I can really relate to the video "What kind of Asian are you?" I can honestly say that I get asked "Where are you from?" and "Where are you really from?" at least a few times each month. When I was really young, it didn't bother me much. But now, I often feel offended that others make the assumption that I'm not from Canada because I don't look Canadian, or that I don't speak English because I'm Asian. It is both frustrating and upsetting, and I have often felt like an outcast because of it.
Although the video is a comedic skit, there is a lot of truth to it. Many of my friends have also shared similar stories with me where complete strangers have made assumptions and over generalizations about them based on their appearances. I don't necessarily think that people do it with the intention to harm, but I think it is important for people to know that comments or questions that seem harmless can sometimes be very harmful. I hope to teach my future students how to make connections with each other instead of just identifying their differences. It is likely that they will find many similarities when asking questions about their interests. Rather than creating silos among the classroom, I hope to embrace the diversity and use cultural differences as a learning and sharing opportunity among the students.
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On the Edutopia website, I found a video entitled "Justice Committee: Using Restorative Practices to Resolve Conflicts." I really appreciate how students are learning how to mediate conflicts on their own. I think a lot of the time, students might assume that they will be in trouble when teachers are involved. However, at this school, students and teachers work collaboratively to help the affected party get what they need out of the process. Rather than focusing on who is right and who is wrong, which is not the intention of the committee, students and teachers work together to hear both sides of the story so that each party has the opportunity to voice what happened.
When students learn that conflict can be resolved peacefully, it removes some of the anger from the equation. This setting also encourages students to express what they were feeling and the purpose of their actions. When students can do this in a calm and safe environment, they may be more open to hearing the other party's side, instead of building up their anger and frustration for each other. From my experiences in schools, children are easily frustrated and can sometimes hold grudges for long periods of time. Some children tend to bottle their emotions up until it is too much for them to handle, and then they explode! I can see how forming a justice committee might help these types of students because their perspectives will be heard. I truly think that students simply want to be heard without being interrupted or being told they are wrong. I think we need to alter the perspective that If I do something wrong, I'll get punished. Instilling fear into children is not the way to resolve conflict, and I think this is why children are so quick to blame others when something bad happens. Creating classroom rules from the beginning of the year and talking about how to resolve conflict are some ways to help create a safe environment for children to tell their sides of the story.
There's something about mindfulness that I find to be so difficult. In a world that is constantly moving and full of interruption, it can be a challenge to find stillness in oneself. I find myself meditating when I am feeling stressed, when I'm upset, or when I'm angry. I rarely meditate when I feel happy, though I think it is important that I start to do this. If I start being mindful when I am happy, I will be more aware of what is going on in my body and in my surroundings when I am happy. Perhaps I can take this learning and try to recreate it when I become overwhelmed.
I see the benefits of mindfulness in myself, so I think that others can certainly benefit from it as well. In a classroom, mindfulness and meditation can be used during big transitions throughout the day. For example, as teachers, we are unaware of our students' home lives and what they might have gone through in the morning before they arrive at school. If we take a few moments to be mindful in the morning, perhaps the class as a whole can have a positive fresh start. In a similar way, mindfulness can be used after recess, after lunch, and even as an ending to a gym class so that students are not worked up as they re-enter the classroom.
I love the idea of mindfulness in conjunction with technology. There are a couple of applications that I think would be very helpful in the classroom. One application I stumbled upon is called Breathing Bubbles where students can choose how they are feeling from four emotions and rank how much they feel that way. Students can then choose whether they want to "release a worry" or "receive a joy." For example, you can release a worry by typing in your worry in a bubble and watch it float away as you breathe deeply. Having a visual representation of your worry and watching it disappear can be helpful for children to understand that a worry is simply a thought that can go away if they want it to. Having these tools for students to use in the classroom can give them the alone time that they need and calm them down, in addition to keeping them engaged in mindfulness.
