For each week's post, you can answer the question below. Each week we will focus on a different disposition or element of the Conceptual Framework. Feel free to post your own questions for your classmates as well.
Fairness:
How did your supervising teacher express fairness in and out of the classroom? Provide concrete and behavioral examples to that relate back to the characteristics of the dispositions.
Think about the following aspects of fairness in your answer:
- positive relationships with students and parents
- gives each child what he or she needs
- conflict resolution
- differentiated lessons
- mentor to students
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ReplyDeleteI noticed that the teacher would try to call only on the students that would raise their hands, since she felt that it was not fair to call on someone who did not want to answer or maybe they were not prepared to answer. However, when she saw it was a problem that the same students were the only ones raising their hands then she chose on other students, because than that would not be fair to the rest of the class. She had a good balance of fairness. She would also have different types of projects to cover all of her students needs. She had journal time for those who liked writing and wanted quiet time, as well as, creating a fun project which you had to do with pairs, this was more of an interactive type of learning. She included various types of learning styles trying to involve all of her students.
ReplyDeleteDue to the fact that I am working in a special ed classroom, there is definitely a lot of fairness. each child receives the individualized care that he/she needs, and the lessons are modified to be on their level. the teachers are very kind to the students(but firm if need be)
ReplyDeleteThe teacher treats the kids very well. One girl was crying because the girls in the classroom were not treating her nicely. So, the teacher had all of the girls sit down and the teacher spoke to the girls. However, what I did not like was the teacher asked the upset girl who was treating her unkindly and pointed asking, "This one?" Not this girl but this one. Or not even her name. Also, it was in front of all of the girls. The bright side of this, I guess is the girl felt embarrassed so she felt the same way as the girl she upset. I was aching inside though.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way that I've seen one of the teachers handle problems in the classroom. rather than single out students, she pulls them aside so that the issue can be resolved quietly. She has the two ( or three) students talk with her, and she determines what has happened, and what needs to happen next.
ReplyDeleteI like watching the diplomatic, respectful, and fair way that she handles these kinds of situations. I have seen too many teachers single kids out and embarrass them, and it is just unacceptable!
Being a fair teacher means hearing every side of the story and working through the problem from there.
I am glad I have been able to see such great examples of this at my placement.
The teacher I observe is very fair. She tries to call on everyone, which is no easy feat when you have thirty-odd kids in the class. There is very little conflict, simply because the students are so into the class that they don’t have any time or reasons to get into fights. She can sometimes overlook what one child needs because she is so involved in what the class needs as a whole, but recently she has gotten better. For example, there was a child who needed one-on-one help, and so she sent me into the hall to work with him privately. I thought that was very good and very considerate because she not only saw that the student needed help, but she helped him in a way that didn’t degrade him in the eyes of the students. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, which was very considerate of his dignity. She has also kept her yelling to a minimum, which is wonderful. It could be that she was very stressed with the beginning of the year and therefore yelled more, which does not exonerate her, but it still explains why she yelled. In any case, she has stopped yelling, and I think that the students can relax a little more now. She also makes sure to help anyone who raises their hand, and she always does so in order of the rows, which makes sure that no one gets special treatment.
ReplyDeleteThe students in the class that I observe all seem to love their teacher--I can tell from watching them and from conversations I've had with them--and I think that a big part of it is because she is fair. She is careful to plan a variety of activities in any one lesson, catering to as many students as possible, and they really appreciate it. The last time I was there, they were kashering livers, and a few girls were really uncomfortable. Another teacher may have insisted that they remain in the room, but this teacher gave them permission to leave the classroom for the duration of the activity, as long as they remained nearby. They were still responsible for the material. Before the activity, the teacher also asked whether anyone in the class was a vegetarian. No one was, but had anyone answered in the affirmative, she would have been willing to accomodate that person. The students see this teacher as their mentor, and often ask her questions in class that are obviously pertinent to them. They feel comfortable doing this, because she is fair and non-judgmental.
