One of my greatest concerns about the school at which I am student teaching is the lack of discipline that permeates the entire building. Although my cooperating teacher and a number of other teachers working in the building provide a firm set of disciplinary rules while also displaying a strong sense of professionalism, there are many members of the faculty who lack essential communication skills and make very little effort to set up disciplinary rules or follow through with any consequences for poor behavior on the part of the students.
I believe the most notable problem at this school is the administration. The principal does not require any submission of lesson plans from any teachers and is rarely inside any of the classrooms in order to observe his teachers. This has given many teachers the idea that they need to do “zero lesson planning.” Thus, I find that these teachers use class time for whatever they deem necessary. What is even more of a problem is that there are very few disciplinary actions coming from the administration. Students are not fazed by being sent to the office. This has fostered a sense of disrespect on the part of the students for rules, teachers and classmates. .
As a result of this extraordinary lack of guidance and concern on the part of the administration, the students and teachers at this school seem to follow their own rules. For teachers, coming in late from lunch or dismissing a class early is an everyday, acceptable occurrence. The consistent lack of concern and respect for teacher by other teachers is overwhelming. This lackluster approach to professionalism by some teachers has quickly transmitted to students and has created a community of people who are stubborn, unenthusiastic, and disrespectful. How can I, as a student teacher, or even as a first year teacher, help to improve the quality of professionalism and bring about a sense of respect in a school such as this?
Bobby - The lack of lesson planning you are experiencing in your student teaching is really upsetting to me. How do these teachers have any idea if they are meeting the state standards if they don't plan what they are going to do?? I would love to know how your school does on the NJASK and HESPA tests, because I think the lack of lesson planning would certainly show up in the test scores.
ReplyDeleteI am experiencing the EXACT OPPOSITE in my student teaching. All the teachers at my school have detailed plan books and are required to submit them every month to the principal. My plan book will be submitted for the first time next week. The lesson planning is so much work! Honestly, my whole life is absorbed by it right now. My teacher is requiring me to submit a detailed plan for every day which includes the notes I will hand out (remember Marina's blog post about being frustrated with "skeleton notes"? I have to do that, too.), the Smart Board lesson and every worksheet. We have an out-of-date textbook, so I have to create many of the worksheets and the notes. It's a huge job. Plus I am required to plan all the lessons 2 weeks in advance. But, I will say, it makes me confident that I know what I'm teaching every day and I feel prepared.
As far as the lack of respect and discipline issues go - I would recommend that you clearly define your behavior standards for your students and let them know that you don't really care what they get away with in other classes. It sounds like being sent to the office or getting a detention is meaningless to your students, so the only real control you have is their grade and contact with their parents. So if you set up rules about standards for behavior and standards for the work you expect the students to do and have the consequences for choosing to misbehave and choosing to not do the assignments affect their grade or cause you to contact their parents, maybe they will take your class more seriously. Also, you could try offering the positive incentive of contacting their parents when they are doing well, as Frank Albano suggested to us when he came to speak to our class. Your students might respond to that. I hope they do! :)
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ReplyDeleteAs a student teacher, it is hard to change the way of an entire school. I believe that there is no way your one voice will change the way of the administration in your school. I think it needs to be addressed by a team of teachers, to even get the ball rolling. Being that it is so late in the year already, even if a more strict discipline regime is implied, students will not feel obligated to follow suit. It may be a good idea to start up a protest, or campaign to help the administrators work towards a better discipline outline for the upcoming year in September. I have a similar problem in my school, in that the vice principal acts as the student's "friend" at times. The students then feel they have leeway when they are sent to the office or misbehave in class. I think it is a big concern. I would suggest to get your voice out there, with the help of a team of other teachers to get the ball rolling for the next school year.
ReplyDeleteThe Lunch Room...
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that the lunch room can be a dangerous place. Teachers of all ages frequent the lunch room. I have heard many teachers voice their opinions of the administration and the student body. The comments are not always positive and some of the comments are just shocking to hear from teachers. Some teachers are very negative and can really change the tone of the environment.
There are not many places a teacher can go to relax and enjoy their lunch; the lunch room is one of the only sanctuaries there are in the building. I don't want to be rude and not participate in conversation with my coworkers, but what does one say when teachers bad mouth each other and students. Trust me I have tried to ignore the comments and go about my business, but sometimes the person right next to me is looking to me for a response. I usually try and humor the person by nodding and then going about my business. How does one navigate the minefield that is the lunch room?
I do not think any one person can chance the culture of an entire school. However, I think that all you can do is to expect and demand respect in your classroom. At the very least students will realize you will not tolerate this disrespectful behaviour. You will most likely get nasty looks but over time and once these good habits have been learned students will grow to respect you. Well hopefully.
