STUDENT SHADOWING PAPER
The School
ABC is a middle school located on the North side of the Seattle Public School District. It consists of approximately 1200 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The student population is fairly diverse. Of the student body, 51% are white, 25% Asian American, 13% African American, 7% Hispanic, and 3% Native American.
Although the staff is not nearly as ethnically diverse as the student population, their age range is wide. There are several teachers who are in their first year of teaching, as well as several middle-aged veterans. The principal is a well-respected administrator among both the faculty and students. He is very visible throughout the school, as I saw him countless times in the lunchroom, in the halls, and in the gym. ABC also provides two counselor-type administrators for each grade level. Most students speak very highly of these people.
Because ABC is one of the largest middle schools in Seattle, they break up the student population into smaller, more personal groups. Each grade level, referred to as a house, is divided up into teams. For the sixth grade, there are four teams. Each staff team consists of a math teacher, a language arts teacher, a social studies teacher, and a science teacher. Students are assigned to teams when they first arrive at the school. They are then able to be around the same set of teachers for the school year, and the same set of peers for the entire three years.
Bryan
My first shadowing experience was with a student named Bryan. From just looking at him, you would think that he is a perfectly normal sixth grader. He is from Laos, but looks right at home at ABC, because of the significant Asian population. While he does not wear the preppy clothes that the “popular” kids wear, his attire does not stand out from that of his peers. He likes to wear athletic type clothes, such as T-shirts, warm ups, and basketball shoes. He has his hair gelled and fixed up like many students do. He walks the halls with a confident kind of swagger. The one thing that makes him different from the other kids, however, is that he is partially deaf.
Bryan can hear, but not well. He has a hearing aid that he is supposed to wear, but he hates to use it. He fights any teacher or staff member who wants him to put it in. Also, starting this school year all hearing-impaired students are supposed to have mandatory interpreters in each class (although there were classes that I attended where there was not one for him). It was obvious that Bryan resented having the interpreter in class, and simply ignored her. He does not even know sign language! But, their hope is that when the teacher has his/her back turned, Bryan will read the interpreter’s lips as she mouths the words. It has not been going well thus far.
In the sixth period math class that I student teach in, he is usually very passive. He sits in the front of the room, with the interpreter sitting directly in front of him. During class time, he will do anything to avoid looking at her – he will instead fidget with his binder, stare off into space, or simply put his head down. He rarely engages in any of the class discussions, and usually does not even pay attention to what is being written on the overhead. He is just barely passing.
The day before I was to shadow Bryan, many staff members were having an informal discussion about him. They all seemed to agree that having me shadow him would do great things for his self-confidence. The interpreter already seemed to notice it, as she mentioned that he smiled while I was talking to him about the shadowing, implying that he does not smile in class very often.
Shadowing Bryan
Bryan’s class schedule looked like this: Homeroom with Mr. Roberts (the team’s social studies teacher), 1st period Gym, 2nd period Computers with Mr. Carter, 3rd period Language Arts with Ms. Berry, 4th period Social Studies with Ms. Trucks, 5th period Science with Ms. Trout, and 6th period Math with Ms. Brown. The language arts and social studies classes were designated as modified. These were taken by students with minor disabilities and taught by teachers outside of his team. The rest of his classes, however, were mainstream and part of the team.
Right off the bat, there was an incident that occurred in homeroom. Bryan’s teacher Mr. Roberts asked him about his hearing aid. Because teachers are supposed to report to the administrators if Bryan is not wearing it, Mr. Roberts and the interpreter tried to convince him to put it in. Bryan obviously resented being talked to about it, and simply ignored all of the discussion. Mr. Roberts told Bryan that he did not want to nag him, and tried to show him that it was okay to wear it. He tried to relate the situation to a classmate who wears glasses. He mentioned that the student did not like to wear his glasses earlier in the year, but finally began taking responsibility for himself and is now wearing them on his own. Mr. Roberts also mentioned that he wears glasses himself. When Bryan said that the hearing aid situation and the glasses situations were different, Mr. Roberts disagreed, pointing out the fact that they both help you understand things. Mr. Roberts was eventually forced to report the incident to an administrator.