I think technology is a great way to engage students in the classroom. There are so many websites and applications that can be used to supplement lessons. However, I think that clear rules regarding technology need to be set so that students know what is appropriate use and what is not. There is no doubt that most children are intrigued by technology, but finding the right balance between traditional ways of teaching and incorporating technology is the challenge. From my experiences in schools, I have noticed that technology can sometimes be used as a reward instead of a tool for learning. When we use technology as a reward, it takes away the power of technology as a learning tool. Yes, technology is fun and it is a privilege; however, if computers or tablets are in the classroom, they should be used by all students and not just those who have finished their work early. There have been too many times where I have seen "difficult" students being denied the use of the classroom computer because they were not behaving the way the teacher wanted them to. I do not believe that this is a good use of technology. As a counsellor, I have researched a number of different applications that can be utilized with students in addition to talk therapy. I can certainly see myself using these applications with clients to solidify and practice their learning. In my practicum classroom, my sponsor teacher uses technology quite a bit. We find videos online to help them learn their letter sounds, and we also use the GoNoodle application for brain breaks. When we use this type of technology with the kids, they seem to absorb the information better, while having fun doing it. Technology adds variety to the day. I think it is a great way to keep students focused, and it can also help provide them with a different perspective. Routine is key for classroom management, especially for younger students. When children enter a classroom and they already know what to do, it eliminates all of the distractions that they could be drawn to. How do teachers ensure that their students understand the routine and that they can remember what their jobs are? An article by Linsin (2014) discussed how music cues both the start and end of a routine. You can choose a song with an appropriate length that fits the particular routine and practice it with your students. When you begin singing or playing the song, the children know that they need to clean up to prepare for the next activity. When the song is finished, they know that they should be done and ready for the next task. In my practicum classroom, I noticed that my sponsor teacher uses music to help the students remember to be very quiet when they walk down the hallway. As soon as she starts singing the song, the children are immediately attentive and they typically join in on the singing. Although they usually don't have very far to walk, they are all very quiet the entire way. Music has always played a very important part in my life. I rarely spoke in class, but when I was in music class, I was a different person. I was addicted to being able to express myself through music. I loved that I could connect with others without having to speak to them. Music provided me with a sense of calm when everything else was chaotic. In my future classroom, I want to be able to use music as a way to communicate with my students without necessarily having to tell them what to do next. I believe that children can sense when adults are overwhelmed, and that they will feed off of this feeling. I think the more I can incorporate music into my classroom, the more calm my students and I will be. References Linsin, M. (2014). How to use music to make routines more fun and effective. Smart Classroom Management. Retrieved from https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2014/03/22/how-to-use-music-to-make-routines-more-fun-and-effective/ Classroom management is something I always imagined would be a difficult task. Managing a small group of students is manageable, but when the number of students reaches the double digits, it becomes exponentially more difficult. I have the pleasure of working with an amazing sponsor teacher (Mrs. I) in a kindergarten/grade 1 classroom. Mrs. I consistently creates such a fun environment for all of her students. I noticed that she has several different attention getting strategies which challenge the students to think about what they need to do, rather than having only one attention getting strategy that becomes habitual to the students. It seems to be a bit of a competition between the students to see who is the quickest to remember what they need to do. Instead of using the strategy as an obligatory task, she presents it more as a game. I also observed how Mrs. I constantly rotates throughout the classroom to ensure that students are on task. While she does this, she determines which students have finished their work, and also when students are ready for a break. I think that if you can develop positive relationships with each student, there is a reciprocal relationship based on respect. Students will know when they need to be focusing on a task, and the teacher will allow students to have time to socialize and have fun with their classmates. One of my favourite things about working with Mrs. I is that she makes learning fun and interesting. On Wednesdays, we spend the entire day outside and change the lessons so that they can be taught outside. The students love it and they are eager to learn in a new environment. I think because Mrs. I is so flexible in her teaching strategies, she does not have much of an issue with classroom management because she adapts to what she believes the students need on any given day. The best teacher I ever had was in graduate school. His name was Rob, and he insisted that we all called him by his first name. He made it very clear to our class that we were all colleagues and that we could all learn from each other. Since the delivery of this particular course was online with a few weeks of face-to-face class time, I did not meet Rob or my classmates in person until a couple of months into the course. When I met Rob for the first time, I had just gone through some personal issues that resulted in many different life changes, which included having to find a new place to live two days prior to attending the face-to-face portion of the course. Rob knew about what was going on in my life and was very supportive. I remember him asking the class to kindly leave the room so that he could check up on me. He thanked me for coming to class despite going through a tough time. He asked me if there was anything he could do to help me. At that moment, I realized how much he really cared for my well-being. Rob was unlike any teacher I have ever had. He cared about the relationship he had with each of his colleagues, and was an exemplary model of who I want to be as an educator, a counsellor, and as a person. His focus was not on my learning, but rather what was important for me at that moment. |
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