Blog #5

Well, we have reached the last blog post for Gus' class. I have to say, it's pretty bittersweet. It's no secret that we complained about it from time to time, but I think the blog has been a great way for us to share and learn from each other's thoughts with the questions as our guide. I would say the top 3 takeaway I learned from this quarters are the different type of authority bases, the "science" behind decorating the classrooms, and LifeSkills.

I think the Levin & Nolan (2014) reading was a great read when it comes to introducing the ideas of authority bases. They really split it up by different bases and explain what each of them means. The "Authority and Theory" assignment also played a part on hearing and seeing what that look like on real teachers (making it relevant!). With that said, I haven't been able to see teachers as "just a teacher".. I shared an anecdote where a teacher of a kid that are doing virtual learning in the center I work at demonstrated a strong reward authority base (something I mentioned I do not agree with in my last blog!)
I love learning about the "science" behind how we decorate our classroom! Especially when we did a Miro collaboration during one of our Zoom where we shared what we thought was interesting during the readings and add on our thoughts to it. I'm personally a perfectionist neat control freak which can be overbearing for some people, but it's comforting to know that it can be very helpful if/when I get my own classroom!
I loved reading the Kovalik & Olsen (2005) article about the LifeSkills and listening to Gus' take on LifeSkills. It's literally skills to carry and develop for life! Sure, we want to make sure our students are learning academically and meeting the standards, but we have to put in equal, if not more, focus on their social-emotional well-being, which I feel are just as crucial in their overall child development. As their teacher who they will spend 8 hours a day with for 180 days, we want to be able to help them learn and enhance their LifeSkills in order for them to become a well-off citizen in our society, which is something I do strongly believe in!

My biggest concern is actually putting what we learned to practice. Like driving, there's a HUGE difference between reading about it and actually do it. We're thinking "wow, driving sounds easy!" but when we actually get behind the wheel, we're thinking "nope, absolutely not. I need EVERYONE to get out of the freeway for me to drive safely!" (at least, that was my thinking). So, we read about classroom management and is thinking "wow, I can't wait to do this and that in my classroom" but then certain situations/circumstances may not allow us to actually put what we learned in practice. I'm sure that'll change once we're actually teaching in our own classroom, but until then, we'll just have to wait and see.

Another crazy quarter very, very close to the end but I'm very lucky to work with some awesome people too! Here's Maya (right) and Elvis (left) getting in spirit for this upcoming holiday season. Wishing you all the best!

Blog #4

If there is one thing that seems consistent across elementary classrooms everywhere, it is the pervasive use of reward systems. How do you plan to use them? If not at all, why not? If some, how? If you plan to use them a lot, what is your evidence for why that is the best plan?

I plan on using them "every once in a while". I want to be light on using the reward systems because I believe students should learn skills on being a responsible and helpful classmates because it'll help them in the long run as a good citizens in society. I don't want to encourage students these skills because they expect a reward for doing so and I just hope they make a habit out of it in a long run (let's face it, sometime kids choose to only remember and focus on the reward, the end goal, rather than the process of it). These type of skills should be taught as a common sense type of skills, where students does it because it's just an ethically right thing to do. So when do I use the reward systems if I plan on using them "every once in a while"? I want to use the reward systems when I see that my students deserve them. For example, if they had a long week of doing standardized testing or just getting through a hard unit or even just all had a hard week but still pushed through, I want to spend one after that hard and tedious week where they can relax, have fun, and unwind. No huge focus on learning something academically, just a day where we have a fun-filled activities and some time to for free-choice, where they can choose to read a favorite book, draw, etc. Maybe have some pizza/ice cream "party" type. Now, I'm speaking this out of heart. I haven't look up on if this is an effective way to use reward system, but I think it's better than making it a regular thing.

What do you think of Gus' (Kovalik's) idea of a set of powerful vocabulary like the LifeSkills? Do you think you will use something like that in your classroom? Why or why not?

