Star Teachers of Children in Poverty

Discipline In my opinion it is crazy to not be concerned with discipline in the classroom. Discipline in the classroom to me is top priority. I believe that without discipline in the classroom there is no order and that the students do not know there limits when no ground rules are set. Of course, problems are a part of a teacher's job, but discipline is not the teacher's responsibility. A teacher should not be responsible to teach students how to behave while at school. Parents need to play a part in their children's lives and disciplining a child is one of their responsibilities. I cannot seem to believe that star teachers are not floored by some of the acts that take place in the classroom, and that they spend little time disciplining their students. I do agree with the statement that today's training for teachers does not prepare them for what is to come. When you are in teacher education programs, not much is mentioned about how diverse a classroom can be, and how to deal with such a diverse class. However, teachers are prepared for classes filled with "normal" children. This mind set does cause the educators to create lists in their mind of children who should not be in their classroom due to fact that they may not be as smart as some, or as quick as the others. It is true that students who are not the "norm" tends to carry the label as problem children and assigned to other people for help instead of the regular classroom teacher. I disagree completely with the idea that teachers need to form personal relationships with their students by becoming very involved in what takes place where they live or outside of school grounds. By forming these relationships with their students I feel that it only leaves room for discrimination or unequal treatment of the students. When a teacher becomes too involved with their students, teachers tend to play favoritism. If teachers do not get personally involved, then there would be no favoritism.
Punishment
I agree with the author in the sense that I do not agree with corporal punishment. I feel that no matter how many times a child is whipped, it will make no difference in how well he/she will learn in the classroom. People cannot be forced to learn. There has to be a desire and willingness to learn. However, I do believe that there has to be some type of punishment available in order to keep the classroom in order. I do not believe that laying hands on the students is appropriate, but I do think that suspensions, detentions, etc. should be in place.
Homework
The star teacher's philosophy on homework is absolutely true. I agree completely that homework should be something more than an assignment that the students cannot complete on their own. Homework should reflect the in-class activities, and therefore the students will know and understand how to complete their assignment. Teachers do many times complain that parents are non-compliant; however, if the children can complete their homework on their own, then there is no reason why the parents should be non-compliant. Assignments that students take home should be shared in class instead of being graded. This gives each student a chance to share what he or she took from the lesson.
Parent Bashing Of course, being a supportive parent starts by providing children with basics such as privacy, safety, sleep, nutrition, and health care, but there is far more to it than what was stated previously. It is the parent's responsibility to help their children with their homework, and to make sure that their kids behave while in school. Most teachers are optimistic when it comes to parents, however, when you see the non-interest first hand, it is hard to remain that way. In a teacher's mind it is hard to perceive how a parent could not take interest in making sure that their child is receiving the highest quality education possible and therefore they may indeed bash the parents. I do not know who else is to blame other than the parents for the way their children behave and I find it hard to believe that star teachers do not blame parents!
Tests and Grading I do not put much faith in standardized tests; however, I do put faith in tests administered in the classroom by the teacher. I feel that these tests are the only means of determining if the class understands the lessons that are being taught. Grades on in class exams should be stressed as highly important and given adequate time, as they are given adequate importance. I do agree with the statement that children who explain their failures on the basis of ability are prone to think less of themselves and to try less, and those children who attribute their success or failure to effort can protect their self-esteem and hold on to some hope. I don't agree when the author says that star teachers do not do the following: average grades based on test scores; takes papers home to grade; meets with parents just to discuss grades; or uses grades to explain how a child is progressing. These are all things that good teachers do. Good teachers do these things because they are concerned about their student's education.
Time-on-Task
It is true, that stars do not just simply lecture their students. Star teachers want to give their class a variety of methods of learning. This ensures that no matter what learning style a particular child has, they will always at some point in the classroom have the chance to experience their favorite learning style. How much time is spent on each project however is a concern with most teachers since they have to get a certain amount of material taught in a certain amount of time, and therefore I do not agree with the fact that star teachers are not concerned with the amount of time spent on projects. Any good teacher who is concerned with their job will make sure to put time limits on assignments and projects in order to cover all material necessary before the kids advance to the next grade level.
