This week I have really struggled with discipline in the classroom. I'm not yet responsible for maintaining order and function for all activities at all times, but I will be honest, I was getting slightly frustrated with the lack of authority that I had in the classroom. So instead of trying to evaluate what the students might be doing wrong, I decided to evaluate myself and what I was doing wrong. This seems to be the better approach. We read a chapter this week about Linda Albert's Cooperative Discipline, which I loved! Making students your partners instead of your pawns is much more productive. They are little people with little voices and they just want someone to make sure they are heard. Cooperative Discipline does this for them. This method allows the students to connect with others, feel that they belong in a classroom, and most importantly, they get to participate in creating a code of conduct. I think their participation in creating this code of conduct really gives them a sense of responsibility to be their best and to monitor the behaviors of their classmates as well. I learned from this piece of text (I would love to reference the text, but we were sent a copy to read which has no information on it other than Chapter 5) that students act out because they have a need that isn't being met. And then I remembered why I decided on this career path, because I want to meet the needs of children. Because I want to be that rock for some kids who may not have a support system to go home too. Behind every act of defiance is a story, and when I take this approach to viewing how difficult it is to line up my class for lunch, I can say to myself " what am I doing wrong, and what needs of the students aren't being met?" So in preparation for next week, I'm going to try to keep in mind a few thinks. First, Cooperative Discipline; I'm going to ask the students how they think the correct way to line up should look and what rules can they come up with as a class. Second, social cognitive learning theory from our child development class; learning can occur by observing others, so maybe I will pick one student who is behaving appropraitely and offer them praise, and then the class can observe and mimic that behavior and also receive praise. Third, account for cultural differences; until this weeks ESOL class, I had no idea how cultural differences could affect a child's behavior. In some homes or cultures, listening to authority is considered a sign of weekness and it's important that I recognise where these kids come from so that I can make my expectation clear. I'm so glad I was able to reflect on what went wrong this week and construct a plan for next week. In the future, in my own classroom, I hope I can remember how much I truly love the concept of Cooperative Discipline and can use it from the get go!
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