For this project, I asked a friend of mine from college whom
I still keep in touch with to this day. Her name is Ms. Weil. She has a kind heart, and is very
compassionate. She puts others before
herself, and she always approaches situations with a positive and open
mind. She’s easy to speak to, and though
I’ve never witnessed her in her classroom element, I can only imagine she’s
just as wonderful of a teacher as she is a human being outside of the
classroom. I hope I can be just as calm
and endearing as Ms. Weil when I one day become a teacher.
Ms. Weil graduated Elmhurst College in 2009, and later
received her masters from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In the 11 years she has been teaching middle
school, she has worked at 4 different schools in a variety of settings from
rural Amish country to Chicago urban, from low socioeconomic status to
high. She has had a lot of great experience working with a variety of
different students. I thought she would be perfect for this interview,
and she provided great context to the 8 questions that were asked.
The first question asked was a basic one to get the
interview grounded. I asked Ms. Weil, “What
is your style of classroom management?”
Her response didn’t exactly surprise me, since I know her well. She responded that she tries to build a lot
of relationships, and that it’s extremely important to make expectations clear
from the start. She always tries to get
to know her students extremely well, and truly focus on building a
relationship. This reminded me of the
point in chapter 6 that discussed the importance of knowing your students. The text stated, “We must learn who our
students are and understand the legacies they bring. Nothing you read in a chapter on cultural
differences will teach you enough to understand the lives of all your students”
(Wolfolk, p.254, 2019). I liked this
quote because it specifically stressed it’s ok to take classes or read a book
on cultural diversity, but you need to get to know your students so you can
understand their families and the communities in which they live. Ms. Weil also mentions she’s tried a variety
of different systems that are out there for classroom management, but making
sure expectations are clear from the start has been what’s worked best for her.
Next, I asked her, “Can you provide your most successful situation in dealing with
a student who was misbehaving?” She
responded in an interesting way, saying that it often takes many times of
trying to figure out what works with that particular student, as all students
are entirely different. She stated that
sometimes what ends up working with students is entirely random. Ms. Weil provided an example of a student in
one of her classes currently. She has a
student in her class who is a bit younger than the other students, and often
acts out emotionally. She found a
website called classcraft.com that engages this student in a really positive
way. I looked into the website, as I was
unfamiliar with it, and its slogan is, “When students are motivated, everyone
wins. Achieving your biggest goals begins with making school into a place where
everyone wants to be.” I’ve never used
this website before, but this tagline is so positive it encourages me to check
it out. This response reminded me a
little bit of the token reinforcement system discussed on page 278. Ms. Weil and I talked more in depth after the
interview of classcraft, and she expanded upon this answer that when this
student exhibits a week of good behavior, he gets to play this game on Fridays. Though he is not receiving physical tokens
for good behavior, his good behavior is tracked and she keeps him updated on
his progress, and he’s rewarded with game time.
What
originally began as a use for just this student, she also rewards the entire
class with game time when the class has great test performance, or exhibited
really great behavior as well. I loved
hearing this, because it was a great example of group consequences as we read
about in the text on page 279. The text
states, “Peer pressure in the form of support and encouragement.. can be a
positive influence" Wolfolk, p.279, 2019) I completely
believe this to be true. I used to be
extremely strict about attending a particular fitness class because a close
friend would go with me. We held each
other accountable, just like these students are doing to one another, in this
case to receive a reward.
The next question asked, “What types of
classroom rules have you created to support student learning?” and it was
followed up by, “Do students play a part in the creation and revision of
classroom rules?” She has a slogan up in
her room - be respectful, be responsible be safe. She said classroom rules are often different
with each district. She has done it
where students participate in the creation of the rules, but some districts are
very strict about school rules that she tends to stick to the school’s rules as
her classroom rules for consistency.
The
next question was, “How do you incorporate SEL (social and emotional learning) initiatives
into your classroom curriculum?” Her response was funny and somewhat matter of
fact, saying she does this every single day.
She said it’s,“the thing you can’t ignore.” It’s almost common sense, it’s asking
students to be kind to one another, and she said she’s always strict about
enforcing this.
The
next question was around having a syllabus in the classroom. It asked, “What are your classroom
expectations, and are you providing a classroom syllabus? Are the parents aware of their child’s class
expectations?” Her school and classroom
expectations are, “be responsible, be respectful, be safe.” This is stated on the classroom website, in
their planner, at their school. Parents are extremely aware of this because it
is everywhere, including on the syllabus.
Having worked in marketing, I feel that doing this strategy really
drives the message home. It’s important
to almost over communicate a message through different avenues to make sure it
reaches the audience you are targeting, in this case both the students and the
parents.
Have
you had to deal with a student with (gross aggries – there was a spelling error
in the question which I assumed was a term I was simply unaware with! But it was supposed to be “aggressive”) aggressive
behavior in class? How as a teacher did
you handle it? Does the school have a
behavior policy? How did you manage the
outcome and how did you feel?” Ms. Weil
stated the school does have a behavior policy, and when students are aggressive,
it is all about communication. This means being in communication to the home
and back to the students to make sure this does not happen again. While a student is exhibiting aggressive
behavior, it is all about diffusing the situation, so sometimes you may need to
call in another person for reinforcement to help de-escalate a situation.
Finally, the last question in this interview I asked Ms. Weil was, “How do you
describe to administration about your style? Have they ever tried to change it?” Yes, they have tried to change it. She stated that she’s been in a lot of
different schools, and all schools have a way they want things run. When coming into a new school, she looks to
see what they want, and then fits what she knows works for her and with the
school’s policy.
I’m
really glad this interview was a part of our classwork. Though I’ve known Ms. Weil for many years, it
was really great to talk to her about a specific function of her job. I love bringing real life experience into my
own learning, which is what I also hope to do through my own teaching. It is personally how I am able to learn
best. This interview also helped me to
feel even more energized and exciting about teaching, and is helping to better
understand my preferred teaching style and what specifically I want to bring to
the classroom.
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