ReplyDeleteI like how Shoshana's teachers calls in students raising their hands in order of the rows. Otherwise, I find that either the teacher gets confused and calls on someone who just raised their hand while leaving another student who was waiting quietly for ten minutes, or the students get frustrated and try to get the teacher's attention in any way possible, often disruptively.
My supervising teacher express fairness in a few different ways. She always calls on those students who raise there hand but i noticed she tries to call on different students each time. She does not call on the same few students. She also tries to give the same amount of individualizes attention to each student as possible. At the beginning of the day the students each go up, one by one to the teachers desk to discuss their homework and any issues they might of had. My teacher also has a special box for the students to write down any issues they have in the classroom, whether it be with another student or with something learned in class. I think this box helps the teacher understand the needs of her students and helps her understand what those needs might be.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to notice how many people commented about fairness as portrayed through the teacher calling on students. I agree that this is probably the main type of experience where students feel it directly; I've personally had too many teachers that were "so mean/not fair" and never/always called on me. In my placement, I think that the teacher is pretty fair, from my perspective, at least. I've noticed how she does not treat everyone the same, but each according to his own need- like giving easier homeworks to the kids who don't speak English yet. Something else that I've seen is how she uses her prize ticket program differenetly for different students. I don't remember if I ever mentioned this, but I heard a student complaining that one girl (who happens to be an IEP, challenging student) gets so many tickets. The teacher immediately responded that she gets what she needs, because she works so hard on these things that are easier for other people. Standing straight, keeping things organized, etc are not things that she is going to reward everyone for, only for the kids who need that, and the others will get what they need.
ReplyDeleteBut I kind of wonder about this prize system anyway- I think it's for a raffle. What do you think about having such obvious, maybe jealousy-rising prizes? How fair is it to give kids "chance" prizes, after they've worked hard for something?
In regard to the comments about calling on each student and giving everyone the individualized attention they deserve, i agree that that issue in particular can be problematic, especially in big classes. It was in the very beginning of the semester, when I first started observing this teacher that she told me she thought it was unfair to have so many girls in the class. An unusually large class for HSBY, this kodesh class has 30+ girls. Given that the class it taught in a 40 minute period, I know the teacher feels that it is impossible to even hear from every girl every day. I thought this teacher was right on target with the needs of her students. It's important to know when the system itself (circumstances beyond the teacher's control) is putting both the teacher and student at a disadvantage.
ReplyDeleteNechama Leiba, I think that prize systems can leave certain children wishing they had more tickets or that they won more frequently, but I think this could probably be avoided if the teacher is conscientious. I don't know how this particular raffle is going to work in your class but I've seen that in certain classes they have weekly or biweekly raffles with prizes to choose from. If a teacher wants to make sure that different children are winning, I'm sure he/she could figure out some way to make sure of it.
ReplyDeleteI do not really see the teacher treating children differently based on their needs. Then again I do not know each child's needs! When handing out papers to bring home she offers a choice of either english or spanish. There have been times when I see the teacher calling certain children out, or telling a child to go to time out when I either did not notice any misbehavior or it was very slight. However as an observer I do not know what she knows about the students. I did not notice anyone with different assignments; everyone seems to have the same work to do. As far as resolving conflicts in the classroom, I have not really witnessed any between students, but when a child does something incorrectly she will talk about it loudly to the student and everyone else can hear.
ReplyDeleteI want to meet Alex's teacher! We probably can all remember feeling embarrassed at one point from the way a teacher spoke to us. Alex made a good point that teachers need to hear every side of the story. Working in kindergarten I have had many situations of a child complaining to me about another hurting or bothering him, yet by listening to them both talk and not jumping to conclusions, I have found out that sometimes it is the one complaining that started everything!
ReplyDeletethe teacher makes sure that each student gets a turn with each toy and gets time with her if they desire it. she shows she has fairness by allowing a turn at every activity. she doesnt show favoratism to any students. if only one studenst is missbehaving she doesnt blame the whole class.
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