Things went without incident in first period gym, but during second period Bryan got a request to report to the administrators’ office. Bryan went in to talk to both administrators at the same time. Because their offices were in cubicles, I could hear most of their conversations. They discussed the interpreter being in class and how much Bryan disliked it, but the focus of their conversation was on his hearing aid. Bryan was much more open about the topic with the two counselors than he was with Mr. Roberts. It was quite obvious that he had discussed this topic with them before. One of the counselors mentioned that he could try to convince the special education department to remove the interpreter from class if Bryan agrees to wear the hearing aid. Bryan did not seem to want to compromise on either issue.
Third period was his first non-mainstream class. He seemed well aware of this, as he told me while we walked in, “you won’t know anybody in this class”. It was a small group of about 16 students, only one of whom was a girl. The topic of the discussion was soon centered on me. Bryan told the class that I was following him, seeming pretty proud to share the fact with this group whereas in the other classes he said nothing. He was a very different student in this class – he was active in discussions and appeared as the leader. He seemed very free to voice his opinions and volunteer answers. However, this may not be his regular behavior, as the teacher told me that that was “the best Bryan had been in a long time”. She also mentioned that my presence was making a definite positive impact.
Fourth period was another modified class, with mainly the same students as third period. This was social studies with a teacher named Ms. Trucks. She had a very soft and kind demeanor about her. She talked to the kids with an extremely positive tone. When a few students were late for class, she talked to the class about choices. She made an issue of thanking the students who “made the choice to come to class on time”. The students really seemed to respond to her. Once again, Bryan was very active in class. He asked questions and brought up his opinions.
Lunchtime was more like a race to the gym. We hurried over to the lunch line to buy lunch, devoured it, and rushed over to the basketball courts. When we got to the gym, he immediately ran down to a certain court. There were already a group of boys about his size playing. I was not sure whether they were his friends, because he did not talk to them, but it was obvious that he had played with them before. The group was not playing a game, instead just shooting around. However, Bryan displayed maximum effort – playing defense on who ever had the ball, and showing off his ball handling skills.
Bryan was actively engaged during fifth period science class. They had built batteries and today they were going to test how much power the batteries could store. Bryan seemed to enjoy the project a lot, as he tested the battery several times before he was satisfied with the results. While the battery charged, he was very social – playing around and talking with other students, as well as walking around the room.
Sixth period math class was having a group quiz, where students were to work with a pre-assigned group. Bryan was in a group of three, whereas most of the other groups were in twos. When Bryan arrived in class, he asked the substitute teacher if he could go visit the nurse. He told her that he was poked in the head while playing basketball during lunch (which was more than an hour ago). We walked to the nurse’s office and had his head briefly looked at. The nurse saw nothing wrong, so she sent us back. When we got back to the room, he asked for a Band-Aid for his elbow! The teacher gave him one, and he went back to his seat to work with his group. He spent the rest of the time playing with a rubber band and copying his partners’ work on his quiz. They did not seem to care.
Wendy
The second student that I shadowed was a sixth grade girl named Wendy. She is a White, spunky young lady with an abrasive and dry sense of humor. She would best be described as a firecracker. She can be very sarcastic, but not necessarily in a negative way – it is just the way that her personality is. She does not hold back her feelings, as she often told me quite candidly exactly how she felt about something. She is not easily influenced either, as I discovered while trying to get her to do work when she was not in the mood. One of her teachers best summed her up by saying, “she can be a little snotty, but I like her.”
She seems to be at the stage where she thinks everyone is picking on her. Mr. Roberts mentioned that he had begun to get into the habit of being very sarcastic with her, which is something that he usually does not do. Teachers are not the only ones who Wendy feels pick on her, as Mr. Roberts shared a story with me about how her mom is in the same situation (I will share the story later).
On the day that I asked if I could shadow her, Wendy was not having a particularly good day. She seemed more bitter than usual and was even moved to a different seat during math class. Near the end of class, I asked if I could follow her around the next day. She immediately straightened up and said okay, with a big smile. Her fourth period teacher later told me that Wendy was bragging about how I had chosen her to be shadowed. I think that she enjoyed the idea of being the center of attention.
