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Hi Shaw,
What a lasting image this leaves me with! I’m very impressed with the relevance of your example to the material of our class. While in Northfield High School, I also noticed the consistent presence of teachers in the hallway. No such thing occurred at my high school, so this struck me as strange. I think you are dead right connecting this to both classical conditioning and Bloom’s “teachers’ assessment of students” theory. Simply the tacit acknowledgement of the presence of a teacher can affect student behavior in big ways, and it seems important for teachers to witness the hustle and bustle of the hallway in order to get a feel for how their students are doing.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hey Adam,
It’s super interesting to hear your perspective on the SSC. I have similarly noticed that students of color have (on average) been less responsive to my input. Personally, I understand this to be a failure on my part. Delpit’s ideas on the culture of power tells us that “those with power are frequently least aware of… its existence.” It is more than likely that this culture of power (and my blindness to it) has shaped my tutoring interactions with students of color. I hope to try my hardest to work against this dynamic in the future– the first step to do this is to recognize it! Thanks for your extremely thoughtful response! 🙂
Hi Kara,
This seems like such a cool lesson! Encouraging students to notice “changes” and “evidence” seems to me a great way to prepare students’ deductive reasoning skills in an environment where they are able to move around and engage with the outside world. I am also impressed by the structure of the class itself. Molly clearly knows each of her students very well, well enough to know their individual strengths and weaknesses to assign them into groups they would do well in. This seems to be a testament to both Molly and the Prairie Creek school!
Hi Molly,
I think you make some really interesting points about the use of phones in Mr. DuBe’s class. It seems like different teachers have different policies at NHS when it comes to phone usage. Like you are saying, this seems to connect to how the “absence of punishment” can inhibit the acquisition of certain behaviors (in this case, staying off one’s phone). Phone use is also a problem at the SSC, and we have not taken a very strict stance against it. I’m still trying to figure out where I stand, but at the very least, it is clear this is an issue of behaviorism.
Lastly, I also worked with a student who was struggling on the same “American Dream” essay. I took the same approach as you: praising more than correcting. I also feel for Mr. DuBe– it must be so frustrating and challenging to have a student who needs substantial extra resources to be supported in their learning and not have those resources or the time to always help them. I’m sure tutors such as ourselves help with this, but we can only do so much.
Hi Price,
I am intrigued by your observation about how your high school experience differed so dramatically from your sister. I agree with you that my male identity has certainly influenced my confidence in school. Like you, I have rarely doubted that I belong in an academic setting for not being intelligent enough. Confidence in school seems like something that is a factor of the way you are treated by teachers, peers, parents, and maybe other sources like media. I wonder to what extent this treatment can be boiled down to gender? My guess is more than I would imagine.
It’s exciting you’ve been able to work more with the students in the last week. I hope it continues to go well for you!
Hi Angela,
Your astute observation about the unique way students consider math skills an essential part of intelligence is fascinating. This was also the case in my school experience; all of the “gifted” students from middle to high school usually only took accelerated classes in math. Why not history? Why not English? I don’t know exactly why this is, but I love how you connected that to Erikson’s industry vs. inferiority stage. The more I think about it, the more I realize how crucial this stage is for future school success. I work with students at Northfield High’s student service center, where students come for extra help on homework. Although every student at the center wants (in some capacity) assistance with catch-up work, there is a clear difference between those who are motivated every day and those who get distracted easily and never end up getting anything done. I wonder if those students ever had a teacher like Mrs. Talbot, one who would see their strengths and push them to improve on their weaknesses.
Hey Chisom,
I feel the same way about hoping that students will get more comfortable over time asking for help. It’s a strange feeling to know you could be a great resource for a student only if they wanted help (or, maybe, took the risk to be vulnerable and ask for help). Developing strong relationships with your students is a part of teaching I feel is sometimes overlooked, and one I hope to explore more in this class.
I’m also curious about the dynamic of rowdy and quiet kids in the class. What is your role when students misbehave in the classroom? How do you expect to interact with a student who struggles to pay attention to anything going on in class? I’m starting to consider these same questions throughout my time at Northfield High School. I wish you the best in the coming weeks!
Hi Anastasia,
It’s so interesting to hear your perspective working in the SCC! It sounds like we have had similar experiences thus far. I similarly have not had much opportunity to tutor students (at least during the first week), but have had the pleasure of getting to know them. I love your description of how “Sarah” fits into Piaget’s framework! I agree that thinking about the future in detail requires a lot of abstract thought and synthesis of old experiences with factors such as time, place, and culture. I felt the same way about the students I talked to (even without working with them on academics). I’m excited to see what we start to think once we get the chance to work with more students on academics!