I think the idea of having set of powerful vocabulary like the Lifeskills is something I'd like to implement more of in my own future classroom. I want to set aside a time during the day where students and I can talk about our social-emotional learning. By implementing more social-emotional learning in the classroom, I thought that the students will be more likely to succeed academically. During those social-emotional time, I'll probably come up with different activities that'll help students develop/reflect their learning. Once all the activities for the day are said and done, I thought about passing out a self-assessment survey type at the end of the lesson. One of the question would ask "Which Lifeskills did you demonstrated today?" Students will be able to learn and reflect on how they demonstrated different Lifeskills and how it makes them feel.

Blog #3

What do you not like about the set of rules you selected as a poor example?

Lack of visual: I thought visuals in classroom are such an important aspect to consider when designing a classroom. This definitely ring true for English as Second Language students, students who can't quite read yet, and students who relies on visuals in general to understand their way in the classroom. What does the underlined "first" mean to students? What are treasure chest? What is this board for anyway?

Consequences/Rewards: At first glance, I think it's safe for me to say that this teacher have a reward/coercive authority base. Now, maybe that's not their entire authority base because we learned that some teachers can change it up every once in a while depending on different situations. But for me, I think it's important to have these rules/expectations in the first place because I want to teach them to be a good person overall in a school setting, not because they will get a reward for it. Maybe giving the students a motivation to be good and hope that it becomes a habit isn't a bad idea in the long run, but then we also have to think of the "difficult" students, the one whose behaviors are a little harder to manage because of various reasons that takes place outside of school. To be blunt, it's just straight up unfair. 

What do you like about the set of rules you selected as a good example?

Visuals: I've said it before and I'll said it again; I am a visual nutso! Sure, it may not be the most accurate (for example, how would you show a visual on being responsible?), but it at least give students a better idea on what it should look like. In visuals, anything is always better than nothing to me.

Wording: The rules are not degrading when you read it. Not everything are always "happy-go-lucky", but we can at least try to make our classroom a positive environment. Rather than saying "don't run", say "use walking feet" instead. Rather than saying "don't yell", say "use inside voice" instead. It doesn't feel as strict when reading over the rules. I find it to be a positive way in having the students follow the rules and expectations, while maintaining a general positive atmosphere in the classroom.

Share a set of rules you would like to have in your classroom in the future (or ones that you hope you kids come up with if you plan to have them part of the process). Explain what you like about these rules.

1. Use walking feet
2. Use inside voice
3. Say "please" and "thank you"
4. When you're stuck, ask for help. Help others as well
5. Respect: School, Others, Teacher, and Yourself

I like these rules and I'm hoping to come up with more like these because it's all about positivity and respect. I think that's a key characteristics in ensuring that the students will grow up to be a good citizens in society. The positivity part of the rules would help me in developing a friendly and trusting relationship with the students, the respect part of the rules will help students become a good citizen in a long run.

Blog #2

Garrett's (2008) article suggests that the philosophy we adopt in our teaching should align with the philosophy we embrace in our management - but, many teachers who believe in student-centered learning struggle to give up teacher-centered management. What do you think about Garrett's premise? Why do you think teachers struggle with this?

I agree with Garrett's premise. And I see that Garrett realizes how difficult it is for every educators to agree with his suggestion. It's not easy to think that the way someone teach for large number of years effectively could switch sides or transition to something new and unfamiliar, like student-centered teaching. And I think teachers struggle with this because in a classroom full of 20+ little ones, the teacher is usually the adult in charge! So as someone in charge, I can understand that it make sense to dictate a lot of major aspects of the classroom for your students. It would especially be difficult for well-praised veteran teachers who had stuck with the teacher-centered management and believe that it's the most effective way. Why should they try to transition to student-centered when they see and know that their teacher-centered way is the most effective? Well, I'm not sure how to answer that; like almost all of us here, I'm not a teacher yet and I don't have my own classroom. But I definitely think our generation of teaching is heading to a more progressive stance. We're looking to change, and we're looking to change for the greater goods. Which is why student-centered learning is becoming more and more of a thing for us to learn and integrate. Teacher-centered has its benefits, but student-centered helps the students and the teachers in a more long-term aspect as well.