Shadowing Wendy
Wendy’s class schedule was similar to Bryan’s. She had Homeroom with Ms. Brown, 1st period Gym, 2nd period Computers with Mr. Carter, 3rd period Math with Ms. Brown, 4th period Language Arts with Ms. Thompson, 5th period Social Studies with Mr. Roberts, and 6th period Science with Ms. Trout.
The action started early while shadowing Wendy. During homeroom, Wendy was working on some math homework when out of the blue, she packed up her things and asked Ms. Brown if she could go to Ms. Thompson’s language arts class to work on an assignment. Although students usually stay in their assigned homeroom during this time, a request to work on something in another classroom is not uncommon. Ms. Brown allowed her to go, and we headed over. When we arrived, she asked Ms. Thompson if it was alright to work in her class on something. The teacher was a little hesitant to allow her to stay, flashing me a look that said, “you know that she is doing this because you are following her, right?" But after some convincing, she allowed Wendy to stay. Wendy grabbed a book that she needed and looked for a seat at a table with Maureen, a friend that she usually hangs out with. But Ms. Thompson did not allow it. She instead had Wendy sit at a table away from most of the other students. After about fifteen minutes of on and off reading, it was obvious that Wendy was getting bored. She decided to leave. On our way back to homeroom, I asked her what we had just done. She told me that “we came over to hang out with friends, but ended up having to work, so we’re going back to homeroom.” When she arrived back in class, she sat back in her seat and talked to a group of friends around her.
First period gym class went without incident, as did most of second period. Near the end of the computer class, Wendy decided that it was close enough to clean up time, so she shut down her computer and went to talk to another student. Mr. Carter came up to her and sarcastically asked if her seat was broken. She snapped back with a yes. He replied that she should go fix it then. She had a bothered “what is his problem” look on her face, as if she had done nothing wrong and was being picked on.
In math third period, Wendy was very engaged and involved in the discussion. She was much more focused than she had been when I was not shadowing her. It was likely due to the new seat location Ms. Brown gave her the previous day. She was away from any of her friends, leaving her no one to socialize with.
During language arts fourth period, Ms. Thompson assigned the class a journal entry and gave them a variety of topics to write about. She had originally left the topic open, but mentioned that she personally likes to have ideas to start entries. The students chatted briefly about some of the issues that were brought up, but then quietly began writing. The two girls in her group were not Wendy’s friends, so she did not talk with them much. Lunch broke up the period. Wendy made sure that I was not going to shadow her during lunch. She called the break “no teacher time”.
Fifth period was social studies with Mr. Roberts. Wendy was in a group with three boys right at the front. There was a warm up on the overhead asking what they thought was the Greek’s biggest achievement and why. Wendy did not write anything down for a long time, instead choosing to socialize. Mr. Roberts went around to the groups to see how they were doing. As he was about to go over the solutions, he said fairly loudly that he could not call on Wendy for the answer because she did not have anything written down. If it was meant to pressure her into writing down an answer, it worked. After the discussion, Mr. Roberts had the students get into a different group arrangement for a project. Several students changed seats, but Wendy stayed put. She was now in a group with two boys and another girl, Jasmine. At first they did not work, they simply talked. This was odd, because in math class Jasmine is usually a hard worker, and is rarely off task. Eventually, however, they got on track.
Sixth period was science with Ms. Trout. The students sat in tables that were arranged in long lines. It was obvious that they got to choose their own seats since all of the recognizable cliques were sitting next to one another. Wendy and her friend Linda sat at the back of the room. Ms. Trout began by talking about an astronaut assignment. She told them about some hypothetical astronaut story, then began throwing names of students into the story. The kids really loved it and thought that it was hilarious. As soon as Wendy’s name was mentioned, she immediately began to pay more attention. When the class was given worksheets, Wendy and Linda worked together. While there was a lot of discussing in other groups, Wendy and Linda finish the assignment quickly and used the rest of the time to talk.
