Throughout my time as a student in both primary school and college I have had life-changing experiences being a leader. In high school, I was Class President. In college, I served on the Executive Boards of several student clubs and served my campus community as a Resident Assistant. Moreover, I have always understood leadership as not just an act, but as a topic to explore, study, and read about. Everyone has a different set of expectations for the leaders they work for and with. I myself have always been a keen observer of those in power. I think how someone acts when in a leadership role speaks volumes on the kind of human being they are. I always check for empathy, high expectations, and most importantly, a willingness to work as hard as they expect their employees to work.
Through MTC, I have been challenged to be a leader within a context I have never been before. I can lead a meeting for college students, but can I lead a classroom of hyper-energetic, relatively apathetic, and reading-averse 12 year olds? The answer is....kinda. There are parts of leading my classroom that I do really well. I am very positive, and reward my students with positive attention as much as possible. I have anchor charts all over my classroom with the names of students that have met their AR goals and for those that have shown growth in their reading levels and on the 9-weeks test. I have really loving relationships with the majority of my students and I think the majority of my students know I love being their teacher.
But, there are other students. The ones who see me as a kind person and decide to play with it in the wrong way. I struggled with this so much last year. I always wondered why these specific students seemed so dead-set on ruining my day. I truly believe that 99% of student behavior is not personal, but it is difficult to remember that when you are in the think of the difficult classroom moments. The struggle has gotten better this year, but it certainly still exists. I think that I am an easy teacher to get along with. As long as you take the work seriously and show respect to everyone in the room, we won't have problems. Unfortunately, some of my students decide to fight against that. The biggest question of my MTC experience has been this: do I continue treating my students the way I believe they deserve to be treated? Meaning...greeting them positively, reacting calmly to their outlandish behavior, and speaking respectfully to them when things escalate. Or, do I get a little harsh with them? Maybe call them out on what they are doing and remind them that I am the one that really runs the show? My students are used to aggressive discipline from their parents, and even from their school. When the threat of corporal punishment exists within a school, it is hard to maintain power when you are the "nice" teacher. Instead of being appreciative of that, many students see it as their opportunity to play around and I sometimes feel like many of my students are their worst selves in my room.
It is difficult to figure out how to really instill order and keep it up all year. When the spring time hits and students start to "turn up" it is hard to keep the calm in your classroom. I know that I am the leader, and that I must create that order. I see growth in this area this year, but I am really looking at year 3 as my time to truly get my classroom to where I want it to be in regards to student behavior.
But as I said, I observe leaders because you learn the most about a person when they are in a situation of stress. Even when my students are out of order, I try to be the person I know I am; kind, gracious, and patient. My teacher persona will always be a work in progress. I hope to lead my classroom in a more efficient manner each and every year.
Through MTC, I have been challenged to be a leader within a context I have never been before. I can lead a meeting for college students, but can I lead a classroom of hyper-energetic, relatively apathetic, and reading-averse 12 year olds? The answer is....kinda. There are parts of leading my classroom that I do really well. I am very positive, and reward my students with positive attention as much as possible. I have anchor charts all over my classroom with the names of students that have met their AR goals and for those that have shown growth in their reading levels and on the 9-weeks test. I have really loving relationships with the majority of my students and I think the majority of my students know I love being their teacher.
But, there are other students. The ones who see me as a kind person and decide to play with it in the wrong way. I struggled with this so much last year. I always wondered why these specific students seemed so dead-set on ruining my day. I truly believe that 99% of student behavior is not personal, but it is difficult to remember that when you are in the think of the difficult classroom moments. The struggle has gotten better this year, but it certainly still exists. I think that I am an easy teacher to get along with. As long as you take the work seriously and show respect to everyone in the room, we won't have problems. Unfortunately, some of my students decide to fight against that. The biggest question of my MTC experience has been this: do I continue treating my students the way I believe they deserve to be treated? Meaning...greeting them positively, reacting calmly to their outlandish behavior, and speaking respectfully to them when things escalate. Or, do I get a little harsh with them? Maybe call them out on what they are doing and remind them that I am the one that really runs the show? My students are used to aggressive discipline from their parents, and even from their school. When the threat of corporal punishment exists within a school, it is hard to maintain power when you are the "nice" teacher. Instead of being appreciative of that, many students see it as their opportunity to play around and I sometimes feel like many of my students are their worst selves in my room.
It is difficult to figure out how to really instill order and keep it up all year. When the spring time hits and students start to "turn up" it is hard to keep the calm in your classroom. I know that I am the leader, and that I must create that order. I see growth in this area this year, but I am really looking at year 3 as my time to truly get my classroom to where I want it to be in regards to student behavior.
But as I said, I observe leaders because you learn the most about a person when they are in a situation of stress. Even when my students are out of order, I try to be the person I know I am; kind, gracious, and patient. My teacher persona will always be a work in progress. I hope to lead my classroom in a more efficient manner each and every year.