Reward and Reinforcements The book and I totally clash in this section. My seven year old loves to be rewarded for good work in the classroom. It totally motivates him to do the best that he can in order to receive his bar of candy or whatever it may be. I feel there is no harm in rewarding a student when he or she does something that is positive. Students like attention, and this is exactly what they get when they are rewarded. Rewards are positive reinforcements for good behavior, good school work, good ideas, etc. When the author wrote that star teachers do not reward their students with things such as stickers, pop breaks, or things along those lines, he didn't have a clue about children or what they thrive on.
Persistence
I would consider myself a persistent person, however I am not persistent in the manner that teacher two in the book was. I think that persistence to work with a child is necessary, but I do not think that being persistent should include making differences between the students. If I had a child who continually did not do his homework I would attempt to find out the reason by talking to the student, giving them additional time to complete the assignment and such, but going so far as to totally change my lesson just for them is taking it a little too far in my book.. If you make one exception for one child, then the whole class will expect you to make exceptions for them also. This would be too much for one person to deal with. Just like teacher one, I would eventually get the psychologist, principal, and parents involved; however, the student would probably end up failing my class or making a really bad grade due to fact that he or she would not complete homework assignments.
Protecting Learners and Learning I agree with this passage to some extent. Yes, it is a teacher's job to keep the children's interest. Students do get bored with a daily routine such as coming into class, opening up a text book, reading the text, and answering questions. This is merely one track and requires little training to complete the task. True teachers would indeed take their class to higher levels by bringing interesting topics into the classroom. A classroom that is dry is a classroom where learning and excelling is not taking place. Students simply turn into robots if that is how the teacher trains them to be. Teachers must have variety in their lessons, use current events to teach with, and stay out of the text book routine as much as possible in order to ensure that the students minds are being challenged and that learning is taking place. Having said all this, it has to be understood that most teachers are under guidelines mandated by the state. Schools are organized to teach certain subjects at certain times, and to make sure that specific material is covered in a set limit of time. These requirements make it hard on the teachers to be overly interesting and hard for them to spend long periods of time of different topics.
Generalizations: Putting Ideas into Practice It is definitely true that teachers must continually develop and improve themselves with each passing year of school. I agree with the author in the sense that some teachers are on different teaching levels. Some teachers are better than others. A good teacher is one who can find numerous activities for their children to perform, thus keeping them busy, but they can also explain the activities and the meaning behind them. I once again agree with the statement that some teachers simply have a single year of teaching experience thirty times. Some teachers seem to just teach one year after another, never learning from the previous year. They just continually stay in the same routine from year to year and decade to decade. There are several common generalizations made about teachers as the book says. Some of them as stated in the book are that good teachers have high expectations; good teachers believe all children can learn; good teachers use information about the children to teach them more; good teachers involve the children in active learning. I agree with Mr. Haberman in that there are endless generalizations about good teachers, but that few teachers can answer the question of what do good teachers believe.
Approach to "At-Risk" Children The expert hits the nail on the head. Children who come from a background of poverty are at a disadvantage in school systems. No matter what those children do, they will never have the upper edge in the classroom. Teachers are in no way shape or form prepared to teach children who come from unprivileged backgrounds. The teacher curriculum does not in any form teach prospective teachers how to deal with this class of students. Teachers are taught how to teach and deal with normal children, generally kids who come from a middle class background. I also strongly agree with the author when he says that teachers take no blame for the educational situation "at-risk" students bring into the classroom. Teachers do not want to be considered as not doing their job properly, or that they do not know how to teach the students what they need to know. Low achievement in the classroom comes down to one of two reasons – either there is something wrong with the children or there is something wrong with the teacher's methods and school curricula. Therefore, with those two options, it is much easier for the school systems to blame the low achievement on the students and their underprivileged background. One point that I don't agree with is that you can find different ways to where all children will take an interest in the task at hand and want to learn. Some children, no matter how many activities you try, or how much you get to know them on a personal basis, just do not want to learn and could care less if they were sitting in the classroom or not. In my opinion these are the students that cannot be helped, because they do not want to help themselves. Most of these problems evolve from their home life and the way that they were raised. Most of these children have never been taught to value their education.