Analysis
Autonomy
According to Eccles and her colleagues (1993), adolescents crave the chance to make their own decisions regarding their lives. This includes the ability to make choices, take responsibility, and empower oneself. This is otherwise known as autonomy. Most adolescents are no longer willing to passively accept adult directions; they want autonomy over things involving their lives, which includes school. By supporting their autonomy, teachers instill high interest, motivation, and achievement in their students (Reeve, Bolt, & Cai, 1999).
I believe that ABC does a very good job of giving students autonomy. This is evident in many of the school-wide programs. One of those examples is the student newspaper. It is clear that the kids play a vital role in selecting the topics of the articles. A majority of the issue I read was filled with student opinions. These included top ten polls and movie reviews, and also featured an advice column, a fashion poll, and a wonderful article written about the daily problems of being thirteen (I have included the article in the appendix).
I saw several examples of student autonomy issues during my shadowing experience as well. For Bryan, the major issue was wearing his hearing aid. The staff constantly tried to convince him to wear it. They wanted him to start taking responsibility for himself, in both his hearing and his learning. In this respect, the school was attempting to give Bryan autonomy. However, Bryan did not see it that way. He did not like to wear the hearing aid and felt like he was being forced to do so. From Bryan’s perspective, he was given no choice in the issue.
The other problem Bryan had was with the interpreter. The school required interpreters in the classes of all students who were hearing impaired. However, not only was the interpreter’s presence hated by Bryan (he ignored her everyday), but it was practically useless as Bryan does not even know sign language! In this case, the school was forcing the interpreter on Bryan and thus denying him autonomy on the issue. Like before, the school saw it another way. Since Bryan is not always able to hear the teacher, he often depends on reading lips. But when the teacher’s back is turned, he cannot see the words and therefore misses what was said. The interpreter not only signs, but also mouths the words for him. The belief is that as long as Bryan understands what is being discussed, he will have more autonomy over his own learning.
There seemed to be somewhat of a paradox in these two situations. The school was trying to give Bryan autonomy by forcing him to wear the hearing aid and taking advantage of the interpreter. But Bryan wanted to decide for himself whether he made use of the two. It was obvious to me that Bryan needed to get used to wearing his hearing aid, not just for school but also for his future. However, they should be able to make a compromise so that his present need for autonomy, as well as his future need can be met. I do not know what the compromise should be, but I learned one important lesson: it is easy to believe that students need and want autonomy, but it is quite a different thing to implement it into actual practice.
The students in the classes I observed definitely responded to autonomy given to them. For example, while following Wendy, I saw Ms. Thompson allow her students to write about any topic in their journals. She gave them a few ideas in case they needed them. The students were so involved in some of the topics, that they wanted to discuss them quietly with their groups before writing! Also, Mr. Roberts’ warm up allowed students to pick what they believed was the Greek’s biggest achievement. Most of the students, except for Wendy of course, seemed to really enjoy deciding for themselves what was most important and sharing it with the class. All of this showed me not only how important autonomy is to a student’s needs, but also how effective it can be as a teaching strategy.
Adolescents’ desire for autonomy was never more evident than in a situation I experienced with Wendy. She asked that I not shadow her during lunch, because it was what she described as “no teacher time”. I respected her request and ate lunch with the teachers on my team. When I told them what Wendy had said, Ms. Thompson told me why she thought it was funny. Apparently, the teachers on the team have to sometimes send students out of their room during this time. Their reasoning is that lunch is “no student time”. While in a position of power, Wendy had turned the tables on me!
While it may be the case that autonomy is important for adolescents to have, too much may be inappropriate for sixth graders. I realized this when each of my students took advantage of the freedom allowed them. Bryan used the freedom to take a trip to the nurse’s office during a quiz. While I cannot be certain, I am pretty sure that the trip was not necessary. If he was indeed poked in the head during lunch, he certainly did not show any ill effects during fifth period. And when he arrived back at math class, he asked for a Band-Aid for his elbow! It seemed to be an excuse to get out of the quiz, a stalling game of sorts.
