance personally I have not been able to feel or show genuine care for the student who has, for example, defied me in front the the class. Caring for the unruly student is not the same as letting him or her carry on with the disruptive behaviour. I can show care for the student as a person while I calmly implement  clear, objective procedures such as redirecting, counting down, restating agreed-upon incremental consequences   (not "to the office!" on the first trigger), and lots of opportunity for deferred conversations ("We will need to chat after class"), I can maintain control of myself and consequently of my teaching goals and students without giving in to negative emotions. 

I need to recognize that most troubled students are carrying wounds from their home environment to school. Obviously, I want to win the battle in order to maintain order and respect. But I have to be careful not to resort to power tactics that only fuel resentment on both sides.  If the student needs to be removed from the classroom in the end, let it be in sync with a consistent attitude of caring firmness. 

Am I Teaching or Babysitting?

I can think of three reasons for not actually teaching i.e. conducting a lesson by talking, demonstrating, interacting pedagogically with the students. One, the students are engaged in a follow-up activity stemming from a lesson already given. Two, I am unprepared or unwilling to teach, so I assign seat work. I am either tired, stressed, or making a political statement that demands being made on me are unreasonable. Three, I believe in the philosophy that students' learning should be self-directed. 

I can accept the first reason, as long as the activity continues to be a meaningful extension of the lesson taught. I can understand the second reason too as there are days that I experience fatigue or discouragement. Not as the modus operandus of my classroom, though. I hope this decision not to teach is incidental, not recurrent. I also understand the third reason, but only when it is done with careful intention and includes lots of interaction and processing checkpoints along the way. The problem is when the second reason is used as an excuse for the third. Busy work is a form of babysitting, so is unengaging seatwork. It takes MORE preparation to carry out student directed learning well, not less. 

Lessons from Losing Oneself

When my student teacher went to her second placement school, she was enthusiastic. Early in her teaching block I observed a creative math lesson with manipulatives and interactive technology. Over  the course of subsequent weeks she shared with me that her associate teacher taught by giving out handouts and requiring the students to do seat work without much of any formal, let alone engaging, lesson times.  I encouraged my student teacher to negotiate with her AT so that she could keep introducing new teaching strategies and trying new things with the students for the purpose of engagement. However, by the third visit I observed a lackluster, fairly disorganized lesson. Then, two weeks later during my fourth visit, the student teacher led the students in an educational game she had personally designed. There was laughter and full engagement from the students. I debriefed with her afterwards. What could account for this recovery from the third visit? She explained that she had complied for a while with the AT's style and expectations of herself and her students. She had begun to yell at the students ( like the AT), give minimal direction to them, keep them in their seats, and not smile. On one occasion a student jokingly held on to the sheet she was collecting, thus provoking a minor tug of war for the paper. This upset her to the point of tears. She felt she had no respect from the students. By conforming to her AT's style and manner she had lost herself. She came to that realization, decided to pull herself back together, and began to prepare and execute lessons she knew she could be proud of. I commended her for her insight and personal recovery. Sadly, many teachers let their ideals and personal best slide over time due to the pressures of the job. In the end, my student teacher demonstrated that giving our personal best in teaching is a choice and that often it flies in the face of the ambient culture. Let's make the decision to persist in giving our best!