By: Anika Chambers
When you begin teaching in your twenties, you are still in transition to being an adult. I feel like I grew up a lot in my first years of teaching. I learned some valuable lessons. I learned better approaches with students (and adults), how to write an IEP (because they really don't teach you this), and new ways to teach (of course, this doesn't stop). But what I quickly learned as an adult because I was a teacher: you are always a learner.
Everyone will continue to be a learner their entire lives. We don't graduate school and have it all figured out. (Although sometimes we may think we do!) People are forever growing and that means they have learned something new in order to grow. Because of this, we have a very important job in teaching. Beyond the standards, we must prepare children to continue to learn for the rest of their lives. And with learning comes change.
Change is hard for many people, but if we help students be comfortable with constructive criticism or to push past failure, the next generation could be confident in change. We must teach approaches and strategies to students for the many situations they will find themselves in the future. So what are some things we can do in the classroom to prepare kids?
1. Understanding perspectives
How many times have you observed two students go from friends to mortal enemies in a matter of moments? It often comes from a misinterpretation or misunderstanding of what someone said or did. Teaching students to understand that others do not in fact see the world or have the same impressions as themselves is a key component in begin able to change how they approach or respond to another person instead of taking something personally and turning their whole day sour.
2. Giving and receiving constructive criticism
And speaking of a day gone sour, many people (not just students) have difficulty in receiving criticism in any form and they take everything said personally. Not only are most people only sharing their thoughts because they want to help you, but once a person takes it personally, they have a hard time letting it go. They let it ruin their day, their week, or sometimes their month. We have to practice constructive criticism in the classroom for students to develop the good habit of identifying peers are only trying to help and that it is okay if you need it. Providing opportunities for these conversations are essential.
3. Always have hope (get back up again)
We have quite a few students in our classrooms who come from bad situations and so many times, they have lost hope. They think life will always be as it is now and they continue the destructive cycle their parents or guardians instilled in them. School is always their one break from the mess of their home life. They need to know their life can be different and school is the one place most of these kids have to discover that.
And if that is not the scenario, there are our students who believe it's just easier to give up than push through. In both instances, our students need hope. If that means that you provide another opportunity for a student to show what they learned after they bombed a test, then by all means, let them show you! Adults ask for do-overs all the time and yet they don't always give them to students. (Just a reminder- they are children.) We have to show them how to get back up again every chance we get! Teaching kids that failure isn't failure unless you quit is so important to each child's future.
Comentários