While there may be doubt in whether Bryan was taking advantage of the system, there was no doubt about Wendy’s manipulation of it. ABC gives students a homeroom period so that they can catch up on assignments. Thus, many teachers permit their kids to go to other classrooms if there is work that can only be done there. Knowing this, Wendy made up an excuse so that she could go to another class. Wendy, who Ms. Brown was already wary of trusting, tried to avoid working by socializing with her friend Maureen in Ms. Thompson’s room. She was quite candid with me about what she had tried to do, seeming unbothered about the fact that what she just did was wrong. When asked, Wendy told me that “we came over to hang out with friends, but ended up having to work, so we’re going back to homeroom.”
Relatedness
Relatedness has to do with the way teachers interact with their students. Building these relationships involves listening to students, responding to them, and most importantly, caring about them. Positive teacher-student relationships are very important, as students often view secondary schools as less personal and the teachers less friendly than in elementary school (Eccles, et al, 1993).
Noddings (1992) stated that the current structure of secondary schools work against caring; however, I think that ABC makes an excellent attempt to meet the relatedness needs of the students. The most important thing that they do is divide the school up into teams. This has several positive implications, the most important of which is that it gives the students a fairly stable group of kids that they see each day. While comparing the structure of middle schools with that of elementary schools, Brown (1990) stated that the larger population and constant shifting of peers makes it extremely hard for students to know their peers personally. This increases the student’s need for support. ABC attempts to reduce that effect. By placing students with familiar faces on a regular basis, kids will have an easier time developing and sustaining relationships with each other.
Another way that ABC attempts to meet needs of relatedness is by having all teachers stand outside of the doors during passing times. Teachers are not only encouraged to do this, but are actually required to! This allows teachers to promote a caring environment by greeting the students that walk into class. This will in turn motivate kids academically, as students are more likely to engage in class if they feel teachers care about them (Wentzel, 1997).
I came acTrucks several relatedness issues while shadowing Wendy. Because of her personality, teachers often use sarcasm to relate with her. This was on display during the short exchange she had with the computer teacher in second period. Instead of asking her to go back to her seat, the teacher jokingly asked her if her seat was broken. While it did not result in her going straight to her seat, she did appear to get the message. Two other teachers that had Wendy also used sarcasm while dealing with her. Although Wendy sometimes took the humor as being picked on, both teachers said that it was more effective than the methods they used with the rest of their students. By getting to know and building a relationship with Wendy, these teachers were able to connect to her on a level that they would have otherwise missed.
While I do not believe it is right for a teacher to pick on a student, Wendy’s view of being picked on is likely the result of Steinberg’s (1991) personal fable. Wendy often seemed to believe that she was the only one who had to exhibit responsibility, and translated that into being picked on. Her “what is his problem” expression after her encounter second period was a perfect example. Another was the story that Mr. Roberts shared with me. He said that he had assigned his classes some work that needed to be signed by a parent before being turned in. When he got them back, he had to laugh. It was obvious that Wendy’s mom had to force her to do the assignment, because it was signed “Wendy’s personal torturer”.
Bryan also experienced positive relationships with various teachers and faculty. He seemed to relate very well with the administrators. Their willingness to discuss his problems and try to come up with solutions seemed to show Bryan that they cared. He in turn was more willing to voice his opinions and concerns. His respect for his social studies teacher, Ms. Trucks, was also very evident. Her approach to teaching and relating to students resulted in a positive response from all of her students. In fact, Bryan was involved in an extra curricular activity called the Garden Club in which she was the leader. Since he did not have any friends in it, he was either there because he enjoyed the activities or because of Ms. Trucks. She was definitely having a positive influence on him.
Peer Relations & Self Esteem
As many researches have found, peer relations and self-esteem are usually connected. Brown and Lohr (1987) found a significant correlation between self-esteem and the status of an adolescent’s peer group. Who a student spends time with and what other students think of him/her usually have a huge effect on what the student thinks of him/herself.
Research has also shown that the influence of friends can affect an adolescent’s school performance, and thus their academic self esteem (Steinberg, 1996). This was very apparent while following Wendy. She had the ability to distract other students who were usually very good workers in class. This happened in social studies with Jasmine, and also in science with Linda. Neither girl was having problems concentrating in the math class that I usually observe them in, even though they sit with other friends. While it is possible that it could be the class, I believe that it had more to do with Wendy. Whenever Wendy was around a friend, she would talk instead. However, in math class when she was not around any friends, she did not socialize during class at all.
