Freedom to Learn by Art Willans

Author:Art Willans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Question and Answer

Question: I am a second grade teacher. I know my students. I could imagine most of my students doing something similar to crawling under a table. However, none of my students would have responded like the students in the example. Obviously, the students are different. Why do you think ignoring will work with all students?

Answer: We have on occasion seen similar situations where students did not respond as well as they did to Cari. Two differences from our example could account for what you are describing. One is what the students have already learned before they crawl under the table. The most important difference, though, usually depends on what the students learn while they’re under the table. Think of students crawling under the table as undertaking an experiment. They want to see what the teacher will do. Once they have an answer to that question, they will know how to avoid expectations. Many teachers think students misbehave because they are bad. More often, they have embarked on learning something about the teacher. If they can find a way to control the classroom, they can be heroes with other students, and most expectations will get lost in the chaos. If they can turn the classrooms into fun and games, they can, although at their own expense, temporarily be the winners. Careful observation will reveal that the students are thoughtfully, but perhaps not obviously, watching the teacher. They are watching to see how often she will look at them. The students are assessing how concerned (or nervous) the teacher becomes about their behavior. They may be watching to see how other students will react to their being under the table.

A teacher’s success at addressing the problem behavior will depend on several factors. First, if she just ignores the students under the table, the process will fail. Instead, she must use differential social attention. She must ensure that all other students would prefer to be participating in the teacher-directed activity. Her success, in part, depends on her faith that the process will work. In fact, a lack of confidence is almost certain to cause it to fail. If the teacher is concerned about what her colleagues or supervisors will think, her body language will reveal to the students that they can prevail. In our example, Cari positioned herself so she could notice if the girls did something she could not ignore; however, she was not watching them. Teachers should understand that students will join the group when they begin to wish they were participating in the class activities. The girls were not voluntary members of the class. However, they soon became voluntary participants in the culture they observed. Their change in attitude was because the teacher used differential social attention. The success of other students made the class activity more desirable than being isolated under a table.

A more difficult situation could exist if students have previously learned that such behavior always forces teachers into responding. This will be most difficult if the students have learned that this teacher will eventually attend to them.

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