In an effort to gain perspective on classroom environment, I quizzed my 13 year-old son. Naturally, he had very little to say as this is summer, and he is in denial about having only four weeks left until he returns to school. However, when I asked him what his ideal classroom situation was, he answered a room where he can select his own seat. Thinking there might be more he wanted to add, I waited a few moments. True to his adolescent male self, that was all he had to say about that. I then followed up with what was the most fun he ever had in a class. His response was interesting. He said, "I hesitate to say this but in most ways Mr. S because we did so many cool things but not him because he was so bipolar with me." I knew exactly what he meant by this, which I will detail later. Then I asked what his second favorite class was. He answered his social studies class because "Mr. D was crazy," which he explained meant funny, offbeat, unpredictable, and engaging. This conversation illuminated a few things for me that tied neatly with this week's discussions on classroom management.
1. Students want a say. His list of demands for an ideal situation was surprising brief- allow me to sit where I want. This truly surprised me in its simplicity. It also affirmed my own classroom practice of allowing students to select their own seats as long as they can keep themselves focused. Schools are so highly structured and allow so few choices, we teachers ought to remember that allowing choice when possible will go a long way in keeping them in it with us.
2. Students crave consistency. My son's relationship with Mr. S was often a challenge for all involved: him, Mr. S, his classmates, and my husband and I. Clearly, my son found the relationship with Mr. S difficult because he never knew whether his own behaviors would be acceptable on any given day. I am not a parent with blinders on; I am fully aware that my child can be high maintenance and doesn't always do what's expected of him. However, if sometimes he is allowed to slide and other times he receives consequences of varying severity, these behaviors would be intermittently reinforced and essentially perpetuated. Having worked with this teacher previously, I know my son was not alone in this experience with this teacher. One time, when I was covering his classroom, his students were literally laying on the tables. It was clear he struggled with how to keep the environment loose enough to keep students engaged but structured enough for learning to occur for all students. Therefore, we teachers must possess a level of awareness that predictability in equitable treatment goes a long way in establishing trusting relationships. In addition, we can teach them without being friends with them.
3. Students learn when content is interesting. While my son loves science and math and therefore would love the activities in Mr. S's class, he does not love social studies. In fact, he would tell you it's a complete waste of his time. However, I found it fascinating that he named Mr. D's class his second favorite, and he maintained an A in the advanced class all year. I believe this happened because even though the actual material wasn't interesting to my son, Mr. D made it that way by allowing himself a level of vulnerability that manifested in silliness, engaging stories, modeling how to step out of the box to think, and being fearless when it comes to showing your authentic self. So our reality as teachers is simple: with so many students, not all will be interested in our material all the time. However, we can reach even the seemingly most unreachable by opening ourselves up and letting others in.
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