Journal Entry #5
I have been able to observe Mrs. Nuttal now for a while and we have talked a lot about different roles and jobs a teacher has. One thing Mrs. Nuttal has told me over and over is that she is a teacher not her students friend. This does not mean they don't have have fun and that class is boring, but that she wants her students to recognize her role to help them learn. She has told me that when they think the teacher is their friend a respect is lost. This is all in a kindergarten class and I thought that was very interesting. I agree with Mrs. Nuttal though, that a teachers role is exactly that to be a teacher, not a parent, or a friend. I do believe being a teacher means more than just lecturing students and "Teaching them" especially in elementary school. A teachers most important role is love her students and nurture them in their learning. A teacher should be a role model. Students need to know the teacher is their to guide and help them in learning, and that the teacher cares about them. If the students know the teacher believe in them and cares about them, I believe students will flourish in their education because many limits they face will be taken away. Limits like, being scared of failure, not feeling comfortable with the teacher or with students.
There have been a couple time when Mrs. Nuttal and the other kindergarten teacher are talking about their students and I have been their. Their conversations have been about how to work with certain students and their behaviors, or disabilities. I think this would be the most challenging role as a teacher. Trying to ind a way to teach each child in a way that is best for them, when you have 26 students to to that for. I noticed how Mrs Nuttal is really good ant individualizing learning, she teaches the same thing in several ways. She uses a lot small group activities to help the students. There are other behavior problems, like students (they are kindergartners) pulling tantrums in the class or running out of the class room. Hitting other kids. I feel like this would be so difficult to deal with because it is hurting other students learning and teachers are not parents so we can not just sit them on our laps or give them a time out. That would be hard. Mrs Nuttal has told me a couple stories or behavior problems. One of her past students ran out side and jumped on a car kicking and screaming. She said she just ran out after him having another teacher watch her class. She grabbed the kid off the car and held him to get him inside. Teachers are legally not supposed to do this, however she said "sometimes you do what you have to do and then tell the parent and your boss what happened." This was a matter of keeping the kid safe, or keeping the legal boundaries, of course she kept the child safe, and everything worked out find. Behavior problems are going to be challenging.
