Conflict in the Classroom

Fortunately in my class at westwood we haven't had any major conflicts. Mostly conflict starts when the kids want the same toy or book and they fight over it but that's expected in a kindergarten class. The kids are still learning to share and cooperate with each other and the teacher is there to help with that learning process. Ive noticed in the class that the kids sometimes resort to violence to get their way, but the teacher immediately makes them change their card, meaning they cant go to recess. Which is a big deal to them of course. As a teacher and this occurred I would sort of the same thing as punishment depending on the degree of the conflict. The teacher is always looking out for the kids and making sure that they are doing the right thing.

Day Six - Communication

Today was an interesting day in Kindergarten. The kids had a half-day so they're whole schedule moved up. Instead of doing circle time and stations, we went to either Music, Art or Health Fitness. I decided to go to along with Group C, who went to Art. Art class was fun and it gave me another perspective on teaching. The art teacher was soft spoken but she was great with the kids and they all paid close attention to her. Our assignment was to ask our teachers how they learned to be good communicate and how to communicate well with parents. My teacher said that sometimes it is rather hard to talk to an angry parent but you have to learn to be a good listener and not to lose your composure. Teachers have to become good listeners and learn to really listen instead of sort of listening and then putting in their opinions. She said its hard to learn sometimes if you are a talkative person but when becoming a teacher it is necessary to listen, most of the time. When talking to angry or upset parents the teacher has to keep calm and listen to the problem or situation and then find a solution with the parent to solve the problem.I have learned that communication is key when becoming a teacher and sometimes its a hard thing to learn.

Day Five

In society, teachers are held up to higher expectations. This is because people expect teachers to be responsible and to make right decisions on a daily bases. Teachers are trusted with their student's futures and the material they learn. The best teachers are the ones that are completely "child centered," meaning they care about their students and revolve their lives around those students. They have complete focus on the kids and their futures. Most teachers now are connecting with the parents over email or with parent portals. Teachers are now able to connect and communicate with students over facebook, but there are certain restrictions on that, as there should be.The passed four weeks have been a great expirience so far. I am almost 99.8% sure that teaching is the perfect career for me. (:

Day Four

Today in kindergarten we got a couple new kids. The teacher asked me to take some of the kids out to the halll and help them with their letters and their alphabet. There was only three kids and we got placemats and letter magnits that we had to put in orrder of the alphabet. Only one of the kids really struggled with it but I tried my best to work with him and help him through it. After that everyone went in to the stations. They have science, social studies, reading, word wall and listening actvities for everyone to do. While the teacher was pulling kids out for testing, I walked around the different stations and made sure everyone was on task. It was fun being able to help and play with the kids while they did their stations.