Basketball had a positive influence on Bryan’s self esteem. I believed he liked it so much because it allowed him to focus not on his deficits, but on his abilities. Bryan rushed through lunch by practically inhaling a grilled cheese sandwich, so that he could have more time on the court. There was definitely a difference in energy about him when he was playing basketball, compared to when he was in math class. On the court he played with maximum effort, while in math he would remain very passive. Down the road, such extracurricular activities will hopefully allow him to make more positive connections to school, resulting in more motivation to learn (Mahoney and Cairns, 1997).
Peers were also the likely reason behind Bryan’s refusal to wear his hearing aid. Bryan would not talk about the situation when I asked him about it, which showed me just how personal it was. According to his interpreter, Bryan does not like to wear it because in his mind everyone is noticing the hearing aid. This points him out as different. This is a good example of Steinberg’s (1991) imaginary audience phenomenon. Bryan believes that everyone is looking at his hearing aid, when in actuality, it is very small and fits inside his ear, making it hardly noticeable.
A Deeper Analysis of Bryan
I have yet to attempt to interpret Bryan’s disengagement in math class, and I still may not be able to. I observed a variety of things that could be factors, one of which has to be the interpreter’s presence. In the two classes where there was no interpreter, he did extremely well. Because the language arts class is small, he did not have an interpreter. He also did not have an interpreter during science, probably because the class was doing a lab. In both classes, Bryan was engaged and seemed very positive about the activities. While he may not always act that way in language arts, it is important to note that he felt comfortable enough in class to be as engaged as he was.
In gym, computers, and social studies, where an interpreter was present but not sitting directly in front of him, Bryan worked well. He really enjoyed gym class, probably because they were playing basketball, but it was also likely due to the freedom allowed him. During the few short minutes that Bryan was in computer class, he spent much of it in front of the computer working on his own, and remained on task. And of course, during social studies he was also very engaged.
Sixth period math was where there is usually an interpreter sitting directly in front of him. Consequently, he does not pay attention or engage in any discussions. Thus, he exhibited the most positive attitude in classes where the interpreter was not present or was giving him space (not sitting directly in front of him during the whole class). Although I cannot be certain, I believe that it was because he was able, to some extent, forget that he had a disability and just be another student. With the interpreter sitting in directly in front of him, he (and the rest of the class) always had a constant reminder.
The way that the classes were run may have also played a big factor in his engagement level. I sensed a definite need for autonomy. In gym, computer class, and science, Bryan was given much more freedom in class. He was able to get out of his seat and move. He was also given responsibility in these classes: playing well for his squad’s basketball team, working on his assigned computer, or testing out the battery he created. In language arts and social studies, the students were discussing stories that were being read to them. Thus, they were allowed to share their opinions of how they translated the work. While math class is generally discussion oriented, answers are usually either right or wrong. Many times while I was helping him, I would ask a question and he would simply answer, “I don’t know” instead of trying. This could help explain his reluctance to raise his hand in class as well – he is afraid of being wrong.
Implications
I have learned a lot about adolescent development over the course of creating this paper, let alone over the entire quarter! First off, I learned that students need and want autonomy. Adults do not like being told what to do every once in a while, so one can only imagine what it is like for adolescents to be told what to do all of the time. Not only does it make them feel disempowered, but also lessens their motivation to do the work. The research and my experiences have all shown that students benefit greatly from autonomy-supportive teachers.
However, I have also experienced the other side of the coin. Allowing too much autonomy for students when they are not ready for it, results in them taking advantage of this newfound freedom. This does not help their development or their education, instead hindering it. As a result of these actions, adults become less likely to give the adolescents autonomy in the future and tend to take away already existing freedom.
In my future classroom, I will have to remember to keep all of these issues in my head. I must remember to give students the autonomy they thrive on. This would involve such actions as listening to their opinions, giving them choices for assignment, letting them make decisions involving class, and respecting their thoughts. At the same time, I must remember that if the students have so much freedom that it hinders their education, then I need to revisit my allowance of that autonomy.
