PPLE Post 2

The name is of this subject is a very good one – Positive Learning Environment.  It says to me that future teachers are being taught the right things. Positivity is something I realise should not be taken for granted; to run with it when you are teaching is the ultimate way to keep a classroom yours.

Throughout the lectures this week we have learned that there can be five models of teaching – the diagnostician, the ethicist, the interactivist, and the non-interventionist. For me, the latter model is the one I really can relate to – although it is important to recognise that none of these models stand alone in isolation, e.g. for me it seems that the non-interventionist can go hand in hand with the Interactivist, and great results could ensue. I think of this when I heard the story of Nick. Steve never intervened by telephoning Nick’s parents, with a complaint. Doing this quite possibly would have caused further drama, for what if the parents were the catalyst for Nick’s behaviour? (That leads me to another question regarding kids with serious behaviour problems….is it a bad thing to notify the parents if the parents are the reason for the problems in the first place? I feel it could get really complicated. )

In this case though, Steve avoided any major complication by simply getting Nick involved with the class via a class task. By taking the interactivist approach, Steve became an opening of trust, making Nick feel it was ok to be human.

 From personal experience, when you go with a classroom, the emphasis really is on the word ‘with’. Being a dictator can get you quick results, or even solid results. But working WITH the students on an interactive level, and also not intervening (or not panicking that you don’t have control over your students) in every single little individual who appears slightly neurotic (this refers to every human on earth), then you have a much greater chance of having a classroom that believes in you, as well as having a good group dynamic.

Its very true what Steve said – kids change when they are in groups, (from my experience as a kid and as a teacher), and it’s the group dynamic that can be very flexible depending on how well it can be controlled by the teacher. Including kids into the human circle is so important, if you wish to command any form of trust and respect, and keeping the classroom out of the darkness.  A lot of the stuff I am saying here is quite vague I realise – and am looking forward to going into much more depth and dissecting it throughout this course. I can only speak for what I understand of the lectures and tutorials so far, as well as from my own music teaching experience in the ACT.