Online Reflection #3 : Building the Basics – How much is too much?

As future teachers we are often advised to get to know our students- but what happens when they want to tell us too much? Over the past few weeks I have felt completely blindsided by some of the information that students willingly and openly share. Working in the first hour of the day, the senior class I work with appears to have no qualms in talking to the CT and I about their weekend or previous night’s happenings. A few of the students have even come up to ask for advice! Normally, I would be thrilled with this amount of openness between students and teachers- but this idea is based on the fact that students share sensitive information to teachers when there is a basis of trust between them. Is this the case, anymore?

It seems that more and more students (or at least the classroom body that I work with) are openly sharing intimate details that simply should not be shared without caution. For example: there is a student who often asks for advice on her “love situation”. Through some half-hazard talks (to which I always tried to offer a basic service of advice for a general audience, so as not to misguide or misinform the student while also not simply rejecting her sincere questions) I have been told- without even asking- of more than one “significant other” at the same time and questioned on who I, personally, would choose to stay with- or if hiding one from the other is wrong. These are questions that I don’t feel comfortable discussing with acquaintances and yet here is a student openly asking her teacher without batting an eye. At first I wondered if this behavior was solely of one student but I quickly learned that it was not. There are several students who willingly share and proffer such information without even being asked. It begs the question of: what is too much?

Researching online, I discovered that this situation is becoming more and more commonplace. For example, an article written by Stephen Winzenburg, gives the opinion that the online social media may be playing a part. While I do not know whether or not Facebook, Twitter, and the vast array of online websites could cause students- and people in general- to willingly share private information with little care, the article shows that it is not isolated the students in my classroom.

So what is the solution? Is there even a problem, or is this a social change that older generations will inevitably have to recognize- even if they do not agree it should be done? Perhaps I simply did not search the right words- but there seemed to be little online information on this specific topic. I found an abundant resource of information on what people, kids in particular, should or should not share online but not in relation to a classroom or public situation. From there I turned to classroom management. This appears to be the path, at least for the moment, which is most beneficial- especially during transitions. Perhaps by using such guides as Adam Waxler’s “How to Handle Classroom Management During Transitions” – or one of the many other online and in print resources for this topic–the amount of personal sharing may get cut down. A classroom discussion on what is too much to share may provide a benefit to some students, as well. However, as they are all seniors, most already taking on adult responsibilities and liberties, I’m unsure as to how many will take the discussion into serious consideration. Most of the students, when questioned, do not see the problem with sharing as much as they do, after all. Am I simply creating a problem where there isn’t one?

Online Reflection #2 : Laying out the Foundation

The first few weeks have come and gone, and overall I couldn’t be more pleased with how the class has been run. Many of the students have had my CT before and already knew her classroom rules and procedures which have made it almost easier than it should be to begin a daily routine. I have had students come to ask me what the daily plan is on the rare occasion that a morning bell work is not posted for them via overhead when they first enter the room because they know that there should have been one waiting. The responsibility the students have shown has been very encouraging, to say the least! This experience also leads me to further understand and see firsthand the words of Dr. Wong in his book entitled The First Days of School: how to be an Effective Teacher (2009) when he states that the “first two to three weeks of school are critical in determining how well students will achieve for the remainder of the year” (p. 6).

Classroom management, one of my personal goals, has been amazingly simple due to the management skills of the classroom teacher. However, there is a noticeable difference in the students when the CT leaves the room for any reason and I am left in charge. Their behavior doesn’t change in that the students refuse to acknowledge what I tell them, but the atmosphere of the room feels more lax in their expectations of side conversations and volume level. At times it makes me wonder if, following under the pre-set expectations of my CT, I have failed to lay my own foundation. Or could it just be that the students are still adjusting to having a second teacher in the classroom with them? I believe it may be a bit of both, as the students and I are both in a new learning environment together.

Armed with this knowledge, I have been excitedly working on building a three to five day thematic unit to teach to the class. It is my hope that during this time I will be able to teach more effectively in terms of what my own procedures and expectations are. My CT has given me the opportunity to work with the class on their first assigned book by Jean Ferris called Bad. We, the CT and myself, will be piloting a new strategy with this book (if all things go as planned) by using voice recordings of the chapters for the students to hear as they read. This may be used in class and at home (especially for those who were absent). Since the classroom I work in is a special education English classroom with many ESL students, we are hoping to test and see if an audio recording of the book will improve student comprehension (and perhaps even motivation). It is an exciting challenge to take, however it may turn out! This new set of audio accessibility and online streaming have opened up a lot of potential for future projects that can provide a great benefit for the students. I can only hope that, with this new technology being introduced during my thematic unit, the planning will work out and not be too hard on me with technical difficulties! Either way it will be a learning based experience. Without putting the effort in to try there can be no possibility of success!