I'm trying something new with some of my classes. In two of the classes, I had the students take out a sheet of paper and give themselves a grade for their behavior today. I asked them, on a scale of 1-5, how did you do today? Be honest; this isn't for a grade, it's to see how well you reflect on your own behavior. I feel like too many students just show up, throw down some kind of action, do some amount of work, and leave, without really thinking about what they're doing, how they look to others, or how hard they make anyone else's lives. So I had two classes think about it. I asked them to think about how they are acting. I asked them to explain their score. I then asked them to make a plan for what to do tomorrow to be better.
Some students confessed to cheating on their worksheets today (Oh, great...). One said that it was I who had gotten mad at her when she had just been asking a question. One said that the students would behave better if I punished them more. I am so tempted to ask to see his Master's degree.
I'm not a big punisher. It's not that I want to add a bunch of twelve-year-olds to my circle of friends, it's that I want students to think about why they do the things they do. I don't want fear of punishment to be the main motivator in someone's behavior. Plus, let's say I do punish someone. I give them enough of whatever kind demerit it takes for them to get detention. Then what? they get written up, they can't go on field trips or participate in activities. Okay? To a student who has been punished their whole life, none of that matters. None of that really makes them want to be better.
But what does?
I feel a bit hypocritical at times, because there are some things I do in life just to avoid punishment. I don't speed for the sole reason that I don't want a ticket. I think that, as long as you aren't going too fast, you would be able to stop should anything too important come about. But I don't have the money to pay for a ticket, and so I don't speed.
I do, however, try to leave public places nicer than how I found them. If I drop something in Wal Mart, I put it back. Nobody gives me a demerit or a fine for not doing this, but I know that it is someone's job to tidy the store. But, just because it's someone's job to clean a place does not mean I have permission to leave it in chaos, as though their job is beneath mine.
In the first scenario, I let punishment be my motivator, because I do not have any other motivator to follow this role. I do not personally see the big deal with going a few miles over the speed limit. But I do personally see the problem with acting like a princess for someone else to clean up after in stores and public places. Everyone in the work force matters.
The problem is that, in some ways, the student who thinks I need to punish more does have a point. The rest of the students just don't see a personal reason why they should behave. There's nothing at stake for them, they don't care how hard my life is or whether or not their classmate can concentrate. They're just waiting for me to yell at them, demerit them, and send them out -- because it's all they know.
Is it possible for this to change? Is it possible to inspire a student to find some reason to behave, other than "I don't want to get in trouble?"
This is one of my favorite videos in the world. Watch it: here.
The thing is, as an adult I don't follow this all the way. We've already discussed why I don't speed. My reason for not trashing a place is concern for other people -- and most of my life has been spent being good to make other people happy. There are a few teachers in particular that I wanted so badly to impress. I would even wear certain things just hoping they would notice and comment about it (never anything inappropriate of course). I didn't work hard "because I did," I worked hard because my brother was a genius and I wanted to be good at something. I worked hard so teachers, parents, elders would recognize me. I didn't want a reward, per-se, but I suppose recognition is its own reward in a way.
Not until college did I honestly pursue knowledge for the love of knowledge. Not until college did I revel in literary devices just for fun. Yet, even in college, I wanted approval of teachers, of friends, of everyone. Would I be different now, had I been Rafe's class (the teacher from the video) in 5th grade? Can I give to my students a value that I am still working to develop myself? Is it possible for these students to be motivated inwardly, or do I need to start writing cuts? I've given four since I arrived in my long-term placement, and I genuinely believe that one of them might have gotten through. But who knows, really. I'm pretty sure that, as a middle-schooler, I would have taken the cut, rolled my eyes, and left without another thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment