Respect and Responsibility in Classroom - Essay Example

I believed in a classroom based on a sense of respect and personal responsibility. Now, as I near the end of my journey, I still believe in these key concepts, but I have learned a lot more about being an educator.

A teacher needs to have high expectations for her students. However, it’s just as important for those expectations to be clearly stated and reinforced. I know now that behavior expectations and academic goals should be stated at the beginning of each activity and children should be praised when they meet those goals and expectations.

Some children learn best through seeing, some learn best through listening, and some learn best through doing. I will combine all of these learning styles in my lessons. I will also keep all of my lessons connected by connecting previously taught material with new material. Allowing a child to start on his level is also important. Children will come to me with varying degrees of skill. Less skilled children will become frustrated if asked to do a task that is beyond them. Very skilled children will become bored if asked to do a task that is too easy. It is important to offer different difficulty levels within an activity.

A teacher must not only teach students' academic skills but social skills as well. This process involves discussions with students, modeling of those skills, and reinforcing students who are using these skills appropriately. Discussions will take place during morning meetings or when an event has happened that warrants discussion. I will model appropriate academic and social skills to my students each day, but I will also do a weekly skit with students, modeling an academic or social skill. It is also important to praise students when they are using the skills appropriately.

A classroom needs to be built on respect and responsibility. However, it’s not enough to simply discuss respect and responsibility with the class. I must model these concepts also, by integrating them into my classroom rules and behavior expectations.