Quinn Bivens
T O P I C :
No Respect!
Quinn Poses the Question. . . .
October 20, 2007
Here's one I'm sure many of you are battling with. I am running the same procedures as my mentor and have about the same rapport with the kids, but I am having less successful results. When he is teaching, the students are generally pretty quiet and on task; when I am teaching, I find control is always a bit tenuous. I am giving out three times the red marks he is, but to no avail. How do I get the kids to treat me more like the "teacher" and less like the "intern?"
Ethan Reese-White answers....
November 16, 2007
From what I've experienced, there are a few different factors at play here. The first is do you feel like you've found what is truly your management style? Since we're all learning about classroom management as well as learning to read the dyamics of any given class, it's all pretty new to us. As we go through our internships, we should be getting a sense of how we personally manage a class. The thing that's tough with a mentor is trying to find a balance between their management style and your own. This can sometimes lead an intern to adopting a style they're not quiet in sync with since they're trying to bridge those gaps. So, do you think you're presenting the appearance of someone who is comfortable with their management style?
The next is do you feel comfortable with the authority you have and are you prepared to use it? As interns, it can be hard to take ownership of a classroom since you still feel like a subordinate to your mentor. As such, there may be the inclination to defer management issues to them. This can create an aura of uncertainty and weakness that students will pick up on. So, you have to take to heart that you are the teacher when you are in front of the classroom and that the students answer to you. This also means following through. Students sometimes don't believe that an intern will make good on the consequences that are set up for infractions of behavior, completing assignments, etc. If you have consequences in place, you have to make good on them when infractions occur or the students will know you can be manipulated and that they have a good chance of getting away with their negative behaviors.
It's a tough act to balance when in the intern role. Students inherently don't see you as having the same authority as the "real" teacher. You have to discover your own style and use that to exude an air of comfortable authority. Plus, you have to get used to the idea that you do have the same authority (assuming a mentor doesn't undermine it) as the "real" teacher, and that you may have to follow through with penalties when the situation calls for it.
That said, perhaps you and your mentor need to have a quick heart-to-heart with your classes. They may need to understand that your mentor has agreed that you have all of the rights, responsibilities, and authority that he does. They may need to hear it from him to understand that he is on board with this arrangement, and that you are not simply his subordinate. The Captain has beamed down to the planet; you have the command. Make it so, Number One.
Michael Figueroa answers....
December 4, 2007
I think the first thing may be to have your mentor help you out some. If you and your mentor really have a similar rapport with the students and you are carrying on your mentor's techniques, the students shouldn't be treating you that much differently. There is an obvious gap in respect because of experience, but working out some subtle way that your mentor could bolster your standing or help you out would probably the best place to start.
Another thing to think about maybe is your rapport with the students. I know I had problems in my last rotation with maybe being too laid back with students. It makes for an easy living outside the class sure, but during lessons I think students were too easily swayed in thinking that I wasn't serious about the lesson. Maybe some self-evaluation here could help out a bit also.
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