Microteaching: thoughts from the last session
'No magic button' for class discipline
There is this line in the article which may take some by surprise.
"It is quite possible that children behaving badly in the High Street in the evenings are actually behaving OK during the day at school."
I think this holds some truth in the local context as well. It is possible for students to behave badly outside of school. Lack of parental guidance is one very good reason. Sometimes kids start to misuse the freedom that they have because they feel bored and need some excitement in their lives. Also being outside of watchful eyes, they may be more emboldened to commit some acts which may not be necessarily approved by the school authorities. Sometimes, it is not out of sheer rebellion. But out of a sense of curiosity. And once the curiosity has been filled, kids may feel that 'hey, since nothing bad has happened to me, let's do it again!'
I think when we know of such occurances, we should not be too quick to judge the kids. Very often we do not look at our students beyond the identity of a student. I guess, the reverse holds true for teachers as well. We need to be aware that students have a life outside of school and are susceptible to influences beyond the school compound.
And sometimes, we may be taken by surprise by some students whom we thought that they are model students. It is very easy for us to forget that they are still growing up and exploring their comfort zone. Some students may be able to hide their 'other' identity very well in school. I would not say that they are smart or stupid. But I think it is just human nature to adapt to certain ways to survive in a particular environment. Nobody likes to be condemned or hauled to see the DM or school counsellor in front of the whole class. Even if this is done on a one-to-one basis, it will still be very humiliating for the student. We need to realise that what these students do can fall into shades of grey.
I still can recall this incident in my alma mata. She was a very decent, quiet and polite girl. But somehow or rather, she was just not interested in her studies and was constantly playing truant. This came to a head-on when she arrived in school one day with several contraband items. I don't know if I am correct or not, but I guessed that the reason for her doing this is to get herself expelled out of school. Can't think of any other reason. We can't exactly condemn her cos what she felt that she was doing may be more beneficial to her rather than wasting her time in school. Seen from an educator's point of view, we would probably recoil in horror by now. But I am pretty sure, she had her reasons for doing so. Misguided or not, I would not know.
Then, there is the opposite of such students. Students who behave badly in class may behave in a decent manner outside of class. Perhaps, this is a typical rebellious student who tends to go against the authority in his every move. Perhaps, such students feel that they are not shown enough respect in class. But once they are out of school, they can behave decently. No doubt their behaviour may be a little loutish at times, but these may be the same people who have clear principles and will not hesitate to help others in need in public. It is particularly important for teachers to be sincere and take a positive interest in them, rather than being skeptical and mock and question them if we do not want to lose such students.
I think we really cannot judge students for what they are just on the basis of how they behave in school. Yet, it is a tragedy that teachers are so caught up in their work pressures that they tend to forget that it is entirely possible for students to display a set of behaviours in school and another different set outside school. Because students like any other human beings do have multiple identities too. And students (especially those who are street smart) may be even more adept in applying survival skills in order to survive in different environments than teachers.
There is this line in the article which may take some by surprise.
"It is quite possible that children behaving badly in the High Street in the evenings are actually behaving OK during the day at school."
I think this holds some truth in the local context as well. It is possible for students to behave badly outside of school. Lack of parental guidance is one very good reason. Sometimes kids start to misuse the freedom that they have because they feel bored and need some excitement in their lives. Also being outside of watchful eyes, they may be more emboldened to commit some acts which may not be necessarily approved by the school authorities. Sometimes, it is not out of sheer rebellion. But out of a sense of curiosity. And once the curiosity has been filled, kids may feel that 'hey, since nothing bad has happened to me, let's do it again!'
I think when we know of such occurances, we should not be too quick to judge the kids. Very often we do not look at our students beyond the identity of a student. I guess, the reverse holds true for teachers as well. We need to be aware that students have a life outside of school and are susceptible to influences beyond the school compound.
And sometimes, we may be taken by surprise by some students whom we thought that they are model students. It is very easy for us to forget that they are still growing up and exploring their comfort zone. Some students may be able to hide their 'other' identity very well in school. I would not say that they are smart or stupid. But I think it is just human nature to adapt to certain ways to survive in a particular environment. Nobody likes to be condemned or hauled to see the DM or school counsellor in front of the whole class. Even if this is done on a one-to-one basis, it will still be very humiliating for the student. We need to realise that what these students do can fall into shades of grey.
I still can recall this incident in my alma mata. She was a very decent, quiet and polite girl. But somehow or rather, she was just not interested in her studies and was constantly playing truant. This came to a head-on when she arrived in school one day with several contraband items. I don't know if I am correct or not, but I guessed that the reason for her doing this is to get herself expelled out of school. Can't think of any other reason. We can't exactly condemn her cos what she felt that she was doing may be more beneficial to her rather than wasting her time in school. Seen from an educator's point of view, we would probably recoil in horror by now. But I am pretty sure, she had her reasons for doing so. Misguided or not, I would not know.
Then, there is the opposite of such students. Students who behave badly in class may behave in a decent manner outside of class. Perhaps, this is a typical rebellious student who tends to go against the authority in his every move. Perhaps, such students feel that they are not shown enough respect in class. But once they are out of school, they can behave decently. No doubt their behaviour may be a little loutish at times, but these may be the same people who have clear principles and will not hesitate to help others in need in public. It is particularly important for teachers to be sincere and take a positive interest in them, rather than being skeptical and mock and question them if we do not want to lose such students.
I think we really cannot judge students for what they are just on the basis of how they behave in school. Yet, it is a tragedy that teachers are so caught up in their work pressures that they tend to forget that it is entirely possible for students to display a set of behaviours in school and another different set outside school. Because students like any other human beings do have multiple identities too. And students (especially those who are street smart) may be even more adept in applying survival skills in order to survive in different environments than teachers.
posted by The neo-Geographer at Thursday, November 16, 2006
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