Gus shared his "sweet-spot" on the continuum. Where is your "sweet-spot?" Why do you believe that location is the best fit for you?

My long answer is that, I may not be a teacher yet, but fortunately I've had a classroom full of students that I am in charge of (thanks to my daycare jobs over the year). Sure, I may not be implementing new idea on different activities the students could do and "teaching" them academic contents, but I am still the adult in charge of the classroom. I make sure that the students know it too. But then, that's it. I want students to look at me and understand that I'm the teacher, I'm usually in charge of "big decisions" like when we go outside or what we can eat for lunch, something students don't usually have control of. When a problem arise, big or small, a student came up to me for a solution. Instead I ask them, "I understand that this is a problem.. So what can we do about it?" Students aren't usually taken aback by that response, but they did have a moment of realization right there, as if they're thinking they have a choice in coming up of a solution too. Especially in early childhood, this is a work of developing their problem-solving skill and their ability to see things in different perspectives. A friend took their toy they were playing with, what can we do? Well, teacher could come in and intervene right away, put a stop to it once and for all. Or, a kid can go up to their friend, ask why they took it, then problem solve together in the fate of the toy that a kid was playing with that their friend too. So in my short answer, I see myself in between the student-centered and collaboration side, with a little more emphasis on collaboration.

Blog #1

 • How are your initial thoughts about management already changing or being reinforced?

In short, I often forget the psychology behind classroom management. When you observe your classroom or observe other teacher's classroom (in a pandemic-free everyday classroom setting, I might add), you or the teacher you're observing would often find different ways or have different preferred methods in classroom Management. I think it could be as simple as saying "I'll wait" while the students continue to talk in line before recess time, or something a little more advanced that experienced teacher could easily execute. I'll say, I haven't quite seen the latter.. yet. To be honest, this is an assumption that I'm coming up with off the top of my head. But I can say in the "I'll wait" example, just as with any methods for classroom management I think there's truly a psychological reasonings behind why it works for some students. It's funny to think about how we would use the method, but never truly question why that works. Not to mention, we would work with a minimum of 20+ students in a classroom, each with different sets of personalities and experiences... It's almost as if you could find a "one size fit all" scenario, even though we have learned in general and in education, that's usually not the best case and approach.

• How do Charles' three purposes for management (he calls it classroom discipline) complement each other?

It's amazing how those three strategies complement each other. I feel like ultimately, the goal for those three strategies are so that you never have to resort to the "mean" path in discipline. The way I see it, 1st strategy helps prevent the misbehavior from happening. 2nd strategy say, "this student is still behaving inappropriately", so teacher then say, "don't give that any attention. Look for the good parts" and we vocally erupt in happiness when we saw them behaving in the appropriate manner. 3rd strategy say "they're still behaving inappropriately!", so teacher then say, "let's redirect them, let's start from step 1, from the beginning, do some scaffolding, and remind them how to behave appropriately". To me, I read the strategies like "steps to take before you resort to feeling like you're absolutely losing it!"

• Which authority base are you most attracted to? Why that one?

I want to say that I am mostly a referent authority with a dab of legitimate authority. I also see this as an equivalent to being an emotional person with a dab of logical side in it. As a referent authority, I care greatly about another students' feelings and would put in the effort to create a trusting and positive students-teacher relationship. I believe that by doing so, it would helps create an overall positive classroom atmosphere. However, if it became too friendly to the point that students see me more as a friend and cater their personal wants/needs, than I would have to put my foot down and reminds them of the teacher side in me, hence the legitimate authority. I want to be that warm and caring teacher, but I am also a teacher. I can see this as a very friendly and professional students-teacher relationship.