Teachers face many challenges on a day-to-day basis, so one might wonder how does a teacher think and operate? So let’s go inside the head of a teacher to gain a better understanding of how teachers make decisions. Teachers have to be fast thinkers to be able to responds to all of the obstacles that they might face in class each day. While there are good days and bad days a teacher knows the most important thing is to always retain a positive mindset and to keep your cool. One might ask how a teacher might keep her cool when dealing with a particular challenging student, but the answer is actually quite simple.
When dealing with children it is extremely important for a teacher to establish a good student and teacher relationship, to learn more about what a good teacher student relationship is click here. (Link my other article to this one). Teacher’s need to demonstrate that they are the leader in the classroom and demonstrate that they mean business. A teacher knows to set proper boundaries and limits. A teacher makes sure her students understand what she requires and expects from them and anything short of this is not acceptable.
In my experience as a teacher I have noticed that students can sense how I hold myself in a room. Children feed off of energy. When I walk in with a positive attitude and ready to sit down and go through each lesson plan effortlessly, my students know I mean business. The board is already set up with each of their lesson plans so therefore as soon as my students come to class they sit down take out their books and begin to do their work without any prompting. They understand that we have this mutual agreement where they have an obligation to finish their work and act in a respectful proper manner, and I have an obligation to teach them and assist them when need be. This mutual agreement makes the whole teaching and learning process go much smoother.
One thing all teachers know to be true is that one must always be consistent. I cannot begin to stress the importance of consistency. Classroom rules are key. No matter what the situation might be a teacher knows that she must enforce her rules at all costs and she cannot let one thing slide, because one time turns into many. Teacher’s also know that if a student see’s a teacher set a certain rule or boundary and then does not enforce it, they begin to behave disorderly because in their heads they think they can get away with it. “Unless one can balance nurturance with firmness and consistency, they will inadvertently produce poor behavior and then, without wanting to, they will have to struggle to maintain order”
A skilled teacher also think’s differently; she has two extremely important mindsets that help her view the world and students in a balanced manner. A skilled teacher remembers, “Authoritative beats authoritarian, which simply means. Being authoritarian wields power unilaterally to control someone, demanding obedience without giving any explanation for why one's orders are important. Being authoritative, on the other hand, means demonstrating control, but doing so relationally through listening and explaining. Studies of effective parenting have found that children view parents who use an authoritative style as legitimate authority figures; such children are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. The opposite is true for children of authoritarian parents” (University of New Hampshire, 2012).
Being authoritative is important because a teacher uses her power in a way that allows her students to build a good trust based relationship with her. I know with my students when they do not do their work or are especially chatty they lose stars (stars are rewards for positive behavior). These stars are extremely precious to children and if they lose them I make sure they know why they lost their stars, which in turn is a lot more effective in ensuring this poor behavior is not repeated in comparison to if I had just taken their stars away.
“A good teacher also always remembers that every one can grow. When we have a growth mind-set, we believe that everyone has the inner power to grow and change. We see mistakes as opportunities to learn”.Sometimes it is hard to maintain this mindset but you always need to keep in mind that there was a time when you did not know how to do something, and someone taught you. They were patient, and they devised different methods to help you understand what you were learning. I can first handedly vouch the importance of maintaining a mindset that everyone can grow. In my experience at Genie Academy I realized that every student learns differently. While some students are visual learners others are better at grasping concepts. I realized that this doesn’t mean that a student doesn’t like math because they’re not understanding how patterns work but they need an out of the box approach that allows them to see things differently. Everyone has the ability to learn and grow and to say one doesn’t is not what a good teacher believes in. It is a teacher’s job to find out how a student can grow and then nurture them and provide them with the proper tools so they can flourish. Here at Genie Academy we are adamant about this and believe that every student has the potential to be great. All it takes is a teacher that believes in her students, thinks efficiently, and makes it a mission to see her students succeed. Call us today to schedule a free assessment.
Links:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones025.shtml