I also learned about the importance of teacher-student relationships. The key component of this is caring. The studies and my experiences have all shown that students who feel that adults truly care about their well being are much more cooperative. Such relatedness is associated with increased student motivation, attendance, and academic achievement (Jones & Jones, 1998).
In my future classroom, I will work hard to establish good teacher-student relationships. I can go about that in several ways: demonstrating my interest in their lives, creating opportunities for personal discussions, and giving them positive statements on a regular basis. Even something as simple as using their names in a story (as Ms. Trout did with Wendy’s science class) can be quite effective. But the most important thing I will keep in mind is to enjoy my students. If I do not take advantage of their intelligence, opinions, and energy, I will be missing out on a lot of what teaching is all about.
I have also learned a lot about peer groups and self esteem through the work of this paper. In fact, I was surprised at the connectedness of the two topics. I found them very hard to separate, leading me to the conclusion that they may in fact be inseparable! The research and my experiences have shown me that how students interact with their peers often demonstrates their level of self esteem, and their level of self esteem is often reflected in the status of their peers.
At first glance, this may not appear to have any relation to how a teacher teaches; however, it does significantly affect me. I am a big believer in the use of group work in math class, and it will be up to me to make sure that the choice of partners is a good one. What I have learned is that there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when choosing these partners. The popularity of the two students, their self esteem issues, their academic levels, and their overall personalities. Thus, whom students work with and how well they work together is not just a guessing game, it is a science!
I did not recognize the full significance of what I had learned in this class until after I had typed up this paper. I suppose that would be the final thing that I learned – that discovering adolescent issues is a difficult task, especially when you are not looking for them. I will end my paper on somewhat of a somber note, but with a very good example to support my statement. One of my favorite students was a very fun and energetic sixth grader by the name of Krissy. On the morning of my shadowing, a student ran up to me in the hall and told me that one of Krissy’s close friends (a fourteen year who did not attend ABC) had committed suicide the previous day. When I got to her, Krissy was circled by a group of her friends. She was still obviously shaken up, as I could tell she had been recently crying. We all just stood around her, letting her know that we were there if she needed us. When school started, however, Krissy sat quietly in each of her classes, giving her teachers little idea that anything was wrong.
This was an eye opener for me. A traumatic event such as this in a young person’s life was not even recognized by the adults that she sees everyday. Although she did not show any obvious signs of emotional distress, there were definite ways that a teacher could have figured out that there was a problem had one of them been looking. While it may not have been a teacher’s place to ask Krissy to talk about it, this information would have been good for them to know.
Teachers have a variety of academic goals and objectives that they try to accomplish each day. However, this is only part of their job. The much more important part is making sure that their students are on track to grow up to be responsible, healthy, and well adjusted adults. This is a huge responsibility, but one that I welcome with open arms. I now feel one step closer to being ready for it.
REFERENCES
Brown, B. Bradford. (1990). Peer Groups and Peer Cultures. In S. Shirley Feldman & Glen R. Elliott (Eds.), At the Threshold (pp 171-196). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Brown, B. & Lohr, M. (1987). Peer-Group Affiliation and Adolescent Self-Esteem: An Integration of Ego-Identity and Symbolic-Interaction Theories. Journal of Educational Psychology, 52 (1), 47-55.
Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (1993). Development During Adolescence. American Psychologist, 48 (2), 90-101.
Jones, V. & Jones, L. (1998). Comprehensive Classroom Management. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Klass, Dusty. (2000, February). Growing Up. The Rolling Eckstone, 1 (5), pp. 2-3.
Mahoney, J. & Cairns, R. (1997). Do Extracurricular Activities Protect Against Early School Dropout? Departmental Psychology, 33 (20), 241-253.
Reeve, J., Bolt, E., & Cai, Y. (1999). Autonomy-Supportive Teachers: How They Teach and Motivate Students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91 (3), 537-548.
Steinberg, L. (1996). Beyond the Classroom. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Wentzel, Kathryn R. (1997). Student Motivation in Middle School: The Role of Perceived Pedagogical Caring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89 (3), 411-419.
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