One of the realizations that I have come to from Woolfolk is that she wants teachers to understand that teaching is much more than knowing the material but it is paying attention to all of the other aspects of the job. Our students aren't robots therefore when they come into the classroom they are bringing with them their whole person this includes their culture, home environment, learning style, language etc. In all of my placements it becomes much more evident to me that teachers must be attentive of the whole person of their students.
In chapter 4 of Woolfolk "Learning Differences and Learning Needs," their is a section entitled "Students with Emotional or Behavioral Differences," this is a very prominent issue in schools that I think educators have a difficult time understanding and navigating. Sometimes I wonder if some this can be brought on by a students home environment. With technology on the rise in students lives I think that sometimes it is difficult for students to know how to express their feelings in a way that is healthy. Often times it is not unusual to see parents spending more time with their phones then with their children this results in a loss of parent-child relationship. Their is a student at my school who the school believes has a social-emotional disorder; he is in Kindergarten. He has a very difficult time being in the classroom with other students and is often heard yelling and crying in the hallways. The school has tried many different tactics to try and understand him. He has met with the special education teacher, social workers, etc.I'm unsure of what his condition is but after having a few conversations with him it was evident to me that he is a very bright boy.
In one of the placements I had a few years ago in a third grade classroom one of the girls had social/emotional problems. She was a young girl who was very hard on herself and from conversations with teachers she did not come from a positive home life. She often became very frustrated during math and would cry and give up. The teacher and I tried our best to encourage the girl. Social/emotional disorders is something that I want to better understand and how to effectively reach students with these disorders because they will effect the students performance in class. I want my students to know how to cope with is in a healthy manner and not develop depression or abuse drugs. As teachers we must be attentive of all of our students in the classroom and make sure that they are ok.
Woolfolk also dives into the arena of culture and diversity in the school. I touched on this topic in my first module but again it is very important that all cultures are being celebrated. One of the things I believe is lacking in most schools and including my own education experience is the infiltration of culture throughout the whole curriculum. It shouldn't just be one lesson on this particular culture but the curriculum should be infused with the diversity of all cultures. Find ways to incoporate culture in math, science, history, english etc. One example could be to read poetry from various countries or play music in the class that reaches all students. These are small ways to incorporate culture in the class but they make a big difference.
Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteI like how you refer to teach to students by the whole person. Indeed we are not programmed like robots, we all have emotion and beliefs that we follow. Students with social/emotional problems can be quite challenging to work with. A teacher must be sensitive and careful how to use words or approach a situation. This week, I experienced in my field placement a student with autism. He is emotionally unstable at times as well. For instance, he cried on his last day of P.E. class because he wanted to help bring out the equipment, but did not want to follow directions by lining up in formation with other students. His aid explained to give him a few moments by himself. Her explanation was that when he snaps, he becomes very violent, and security has to come help control him. Keep in mind he is in 5th grade.
Gabrielle, I wonder that the home life is like for the kindergartner who has such a difficult time being with other students in the classroom. It could be that he truly has a social-emotional disability. Or it could be that he has simply not been acclimated to dealing with other people due to a poorly functioning home life.
ReplyDeleteI agree that cultures should be infused into all subjects. It certainly is not enough to have a culture day or week where everybody brings in their culture's food and wears their traditional garb. It's sort of like a Christian college where the Christian perspective should be woven all through our teaching and learning.
Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteThe behavior from the Kindergartner could be that he has a difficult time adjusting to school because it is a new environment, new people, new rules and maybe the kid is experiencing an emotional detachment from his/her caregivers/parents, too. It could be too many things or factors for the kindergarten's behavior at school. I am not saying that he does not have a social-emotional disability. However, kids can take time to adjust to new situations.
Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that Woolfolk has made it clear that teachers do not only need to focus on the academics, but like you said, the whole person. If teachers focus on just the academic side of students, then they could miss different factors, such as culture, home life, peer influences, and socioeconomic status, that can contribute to the student's learning. For example, in my placement last year I noticed that one of the students that was usually full of energy and excited to learn was very somber and was not as excited about participating in class anymore. When I talked to my cooperating teacher about it, she told me that this student's grandma was in the hospital. We then talked about how this student was sad because her grandma was in the hospital, and how this was affecting her academically. My cooperating teacher told me that when something like this happens, she tries to be positive and give the student something to smile about at school. If teachers solely focused on the academic part of school, then they probably would not have found out that something was wrong, but instead might think that this child was being lazy or defiant because the student would not participate. By talking to your students, you can understand the underlying causes of their behavior.
As for students with social-emotional disorders, I do think that home environments play a huge role. In my placement right now, there is a student with a social-emotional disorder. Her parents are divorced and she told me that whenever her parents see each other, they argue. This particular student has a lot of aggression, so knowing that she sees a lot of aggression at home could somewhat explain why she behaves the way she does. Knowing students home situations can hopefully help teachers address issues and come up with helpful solutions.
Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up several good points. I've never considered how technology within our homes can impact the social and emotional development of our students. And I'm really curious to see if there's any research that may indicate that extreme uses of technology within the homes can even lead to social and emotional neglect for children. If technology is proved to be a huge factor in a student’s social development how would a school even go about approaching that topic with the parents? I also wholeheartedly agree with you that culture should be infused into our curriculums. I think that is so typical that students get a standard basic American education with Huckleberry Finn and Of Mice and Men but I think through infusing culture into our classrooms education will become three-dimensional and students would learn on a global scale.