Trouble?

I think the class which I am doing my practicum has been described recently as "off the wall", many of the members responsible for what one teacher described as "the two worst duties in my life" (duty being when a teacher walks around children playing during morning tea and lunch breaks). Today, the reason was five of the boys in my class being involved in an all tit-for-tat punching war (out of the six involved).

Earlier in the morning, one of the "trouble" kids was particularly agitating but when told off, he started to cry. This my supervising teacher noticed as unusual for him, and asked him what really was up with him. After much persistence she found that his mother had hit him in the head that morning.

There seems to have been an escalation of these sorts of disruption since I arrived (although I can't see how I have had anything to do with it). These are only 5 year olds. Born in 1998. And the teacher, I don't see as having many productive techniques to restore order. But is it possible to do so anyway? Some of it seems so affected by external factors.

How do you regain control? Or don't you, just doing the best you can under the circumstances.

Next week, I do take a more administrative role over the class, and will be formally required to do some lessons. I will be thinking about this hard.

This two quotes, passed onto us by our lecturer John Hope, give me courage:

"The Myth of the Good Teacher"
"This is the teacher who doesn't have behaviour problems, who is always in control, who never calls anyone for help.
"The myth is nonsense. No teacher, no matter how skilled he is or how much experience she has, is capable of working successfully with each and every student without support. This myth is especially damaging today because of the increase in the students whose behaviour is so disruptive that a teacher must have help from the principal, the parent(s), and if possible, a counsellor, in order to deal effectively with unacceptable behaviour." Canter 1992

In other words, I really should let these current experiences pour some cold water on my idealistic expectations for myself. I will be hit with the worst case of disappointment if I let my expecations define an impossible goal. Plan for the best, prepare for the worst. And this one:

"The Frightening Conclusion"
"I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As as teacher I possess trememdous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, a child humanised or de-humanised" Ginott 1972

A balance to the previous quote, because we must always remember we are the strongest agent in the classroom. We define so many of the factors. To always point to external factors (mums hitting children etc.) is to look for scapegoats and evade your own place of responsibility.

Anyway, to bed I go, to save my energy for the last day of the week.