Hello
Chapter 3
I believe that the best quote is out of this chapter is:
"All behavior is motivated by one of two basic instincts: 1. To seek pleasure. 2. To avoid pain."(45)
I think that this is true, as in my class the students either act out to gain attention, seek pleasure or acceptance from their peers, and to avoid the pain of doing work. Or it is the complete opposite: the students will behave well to gain attention from the teacher mostly, not their peers, or they want to avoid the pain of failing.
Schmidt continues, "unfortunately, their motives often get lost in translation, and we (the teachers) simply see a troublemaker or a kid who won't try." I have dealt with this in my own classroom as two of my students in one of my periods do not want to do any task. They talk back when I ask them to stop talking, question every activity we do, and perpetually waste class time. I have had to send one them out in the class twice already in order to get through the material. My CT and I both talked to the student, but we haven't chewed him out. We continually ask him why he is doing what he is doing, but he keeps saying he is not sure. My CT asked me to just give him three warnings before putting him out in the hall again. I am going to try this on Monday and hope that it works. It could be very true that he does not know why he is doing what he is doing. However, to me it is clear he wants attention but just the wrong kind.
I found the signs of self-accommodation-ers very interesting as well. Knowing the signs of what they look like can better help me work through my classroom on how to help each student. Camouflagers were also informative on how they work and how to interact with them in the classroom.
Lastly, the second thing that stuck out the most was choice. I always try to give my students the power of choice in the classroom. I believe it makes them feel empowered and wanted in the classroom. I really enjoyed this chapter, as it was definitely useful for this week in the classroom.
Courtney
Strong points from Schmidt. I love the example from your own class.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts which will help you manage this group of middle schoolers.
I'm glad you read this chapter with your students in mind. It would be good if you could figure out some way to motivate that student who doesn't want to do a thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are thinking about the choices you can give your students. How about the choice to talk or have a Friday game?