When interviewing Nathan he is a 26 year old male he states, “My greatest achievement is graduating from college.” He said he got it done through hard work and determination. Nathan admires people that have goals and goes out and reach them.
On a normal day at school for Josie in the 7th grade she gets on to bus and goes to class. During her breaks she likes to hang out with her friends. At lunch she eats then goes to the track to hang out with her friends, she goes back to class then goes home on the bus. Josie says at the beginning of the year she has a planner that plans out every day to parents and they have to sign them. Every day it explains what they did for that day. This planner only goes out during the first semester but not the second. She said the only way a teacher talks to family is at conferences but each week she is sent home a calendar for her Grandma (her guardian) to have. The only communication between families and teachers is through letters, calendars and planners being sent home with the child. She said that sometimes her and her friends get ideas from TV shows, for example writing who they like on the bathroom wall or lockers. She feels that sometimes her teacher doesn’t respect her. If she couldn’t hear or understand the information the teacher was saying because people were talking around her the teacher wouldn’t repeat it, even if asked.
Josie feels like she has the most power when a substitute is teaching because people don’t really respect them. She really likes PE because the teacher gives her choices on what to do. She has a sense of freedom in PE class. Her favorite thing to do in school is PE. Outside of school she likes hanging out with friends and going to skate world. She also feels a sense of belonging when she comes to choir. If I were to become her teacher tomorrow she said she would love me as a teacher if I had a variety of ways to teach. She said being more “chill” and being yourself, who is not too strict but doesn’t let people walk all over them is a fantastic teacher.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
"Josie feels like she has the most power when a substitute is teaching because people don’t really respect them."
ReplyDeleteI wonder why this is! Is it individualistic? For example, perhaps those substitutes are poor classroom managers. Is it the nature of the position? Or is it some combination of the two? I wonder what one can do as a substitute teacher to earn students respect. This seems particularly relevant to a longer term sub. Respect would be important because longer periods of learning are occuring. I also hope that kids can have a sense of power while still respecting the teacher.
I wonder how a non-PE teacher could harness that idea of giving freedom, or power by giving a child choices on what to do. There are ways of doing so (not that I know any of them). I was also surprised to read that Josie felt more power when the teacher was gone. At least she's honest, but why is that?
ReplyDeleteI also found that comment about substitutes interesting. I know when I was in school I definitely had a sense that a sub had less power over me than the regular teacher. I wonder if she exercises that feeling of power in some way! Finding that delicate balance between "chill" and not being walked all over is a challenge!
ReplyDelete