The workshop was based off the teachings of Lee Canter, who is famous in education for his idea of "Assertive Discipline." Assertive discipline centers around a "take-control" approach to teaching, as the teacher controls the classroom in a firm but positive manner. The approach essentially says that teachers must establish rules and direction that clearly define the limits of acceptable and unacceptable student behavior, teach these rules and directions, and ask for assistance from parents and/or administrators when support is needed in handling the behavior of students.
Those were Wikipedia's words.
My words: assertive discipline pretty much says you have to make sure that all student's are given a fair opportunity to learn by correcting misbehavior early, often and consistently.
I really think this is the biggest thing I need to work on before I have my own classroom. In the summer, I felt like some times I was too focused on being "liked" by the children I was working with as opposed to making sure that they were learning. Although what happened in the summer didn't really count, because there weren't any assessments, tests, etc. this is a behavior I definitely need to change before it does. I think my problem is that I always want to have fun in class and make everyone feel comfortable. On the surface, this sounds great. However, what happens in classrooms like these is scholars push back more and more, testing teachers to see exactly how much they can get away with. That's not negative, it's just reality. Everyone remembers that one class where they goofed off and didn't really get much done. It was a great time, but it didn't really accomplish much.
In the 'burbs, having goof-off classes and getting set back a year might have meant getting a 3 instead of a 4 on your AP test, or missing a scholarship to college instead of getting one. In the areas I'm working in, we talked about how what's at stake is literally life and death. Children in these areas that fall behind have incredibly high rates of drop-out, and children who drop-out are over 90% certain to end up in a box, either in the ground or with bars.
No pressure, though.
Pretty much what this means is I have to get this whole teaching thing right. It's bigger than me and the consequences are bigger than what I've ever had to face before. This PD session talked about how the research of the Center for Transformative Teacher Training "CT^3" has proved that there are generally three types of teachers -- Unintended Enablers, Negative Controllers, and No-Nonsense Nurturers.
Unintended Enablers have their hearts in the right place, but their heads in the wrong place. They often allow their students to engage in behaviors that are not in the students' best interests because they either feel sorry for them or their situation. Unintended Enablers make excuses for students like, "They can't do it because of their home situation" or "These kids just can't read because of the areas that they're from." The main motivation of Unintended Enablers is to be LIKED by their students and this desire often results in the students' not respecting them.
I don't think I was an Unintended Enabler in the summer, but I definitely possessed qualities of one. And that's not OK. It's great for students to enjoy your class, but not at the risk of being off-task or having other activities that are going on that are preventing students from going to college. The risks are too high.
The second type of teacher we talked about is a "Negative Controller." These are the teachers who never permitted talking, always felt the need to remain in control, etc. They respond to students' action or inaction with a negative, angry, shaming or sarcastic demeanor. Negative Controllers have high expectations for their students, and sometimes meet those expectations, but place their need to shine as an educator ahead of the need of their students to succeed. Control and structure are most important in these classrooms.
So, those are your BAD teachers. What is a good teacher? Lee Canter's research labels the best teachers as "No-Nonsense Nurturers." No-Nonsense Nurturers are strictly business in large group instruction, but nurturing while working with students one-on-one or in small groups. These teachers have high expectations, demand 100% of classroom participation 100% of the time with a "no-excuses" attitude.
Side note: Are no-nonsense nurturers to teaching as mullets are to hairdos? "Business in the front, party in the back." No-Nonsense Chuck Norris? Too far? I digress....
I think if I was to classify myself this summer, I would be closest to a No-Nonsense Nurturer. However, I definitely possessed too many qualities of an Unintentional Enabler, although those qualities were reached unintentionally (who woulda thought?). I know I need to be more explicit and have higher expectations 100% of the time, but I also need to be careful not to slip into the "Negative Controller" territory. This balance is exactly what makes teaching so hard. I've realized that it's really easy to say these things on paper, but once you get up in front of 25 little humans, everything changes.
Like Mike Tyson said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
My goal is to improve a little bit every day this year, so that next year when I'm all on my own, No-Nonsense Nurturing will be second nature. Either that, or I'll keep getting punched in the mouth until I get it right.
I have to.
BD
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