The most valuable aspect of this week was in seeing how quickly the dynamics of a class can change with the addition of just one student. I have a class that is typically a well behaved group that works well together, looks out for each other, and will engage in peer teaching. Now don’t misunderstand, this group is far from being angels but as a class they clicked. They did their share of complaining about assignments or in class activities but usually began working on an assignment shortly after I finished the explanation of it.
About a week and a half ago, a new student came into the class who seems like a very nice young man that is intelligent and was able to complete the assignments and activities much quicker than most of the other students. The class was still working together well and there were few classroom management issues that couldn’t be handled simply with proximity. But now this student is getting more comfortable and trying to assert himself as a leader in the class. He is extremely intelligent and much more advanced than the other students in the class which means that he can complete the work in about 20% of the time that it takes the rest of the class. And now he thinks it is play time. He flirts with the girls, talks with the other boys and is somewhat challenging toward them at times. This is why I said he is asserting himself as a class leader. This whole thing would be a fascinating study on human nature except for the fact that he is disrupting my class!
This week was the first time that I had to really come down on someone but I refused to raise my voice. He finished the activity and was teasing the girls and making comments to the guys when I went over and asked him why he wasn’t working on the assignment. When he told me that he completed it I said that was great and now he can move on to the next class activity. He didn’t want to do that and told me that the other student’s weren’t working on that, why should he. I explained to him that he was disrupting my class and that he needed to work and stop distracting the other students; if he couldn’t work where he was, then I would move him to the corner where no one sits. I also explained that I don’t make threats; the next time I have to talk with him he will be moved. And this worked, at least for now. Today he was quiet and did not disrupt the class at all even when provoked by other students. For now, all is well again and the class is working together well. I am fascinated by the psychological aspects of a teenage male asserting himself in a classroom setting. Maybe I’ve watched People of the Forest or Jane Goodall documentaries one too many times! LOL… it is incredible how one good student, who is polite and intelligent can change the entire dynamics of a class.
If I could change anything about this week I think it would be to have nipped some of this student’s antics before they progressed to where I had to talk with him. Part of me wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and allow him to feel like he was part of the class and cajole with the students and get to know them. Maybe I should have calmed all of them down sooner and then I wouldn’t have had to set him straight after only a week and a half at a new school. But my guess is he’s tenacious and since he is intelligent will figure out how to settle into the class routine while still making friends and without annoying me!
Go Syracuse!!
I had a similar experience with a new student entering the classroom. I was also suprised with how much one student could change the dynamics of the classroom. Learning to deal with the new dynamics took a little while but I was soon able to work with the class as if the dynamics had not changed at all. I am sure you will soon be get used to the new change and this will help when it happens in the future! Hope you have a great week ten, see you Monday!
ReplyDeleteYou have made some very good points here Maribeth in which we can all learn something to take back to our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThe point that strikes a soft spot with me is that you have not changed the Mrs. Lawrence that the other students have come to know, trust, and appreciate. I am sure they are sitting back just waiting to see your reaction to the new student’s antics, and I am glad you are giving them the classy teacher that you are without humiliating the “new kid”.
Yes, sometimes we are “teacher”, other times “mother” or “father”, and still other times, simply really cheap therapists. But the job that gives me the most satisfaction is the one of the “role model”. You were clearly the strong role model in this situation! :)