ReplyDeleteI cannot immagine how hard it would be, as a student teacher, to go through the things that you described. My school is exactly the opposite of your post. The teachers here are very professional. The prinicipal and vice principal are on top of the students everyday. They do not turn a blind eye to tardiness or disciplanary issues. Issues are dealt with in a timely manner and are never dismissed. I do hear teachers at times, including my cooperating teacher, speak about other students in the teachers' lounge, but its never in front of other or to students. I never join in these conversations because I feel that i shouldnt engage in such talks as a student teacher, so I just listen in.
ReplyDeleteMy advice to you is to continue to remain professional as Im sure you are doing. Maintain goood classroom management in the class. Lead by example. Make sure the students realize that you will have some kind of structure in your classroom and you dont expect anything less than the best of them.
I think that the lack of discipline in school has to do with the way administration handles the situation. As a student teacher it is very dificult to change the mentality of the administration. At my school we have someone called a disciplinarian, which is the person in charge for the discipline in the school. I feel that this person often creates more of a friendship bond with some students and punishments are rarely enforced. However, if you demand respect in your own classroom and enforce your own set of appropriate punishments when a student misbehaves this can positively affect your classroom environment. In my classroom we use things like a call to the child's parent for instance. By building positive relationships with other faculty and administrators, you may be able to share a few of your ideas so that they may be considered.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you, as a first year teacher, will be able tomake this change alone, which is very unfortunate. I am experiencing thesame situation at my school, as well. There are no rules that are trulyenforced. I agree that this stems from the administration. If theadministration doesn't enforce the rules, then the teachers stop doing so, aswell. In fact, at my school, tenure teachers do not have to write lessonplans. Once again, this is taking away from the lesson planning processas you mentioned. Also, I notice tremendously that the administrationwill do whatever it takes not to upset the students because they don't want toupset the parents. And if it comes down to a situation between a teacherand a parent, the administration will ALWAYS side with the parent. Whendid it stop being about helping the students learn and come more about tryingto please the parents? Something needs to change soon, otherwise thesestudents are not going to be prepared for life.
ReplyDeleteI too have observed a school with such issues as you've described. I was substitute teaching in a charter school in the Bronx in one of its rougher neighborhoods. In this school the administration failed to implement rules and consequences for the students and as a result the students were running the show. The school was not large but with the dynamic of the students doing as they pleased the classrooms became dangerous for teachers and students. It was not the first time I had witnessed this type of disfunction in a school community but nonetheless it was jarring. The teachers had to navigate very difficult waters to keep order in the classrooms, often students were throwing items across the room, insulting the teacher, with whom the rapport was lacking to begin with. This teacher was confrontational and aggressive and with a population that already had social challenges within this setting it became volatile. These students who were repeatedly exhibiting problem behaviors both distractive and distractive were being rewarded with a trip to our nation's capitol. I was in shock that a reward was being given showing the students that the behaviors are irrelevant and the rewards given undeserveingly. The principal was incapable of exercising control over her school and creating a safe learning environment so as you can imagine student behavior got increasingly worse as they fed off of one another. If the administration implemented strategies and it was upheld throughout the school perhaps it wouldn't have felt like a correctional facility and more like a place to grow and learn.
ReplyDeleteI have learned through my student teaching and through watching the on-goings in my placement school that I can not be a hero to all. It has been hard to accept that I can not control every situation. If it try to, I will for sure go insane. I think you should just worry about your classroom and your students. If you stress out about what other teachers are doing and how the administration is not doing their job, you will lose focus of your job. Just focus on being the best teacher you can be in your classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think it will be kind of tough to spread professionalism amongst the staff but that doesn't mean that you should ever let your own professional integrity. Showing integrity is front of the students is one of the best life lessons that they will ever pick up from you. I think kids suffer from poor character in general. Having a role model who constantly shows good character can be unbelievably important for a young person.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, the integrity of a given schools is going to be set by the principle, and hopefully filter down from there. It might sound crappy but just try to be as professional as you can and hopefully that professionalism infects other.
I think the only thing you can do is be the best that you can be. You're not going to change them. It has probably been like this for a while and unless the principal and other administrators step up nothing will get done. But if you stay positive and professional that's all that matters. You know yourself that you're doing the best job that you can possibly do and that your kids are actually getting the education they should be. That is all you can do.
ReplyDeleteThis is really hard for me to hear, because although my school does not require the lengthy lesson plan we do for Caldwell, they at least ask for what you are going to be doing that week, the do now and the homework. I feel that I have been put in a great school when it comes to discipline and visibility of the administration. I think it was actually the 3rd week of my student teaching that I actually said something to the vice principle about how great it was that he was visible and involved. I went to a school where you barely ever saw our principle unless you had a problem, and I have found that my students are very comfortable with this vice principle and although he still disciplines when he needs to, he also has a daily relationship with the students and know what is going on in their classes and their names just walking down the hall. It actually makes me a little concerned for when I start applying to jobs, because in a sense I feel I have been spoiled in my student teaching by having a great school and staff that works together well for the most part.
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