Chapters 4-6
In reading the biography of Frobel there were two life changing events leading to his method of what constitues effective teaching. The first event was the death of his mother and alienation by his step-mother, the second event was his astute observations of his teachers after he went to live with his mothers brother. He noted one teacher was rigid and "never had any influence over the class" (p. 87); the other was "large hearted and free" and was very influential with the students.
Is there one teacher in your early childhood who stands out as an example of the first (rigid) and another example of one who was "large hearted and free?" How did these teachers influence you as a child, and even later into adulthood. Are you thinking of the "rigid teacher first? I did, because I never wanted to have another one like her.
My answer is in the comment box.
4 comments:
First there was Mrs. Dillard with her little silver bun at the nap of her neck, her somber face with those critical beady eyes and her whiplash tongue forever cutting you to shreds with her words. She never smiled. She never motivated us to learn. She was so rigid she walked like she had a wooden board stuck to her back. I believe she was the first to pop my bubble of believing humanity was wonderful.
Unfortunately she was my first grade teacher and as a child I was so motivated to learn, I really was excited about going to school. She quickly dispelled the notion learning could be fun. However, in all fairness perhaps this was the pedagogy of the time, the current view of what teaching should be. I remember one little girl who screamed every morning before coming in with her father.
It was in the first grade I sat in my seat and wet my pants because I was afraid to ask to go to the bathroom, and the janitor came and moped it up, thank heavens it was almost time to go home. She gave me a note to take to my parents and I remember my mother reading it and asking me what was wrong. I told her I was afraid of the teacher and I would just stay home and begged her. My parents took me to school the next day and my mother told the teacher I was afraid of her, and of course that was my doom. After that, everything I did had big read marks on it. To this day I hate red pencils!
There is a happy ending to this rather sad tale because throughout the rest of my early childhood grades I had wonderful teachers. Perhaps my favorite teacher, were I to pick one, would be the always smiling, never frowning, kind-hearted, rather large Mrs. McMillan. Mrs. McMillan was a motivator and passionate about teaching. She made learning fun and you learned when you didn’t know you were learning. She reminded me of mother. She took us on walks around the neighborhood and we would go into people’s homes and they gave us cookies. We picked up rocks, and made leaf collections, and pretended to be dinosaurs. Now this was in the 50’s so I am not certain what method of teaching was used, but I do know this………..it was the right one.
And as Paul Harvey says, “That’s the rest of the story.”
Fortunately for me, as I remember my school years, not rigid teacher stands out to me. I remember difficult moments with many teachers but I had more difficulties with Mrs. Stanton than any other. She was my 11th grade Honors English teacher. I just could not write in her class. All my other teacher had loved me and I had gotten "A"s. But I struggled so hard in this class and nothing ever seemed to change her mind. I submit a paper and think I'd done well, but when I got it back, it was covered in red. She did try to help and offered suggestions, but it was a difficult year.
My favorite teacher was Ms. Merrit. She was my 5th grade spelling teacher. I just remember she was fun, funny, liked kids and played on the playground with us. She always made special one-on-one time with me and we talked about whatever I wanted to talk about. It made me feel important. I guess I got a little self-activity validiation from her.
The teacher’s stage of development in teaching may can influence the teacher’s actions in the classroom and understanding more about this can guide his or her reflection about what has occurred (Steffy & Wolfe, 2001). Teachers are at many different stages in their careers. Just as children develop in stages in their development of intellect and knowledge, so do teachers (Feixas, 2001). Improved understanding of the stages of teachers’ growth suggests ways of guiding that growth and therefore strengthening teacher’s performance in the classroom. The term “teacher development” can mean activities such as workshops and graduate courses. It can also involve reading for self-improvement, and coursework meant to develop teachers’ professional abilities. Teacher development is also a process that occurs with time, experience and training. Researchers, such as Burden (1980), Gregorc (1973), and Peterson (1979) have pointed out that teachers, like children, go through developmental stages.
Let’s examine four stages of teacher development identified by Lillian Katz (1972): Survival, Consolidation, Renewal and Maturity. During this first year of a teacher’s career, the new teacher wonders if she will be able to cope and get through each day. The teacher’s focus is often on herself and her own needs. Teachers at this stage of survival have less understanding of children and their needs, and are often overwhelmed by the new rules, regulations, and requirements. Lesson planning, scheduling, assessment of children often overwhelms new teachers. Teachers will sometimes blame the children in their classrooms for poor performance or inability to control their classroom. “I could be a great teacher if only Johnny wasn’t in my room” or “My lesson plans are fine…but these children just won’t listen or cooperate” are common refrains. Teachers in this stage often feel that situations are beyond their control and they feel helpless.
The second to the third or fourth year of teaching is one of consolidation, where teachers begin to focus more on instruction and needs of individual children. Lesson planning is better understood and teachers have usually developed some rules and routines for children that help them feel more in control. Usually the needs of the average child are more easily met, although children who have special needs can still cause the teacher to struggle. The teacher at this stage is feeling more in control of her classroom. Sometimes this means that the teacher becomes too controlling. Some teachers begin to use such methods at this stage like humiliation, ridicule, and manipulation as guidance strategies. These teachers may also be more aware of the child who is not conforming and may try to exert more control over these children.
In the third or fourth year of teaching, many teachers in the renewal stage become more competent in teaching children. The activities and schedules of the previous years can become routine and boring as teachers have become comfortable with their routines and methods. Teachers at this stage become interested in trying new ideas and new activities. They become interested in professional development. The dangers for such teachers is that if they developed management strategies in the classroom earlier that utilize yelling, ridicule, jerking children, or even hitting, these strategies can become used on a broader scope. The new teacher may occasionally use such methods with one or two children just as the more experienced teacher relies on old routines and habits.
Most teachers who reach the stage of maturity begin to look more at their philosophies and perceptions about teaching. They look for ways to mentor or bring about change in programs and children’s lives. But some teachers feel trapped when administrators or programs are rigid and not open to change. Some mature teachers can also feel that they are unable to change or progress and may be more rigid in their interactions with children. This rigidity could contribute to abusive and neglectful behavior.
Each stage of development for teachers brings with it new insights and new challenges.
Elaine Wilkinson
References
Burden, P.R. (1990). Teacher
development. In W.R. Houston
(Ed.), Handbook of Resarch on
Teacher Education, 311-328. New
York: Macmillan, Inc.
Fexias, M. (2001). What changes as
new university teachers
develop? Models and issues.
Paper presented to the 9th
conference of the European
Association for Research on
Learning and Instruction:
Bridging Learning to
Instruction, Fribourg,
Switzerland.
Gregorc, A.F. (1973). Developing
plans for professional
growth. NASSP Bulletin, 57, 108.
Katz, L. (1975). Developmental
stages of preschool teachers.
Elementary School Journal, 73
(1), 50-54.
Steffy, B.., & Wolfe, M.P. (2001). A life cycle model for career teachers. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 38(1), 16-19.
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