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Post by AKelley on Sept 6, 2013 19:58:35 GMT -5
I couldn't agree more with your answer to number one. Each day we come into the classroom busily preparing and once students come in it is non stop. It's important to take a step back and see things through the eyes of a child. It's important to take that extra minute to talk to them about why they are off task or acting a particular way as opposed to yelling or ensuring a consequence is distributed.
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Post by Frail on Sept 6, 2013 20:01:18 GMT -5
Last post was me trying to respond to AKelly's post. Sorry still trying to get the hang of this. Here it is from me ...
I couldn't agree more with your answer to number one. Each day we come into the classroom busily preparing and once students come in it is non stop. It's important to take a step back and see things through the eyes of a child. It's important to take that extra minute to talk to them about why they are off task or acting a particular way as opposed to yelling or ensuring a consequence is distributed.
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Post by kincaid on Sept 6, 2013 20:18:58 GMT -5
#2. What are some things that teachers and administrators inadvertently do that actually lead to discipline problems? 1. Ignoring the fact that we often have to teach parenting-type skills 2. Relying too heavily on a bribery system, which might give students a sense of entitlement 3. Expecting all students to ace a test, instead of concentrating on individual growth (making it a competition) 4. Not engaging all students - leading to boredom which may lead to behavior problems 5. Not allowing students to have choices. 6. Not following through with consequences - (example, I am going to call your mom in here!) or setting clear limits 7. Not allowing all students a chance for opportunities such as eating lunch with the teacher, which just further angers some 8. Not celebrating success - no matter how small. This one is hard because we have all had the student who would rather do nothing then take a chance and get it wrong. Teachers might need to be creative on how to encourage these students to try. The teacher might have to make the entire environment as encouraging as possible. I definitely think that not following through with consequences does lead to discipline problems. If we aren't firm in our discipline, the children tend to get an attitude that "nothing I do will ever cause me to get in trouble" |
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Post by Monka on Sept 6, 2013 20:20:37 GMT -5
Question #1: Something that stuck out to me was in part of the Lack of a Secure Family Environment in out of school discipline problems. The last paragraph talked about how students are coming to school concerned more for basic security needs than learning, and how this is creating needy children looking for emotional support. I think that's so important to keep in mind as we're with our students every day. I've noticed how I have had students who wanted to hold my hand or hug me and it was something that I was initially surprised by, especially with older students. I never once hugged my teachers when I was in school, but after thinking about it I realized I never felt the need to. The emotional support I received at home was enough, and it startled me a little to think that for some of our students it isn't. They either aren't getting enough, or aren't getting any. It's something to keep in our heads throughout the day as we're with our students that the emotional support we give them is just as or maybe more important than the learning support because we might be the only ones doing so. Like the question says, it's not something we can control outside of the school environment, but something we can try to understand.
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Post by Monka on Sept 6, 2013 20:31:01 GMT -5
There are quite a few factors that can lead to behavior problems in a school environment, including media pressure, seeing others not take blame, song lyrics, and peer pressure. However, I believe the most influential factor is not having a secure family environment. If a child does not have this safe environment, they do not recognize the "wrongs" he/she is seeing amongst his peers or in the media. They have no way of knowing that violence and not taking blame for their mistakes is not the right way to do things if they don't have a strong head of house. Without a solid role model within the family, all the responsibility is on the child to figure out right and wrong; They don't have someone teaching them simple manners, the importance of school, or basic coping skills. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to treat each child as their own person. I loved the example in the book talking about two patience going to the Doctor complaining of headaches; One ended up needed glasses, the other needed surgery. As the case with anything in life, there can be different causes for the same problem that each require different treatments. As difficult as it can be sometimes, I need to look at each behavior problem as a unique case and figure out the cause of this behavior. Although it may be easier, it is not beneficial to the student or the teacher to simply view them as "behavior problems" and apply a blanket approach. I need to do my best to delve into their lives, figure out the cause of the problem, and do everything in my power to help them learn and correct their behavior. I like how you talked about needing to look at each behavior problem as a unique case and figure out its cause. I also like how you said "as difficult as it can be..." Sometimes I think that's the hardest thing, to look at each child as not just your student but as an individual. They have had all different things shape them, and just because they are children that shouldn't be diminished. I agree that it can be difficult because if you have two students who have the same behavior problem, it's easy to lump them together and even try the same solution. But like you said, actually getting to know the student and their lives is what can help answer the problem. |
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Post by kincaid on Sept 6, 2013 20:40:40 GMT -5
2. What are some things that teachers and administrators inadvertently do that actually lead to discipline problems?
1. Competitive Environment
2. Student Boredom
3.Powerlessness
4. Unclear Limits
5. Requiring Students to Earn Educational Opportunities
,Outlets to Express Feelings
7. Lack of Success
Out of those, not setting clear limits stood out to me. When students are unclear about what is acceptable and what's not, we can't blame them completely for their behaviors. We need to make sure we set clear limits from day one and everyone needs to be on the same page. Also, we need to make sure we follow through with consequences, because if one person let's a child get away with something, then they will think it's ok to misbehave with other teachers.
