Reflection 7

So it's been awhile since I posted last.

These past few weeks have been crazy, with midterms and me being kinda tired. I started my classroom management class yesterday and I think I'm going to like it. She talked about her story in education. Right now she teaches part-time her and is a vice-principal at Salem Hills, but she was all over the place at first. Her teaching jobs followed her husband's (he teaches over in the college of engineering right now) and after getting a bachelors at BYU, they went to LasVegas for his masters. She taught dance aerobics there. Then he was offered a position/paid for PhD in Oklahoma City. They moved out there 3 days before school started and her older kids were ok, but her youngest was a mad little 7th grader. He decorated his door and walls with hand written signs saying, "I hate Oklahoma". It's hilarious to me, but his whole world was gone. They next day she got a call from his english teacher saying that he had screamed, "I hate you all, I will never be your friends, you're all hicks."

Now Sister Burr actually said that this teacher knew how to call home well.

1. She showed she cared by seeing, "I am concerned about your son"
2. She softened the blow, didn't tell the whole story at first, prepped the parent
3. She had ideas how to resolve it
4. Followed through with it

This teacher was able to help Sister Burr's son find a place he belonged by finding out what he was interested in. Then she said, "the football team would take him" because that's what he liked. His behavior improved. So this had a bunch of lessons in it, but here were a few that stand out to me.

• misbehavior is an attempt to fulfill a basic human need (i.e. sleep, hunger, loneliness)
• if you care about the children, the parent will be on your side
• always have ideas on how to rectify the situation
• make the students feel comfortable and safe in your classroom

She also talked about being a vice-principal at Salem Hills when it was brand new. She was worried she wouldn't be able to help students as much as when she was a teacher, but she discovered that she could. On that first day of school there was a girl sitting outside the office crying. Instead of telling her to just go to class, she sat down next to her and found out she had had a baby just the day before and wasn't sure she could start school again. She took her into her office and helped her have confidence to finish out the year.

Hearing how she enjoyed caring about the students in all of her stories made me feel more excited to actually have a class on my own. That's what impresses me with good teachers, like Shum or Mr. Wigre, they care about the students more than/through the material they teach. The classroom feels safe and you can bring up any concerns with them. It's been interesting so far applying things I'm learning now to my past experiences. It all comes together through this lens of education. I can't wait to help others reach for their dreams.