I have known that I wanted to work with children since I was about 5 years old. Ever since then I pretty much just figured that I would be myself around them. I would talk to them instead of talking at them, I’d make jokes, and I would listen and take them seriously. All of this still stands today but there is one aspect of working with kids that always made me feel really uncomfortable: discipline. I love kids but I know that they aren’t perfect little angels but so far in my life their acting out has never been my problem. There were always parents or other adults around to take over when things got messy. However going to my field placement really made me realize that I am the adult now. And luckily I have had the pleasure of working alongside a teacher with plenty of experience and skills that I could observe and take with me into my future career.
The first thing that I noticed was how the teacher struck such a fine balance where she is really stern but never mean. She has this tone of voice that kids just respond to when paired with this certain piercing look that says “I mean business.” She makes the rules very clear to all students and she doesn’t waiver from them. She also explains why certain rules are in place, there is never a “Because I said so.” She really levels with her students and makes sure the reasons behind her instructions or rules make sense to everyone, which I think increases the likelihood of students doing what they are supposed to do.
Of course the students aren’t always doing what they’re supposed to do, if they did I would be concerned. These moments where the students aren’t following the rules are very valuable to me. Through them I have observed two very efficient techniques. When a student acts out the teachers typically ask the student if they are supposed to be acting the way that they are. The child knows that they aren’t and they typically correct their behavior. However if they don’t then the second technique comes in handy, which is just excusing them from the activity until they are ready to come back. For example in the morning they have a morning meeting on the rug. If a child is playing or not paying attention and they don’t correct their behavior after being called out then they are asked to leave the rug. After a certain amount of time they are asked if they are ready to come back and they return with much more appropriate behavior. I think that it’s hard to decide what to do with children who are being disruptive because it can be argued that calling them out in front of everyone and essentially outcasting them is harmful you also can’t let them continue to disrupt the learning environment. They have to learn their lesson somehow. Therefore I like the way that the teacher doesn’t yell or cause a scene, she just talks to the students quickly without dwelling on it and eventually gives them a second chance.
Over the course of my field placement I have definitely solidified my previous ideas about needing to be kind, flexible, supportive, engaging, and gentle with children but I now see that you can not baby them. You have to be able to put your foot down and earn the respect of the children in your care. Luckily this can be achieved in ways that are much more subtle than yelling and being overbearing.
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