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Post by Monka on Sept 6, 2013 20:48:19 GMT -5
Question #1 The book mentioned numerous out-of-school causes but I would like to add one more to the list. Acculturation is one we need to take a better look at since we have a relevantly high population of English language learners. We assume the adjustment and adaptation of this process may only take a few years but what if we are wrong and it truly takes some families generations to overcome. Do we know where the students’ families are on the road to overcoming acculturation or are we replacing their uniqueness with what we think the true American dream should be? Acculturation may be just another word added to your vocabulary today, but keep in mind that it can influence our students psychologically, sociologically and anthropologically. I thought your response was interesting and honestly looked up acculturation before I responded just to make sure I knew what you meant. :) When you talked about replacing a students uniqueness with what we think the American dream should be it really made me think that yes we do that, at least to some degree. I think sometimes at schools we are so focused on getting these students to learn English, or learn it better, that we forget to celebrate their native language and culture. You also made me think of the students who maybe speak English well, and are so "Americanized" that no one would know anything different, but then go home to parents who speak another language and maybe are completely immersed in another culture. We forget about that pulling in two different directions, what they were or what they think their parents are, and what they want to be because they see it as ideal. It's not a concept a lot of us are familiar with, or at least I'm not, and because of that a lot of times becomes one we don't think about. I like that you brought it up because it made me think about it and hopefully try to find ways to bridge these worlds for our students without losing one. |
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Post by shannarae1 on Sept 6, 2013 20:52:03 GMT -5
Mrs. Votaw hit the nail on the head! She is right, we have to remember that as educators we are not just in the buisness of teaching academics.
Mr. Kelley has a valid point about rap stars/actors however, we must understand that many children are left home alone and guess who is raising
them? That is right, the television, so, it is important that as Educators, we stay abreast of what is going on in the world around us,
so that we can redirect students as much as we can. I always go back to one of my favorite poems when thinking about my Legacy as an Educator.
One hundred years from now
It will not matter
What kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in,
How much I had in my bank,
Nor what my clothes looked like.
One hundred years from now
It will not matter
What kind of school I attended,
What kind of typewriter I used,
How large or small my church,
But the world may be ...
a little better because...
I was important in the life of a child.
~~ Author Unknown ~~
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kathy
New Member
Posts: 10 
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Post by kathy on Sept 6, 2013 23:10:39 GMT -5
1. What are some key out-of-school causes of discipline problems that educators cannot control but need to understand?
Effects of the Media - I found the statistics the authors shared mind-boggling. One study showed that children will have viewed 200,000 acts of violence-including 16,000 murders by the time they are 18. In a different study, 75% of 4th graders claimed to have watched an R-rated movie, 65% said they had played a violent video game, and 84% said they had seen at least one killing on tv in the prior year.
As a parent I am constantly monitoring my children (esp my 9 year old who loves to watch reality shows that aren't appropriate for her) to see what shows they are watching, checking their music on their Ipod to make sure it is appropriate and making sure my boys aren't playing more than their allotted video game time. I change the radio when a song with questionable lyrics comes on and monitor the time they are tuned in to technology. I am not knocking technology but think many kids spend way too much in front of a computer, tv, etc.(as a form of babysitter) and not enough time playing games and running around being kids.
As teachers, I think we can try to help children realize that they can make choices on what shows are appropriate to watch, songs to listen to, youtube videos to watch, and video games to play.
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Post by saylor on Sept 7, 2013 0:54:51 GMT -5
Mrs. Olmedo said, "I have found myself complaining about my students and blaming them for inappropriate behavior but not looking at myself and seeing how I might have contributed to it. Engaging students is a daily necessity in order to prevent students from becoming bored." I am pretty new with this student population, but I can already see how easy it will be to "blame" the students when they make bad choices. It is a lot harder to look at myself and say, "What did I do that could have contributed to that problem?" This week Ashley (sorry, I can't remember your last name, yet, Ashley), who works with one of my students, encouraged me by saying that the positive things we can do for our students here at Billingsville may be the only positives they hear. Also, she said that many of these children have never had an adult who came through for them in any way.....
As I think about strategies, I like what the book said on page 21 about listening to what the students are thinking and feeling. Several of my students have come to school seeming to be extremely angry. They start off their day negatively by being disrespectful or just blatently disobedient, almost "in your face"..... I think that learning to express themselves in appropriate ways is key. Instead of just storming through the door and slamming their book bag on the table or floor, how great would it be if they could learn, over time, to express their anger appropriately, by saying what they are feeling instead of acting out....and it would be great if I could learn to ask them, "Why are you so angry today, what's going on?" instead of getting mad at them for acting the way they do.
