This week's required reading is definitely timely. I was aware in each group I led last week that my method is to move and speak more quickly so that everyone is just focused on keeping up. It worked to keep first graders in line - but maybe not to facilitate learning.
There were a few things I liked in this article. The statement "Be aware and sensitive to your ability to make a child feel great" is worth printing and posting. I also really appreciated the methods of getting children's attention, especially in large groups. These included the clapping Matt showed us, Paul's songs, and calling out one word and having them respond with another (like I say Merry and you say Lea). They continued that discussion with "only begin when you have their attention" and stop if you lose their attention.
What I thought about throughout the reading was that I don't know if we have rules at Merry Lea. I don't know what the teachers' rules are, or if they are always the same. I know we have our safety and line rules clearly defined, but others are not. For instance, one leader at Farmstead may have a "no-running" rule and another doesn't. I think we have to be really careful about assuming that unspoken rules are understood.
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I agree that it is difficult to know which rules to maintain, and even which kids might be aware of. I would guess that it isn't that effective to have the opening be a list of rules, but that we have to respond to some of those various things depending on the situation. It seems like that is true of the "real" world as well. There are many unspoken, unwritten rules that are culturally created. I don't know if any of the kids have noticed that different places have different rules yet, but it is an aspect of life, and we might just have to live with not having a set rules for everyday here, at least an individual group is only dealing with the rules of one leader?
ReplyDeleteMerry Lea is a special place for kids to get out and away from the classroom and rules and I think it is a welcome relief for them. We all have our own ideas of what "rules" should be enforced with our groups depending on our particular teaching style. For me, because we don't have the luxury of time and establishing rules, it helps to have some consistency between what they do in the classroom, like using their classroom quiet signal but I am also borrowing techniques from everyone in this cohort. Other than general things, we haven't discussed as a group what specific rules we should employ. This gives us the freedom to establish our own teaching styles. Those who have experience are still honing their skills as a teacher because as we've discussed, there is always something new to learn. If you think you know it all, you have become stale in your teaching. I think even adults get their hackles up when someone mentions rules. I know I do. Letting them know ahead of time what the expected behavior is and guiding them toward it in a positive way reframes the situation.
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