My worst sorry moment probably comes from my first two weeks in student teaching. To give a little back ground on this moment I had a student who was non-compliant and very accusatory. He did not want to do his work and when I confronted him about it countless times he stated that he did not believe that I liked him very much. My reaction to his statement startled me and him as well and made my cooperating teacher laugh. I came to realize later that what I had stated was not bad or even that hurtful, but my quick reaction, sarcasim, and dry sense of humor made the situation a little uncomfortable for my student. Thinking back on my reaction I believe that it has been the best motivation for him and one of my best learning experiences as a student teacher because now he does his work and is one of my best student. So without further ado here is what I said.
I remember closing my eyes for about 2 seconds and then looking my student dead in the face and wondering what was about to bypass my brain and come straight from my lips. I looked my student in the eye and without pause stated that no I did not like him when he did not do his work therefore he must be under the logical understanding that I did not like him since he was intelligent enough to understand that intellectuals do not tolerate laziness. I know that the bulk of what I said went over his head and that only my tone and demeanor were the problem, but I still felt upset with myself. The student stopped staring at me, turned around in his seat and proceeded to do his work. He later came and apologized to me for upsetting me and I began to feel worse because not only had I shown emotion to my students but I had also shown that I could be rattled by there actions and words. Since this moment I have had no real problems with my students, and my cooperating teacher laughed at me and said that it was a good lesson. Still I wish that I could have that moment back cause I think that now with a little experience I could have handled things differently.
raleigh brooks sumner
Thanks for sharing this with me. I think it is important to try our best not to lose our tempers in the class because it ultimately gets us no where. But at least in this case you recitified it by working things out with this student. I am glad you can reflect on this and learn from the interaction.
ReplyDeleteDr. M