Case in point - this week, my kids were really upset with one student who was disrupting the class and making everyone miserable. So, I said, "M, tell S how you feel about how he is acting." I was surprised when M said, "S, I wish you would act better, because your mom would be really sad to see you acting that way." And yes, S continued to drive us all crazy that day, but I was really proud of M for putting what he was feeling into such a clear statement.
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Post by lgibbs on Sept 8, 2013 9:27:46 GMT -5
Question #1: What are some key out-of-school causes of discipline problems that educators cannot control but need to understand? [/strong][/em] our students how we expect them to act instead of just assuming they have been exposed to and previously taught these values. [/ul] |
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Post by lgibbs on Sept 8, 2013 9:31:35 GMT -5
#2. What are some things that teachers and administrators inadvertently do that actually lead to discipline problems? 1. Ignoring the fact that we often have to teach parenting-type skills 2. Relying too heavily on a bribery system, which might give students a sense of entitlement 3. Expecting all students to ace a test, instead of concentrating on individual growth (making it a competition) 4. Not engaging all students - leading to boredom which may lead to behavior problems 5. Not allowing students to have choices. 6. Not following through with consequences - (example, I am going to call your mom in here!) or setting clear limits 7. Not allowing all students a chance for opportunities such as eating lunch with the teacher, which just further angers some 8. Not celebrating success - no matter how small. This one is hard because we have all had the student who would rather do nothing then take a chance and get it wrong. Teachers might need to be creative on how to encourage these students to try. The teacher might have to make the entire environment as encouraging as possible. Ms. Davidson, Reading your response reminded me how important it is to stay consistent, set clear expectations, and celebrate students success every chance we get. |
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Post by karend22 on Sept 8, 2013 20:36:49 GMT -5
In response to question #1 - What are some key out-of-school causes of discipline problems that educators cannot control but need to understand?
Many of our students are being raised in households with a single parent who is struggling with the challenges of living in an unsafe environment and too often not having the financial means to provide the basics of food and clothing. Their frustrations are played out on a daily basis in a way that many times is taken out on the children. This lack of a secure family environment contributes to a child's feeling of anxiety and anger that often times is reflected in their behavior in the classroom. As children are exposed more to the ever visible media they are subjected to acts of violence, bad language and the lack of social values. We as educators have to be able to look at the child as a sponge that is soaking up all that is happening around him. Taking into consideration that we cannot change their culture, we have to be prepared to set high expectations for them while teaching them what is acceptable and what is not.
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Post by ksmith on Sept 16, 2013 18:38:46 GMT -5
2. What are some things that teachers and administrators inadvertently do that actually lead to discipline problems?
In response to this question, after closely observing how I handle discipline problems and react to challenging situations I realized that I do not always take the time to understand the issue or problem at hand before reacting to it. For example, if a student (and let me be honest, mostly students who have reoccurring behavior issues) acts out or misbehaves I go into "control mode" and feel I need to correct the undesirable behavior immediately. What I fail to do sometimes is try to UNDERSTAND the CAUSE of the problem behavior and WHY that student acted out in the first place. I am making more of a conscious effort to correct the behavior, get the class under control and involved in a self-sustainable activity, then conference privately (or as privately as possible) with the student to understand the cause of the problem better. Sometimes it takes awhile (many hours) to get through to the student and get them to open up but eventually the trust builds and based on some of my experience the problematic behavior actually lessens because the student feels that I truly want to help them.
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Post by ksmith on Sept 16, 2013 18:43:49 GMT -5
karend22, I completely agree with you that setting high expectations and NOT trying to change their culture is imperative! We need to integrate academics and content with teaching about character, manners, and how to succeed in society.
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Post by jpiper on Nov 9, 2013 12:12:08 GMT -5
1. What are some key out-of-school causes of discipline problems that educators cannot control but need to understand?
Some of the out-of-school causes of discipline problems include, forster care children, the media, a sense of entitlement, lack of a secure family environment, diminished social civility and concentration of poverty.
These factors have increasingly negative impacts on student learning. Students that experience such disabling aspects in their lives are more prone to low academic performance, absenteeism and the inability to see education as an important part of their lives.
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Post by jpiper on Nov 9, 2013 12:58:24 GMT -5
Mrs. Tucker I completely agree with you thought on students worrying about basic needs and security. These are huge problems in little minds. I have to be mindful at all times that some of my students see and hear things that adults should never even be exposed to in life.
Ms. Kelley I completely agree with you about taking a step back and really trying to understand the student's life. I think the more information we know, the better equipped we are to address the students needs.
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