Professional-Personal Orientation to Students In my opinion, yes, you must love your students to a certain extent in order to be an effective teacher, however, I still feel that you can become too involved in your students lives. It is necessary to establish close and supportive relationships with the children that you teach. Teachers must show compassion, care, and understanding to their students in order to be able to connect children with meaningful learning in ways that the children can learn. I agree with author when he says that teachers can become too attached to their children, and that in many cases the teacher begins to take the parental role. To me, this has taken it too far. Teachers are not the parents of their students and lines do need to be drawn. Teachers should love their students, respect them, care about their education, and what they are learning, but they should not fill a void in their personal life with feelings connected to their students. Teachers must be in the know on their student's home lives. They must be able to recognize abuse and the conditions the children are living in, in order to be able to effectively help the children and their situation. If a teacher doesn't recognize their student's life conditions, then they are not able to make referrals and seek help for the children. I disagree when the author says that you must prepare yourself as a teacher for even your best children to do negative things, and that you shouldn't be disappointed when they do so. This is not my view point. I feel that a teacher has every right to be upset when one of their model children acts badly. I think it is totally acceptable and normal for a teacher to express his or her disappointment in the child creating the negative behavior.
Fallibility
Of course teachers are fallible. They are only human aren't they? Teachers do make mistakes in the ways they approach learning in their classroom. They make mistakes with how they handle certain students and situations. Teachers should realize that they cannot criticize a student while in the classroom, and that if they do they must correct the situation by apologizing to the student. Good teachers know when they make a mistake and they do what is morally right to make sure the mistake is corrected. Teachers must accept the fact that they are only humans, and that no matter how hard they try, they will make mistakes. This biggest problem is making teachers realize that they are fallible, and that they must apologize or do what is right in order to fix their mistakes.
Emotional and Physical Stamina Teachers cannot be expected to teach a subject that they are not enthusiastic about. If the teacher is not thrilled with a subject, how do you think the students will feel? I agree with the fact that teachers must be resilient people and bounce back at their job with a fresh face no matter what is going on with one of their students. Teachers must enter the classroom as the book says, and teach the topic at hand as if it is their first time teaching that subject ever. Teachers must care for their students and what they are learning. How can you teach something to people who you don't even care about? It is not possible. There must be some working relationship between the teacher and the students in order for any learning to take place in the classroom. Teachers must always see the best and believe the best in their students. Teachers must focus on the positive aspects of their classroom experiences and not the negative ones. In order to be successful they must be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Organizational Ability Organization is very important in the classroom as the book states; however there must be a difference between chaotic learning and structured learning. Teachers must realize that sometimes what seems chaotic is merely the best strategy for learning in the classroom. It keeps the children actively involved in what is being taught. Teachers should use a variety of teaching methods in the classroom and make sure that there are enough materials and supplies available in order to keep the children busy and able to complete their projects.
Effort-Not Ability It is true that effort should play some importance in the classroom. If students are making an effort in their school work it should be acknowledged. More often than not, success is found by making an effort. Without effort there would be no success.
When Teachers Face Themselves In today's society it is extremely important for teachers to be culturally diverse and unbiased. If a teacher feels some superior to another race, sex, or religion, what type of equal learning will take place? Teachers must learn how to deal with themselves and their feelings of prejudice in order to be an effective teacher. This could take lots of time, as many people have been raised with these feelings and they have become internally stored. Even though this is not a process that is taught in teacher education, it is extremely important for teachers to get those feelings under control before even being exposed to children in the classroom. Teachers have a great impact on their students; therefore they need to enter the classroom with a fresh and unbiased outlook on people and their social status. Teachers must realize that they have a problem and take the steps necessary to not be a detriment to any student they may encounter.