Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 22, 2008 - 13:46.
What an interesting blog! When I first read your comments, I immediately recalled a conversation I had with a friend when my daughter was a baby. At that time I was a new teacher and mother, and was particularly distressed about the lack of respect that I had witnessed among students in my school. I believe my exact words were, "I don't care if my baby grows up to be as dumb as a rock...SHE WILL BE polite and respectful to others." Obviously, my statement was a bit exaggerated. I did not want my baby to grow up to be as dumb as a rock (and she isn't by the way) but I was very sincere in my feelings about how she would behave socially.
In regard to your question about what are we doing specifically to improve social and emotional learning, two particular things came to my mind. First, I try to model as many of the desired behaviors to my students. I show respect and concern for them as individuals, I ask that they not be judgmental when others are sharing opinions, and I try to work on personal etiquette (such as waiting your turn instead of interrupting another person). Secondly, I also reiterate the importance of being honest and doing your best work. It seems that cheating has become so acceptable and common place in the classroom that students are completely unabashed about how much they rely on it. I really try to encourage them to take pride in their own work and while collaboration is a wonderful tool, cheating is never acceptable.
Character development
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 22, 2008 - 13:46.
What an interesting blog! When I first read your comments, I immediately recalled a conversation I had with a friend when my daughter was a baby. At that time I was a new teacher and mother, and was particularly distressed about the lack of respect that I had witnessed among students in my school. I believe my exact words were, "I don't care if my baby grows up to be as dumb as a rock...SHE WILL BE polite and respectful to others." Obviously, my statement was a bit exaggerated. I did not want my baby to grow up to be as dumb as a rock (and she isn't by the way) but I was very sincere in my feelings about how she would behave socially.
In regard to your question about what are we doing specifically to improve social and emotional learning, two particular things came to my mind. First, I try to model as many of the desired behaviors to my students. I show respect and concern for them as individuals, I ask that they not be judgmental when others are sharing opinions, and I try to work on personal etiquette (such as waiting your turn instead of interrupting another person). Secondly, I also reiterate the importance of being honest and doing your best work. It seems that cheating has become so acceptable and common place in the classroom that students are completely unabashed about how much they rely on it. I really try to encourage them to take pride in their own work and while collaboration is a wonderful tool, cheating is never acceptable.