I found these articles very interesting. In Baker’s article, the idea of trilingualism is a realistic look at society. We all have a home language and a formal language. I know that I also have a professional language. I believe that being able to switch between the three can make a person successful, it helps you fit into a given situation. I want all of my students to be able to use all three languages so that they can have productive lives.
It’s hard to believe that Shannon’s teacher would just let her fail! I know that some teachers would probably just give in to her behavior problem and let her continue to be get away without doing her work. She is a child; she should not be able to be in charge of her education. I feel that it is my job for every child to succeed. Teaching fourth grade, writing is a large part of what I teach. I would never let a student just sit during writing time because they did not want to write. I would find a way to make writing fun. You just have to motivate your students, like Carter did. He took students who had no interest in writing and found a way to relate it to his students.
Dana Eudy
Comments (1)
Dana,
I so very much agree with your statement that Shannon is a child and she should not get to make decisions about what she does at school. As a parent and a teacher, I would place myself in the category of “strict”. I know how to be silly and goofy with my kids, but at the same time they know better than to stamp a foot at me or tell me no when asked to do something. Everybody has Shannons in their class, sometimes a couple of them in there at a time. Last year I had a room full of Shannons, but kids really do respond to what your expectations are. If you allow them to stamp their feet at you and you just walk off when they refuse to do something, then why should you expect them to act any differently the next time you make an assignment. I am a firm believer in old fashioned consequences. Sure, rewards are nice but let’s face it; we drive the speed limit because we don’t want a ticket, right? I imagine the teacher walked off for one of three possible reasons. One might have been that she just didn’t want to put forth the effort required to deal with Shannon, two might have been that she really didn’t know how to handle the child, or three might have been that she just didn’t care enough to try. Either way, the child loses. She will suffer greatly from a year in this classroom. They don’t really prepare you for these standoffs in college, and new teachers who are not parents really are in for a shock when they encounter their first temperamental child. It is a learning process for teachers to acquire the tactics necessary to win these battles. I am still learning how to deal with them as a parent and a teacher. I really do believe that children will get away will exactly what we allow them to. As the adults, we have to be in charge and lay down expectations and then stick to them. This is so important in our classrooms; we cannot let children decide they don’t want to learn!!
Lorie Hedrick
Posted by Lorie Hedrick | June 13, 2009 3:28 PM
Posted on June 13, 2009 15:28