When I began my first teaching job, a parent of one of my youngsters came up to me and said, “I’m so glad you’re a sweet, nurturing teacher.” Then she dropped her voice to a whisper and continued, “The last teacher was a bit of an ice queen.”
Well, I thought, I’m certainly glad I’m not an ice queen.
After reading this article in The Wall Street Journal, I’m starting to rethink my position on teachers as ice queens. Perhaps I should have been more strict with my kindergartners. Would they have learned even more in my class? Should I have transformed myself into a “tough teacher”? According to the article, they are more effective.
Do you agree that tough teachers get good results?
I like to teach with love. Part of my job is to teach a love of learning. My kiddos know that I do expect certain things from them such as writing needs to be neat and they need to do their best. When i see they did not do their best and are messy they have to give up some of their free time and redo it with me. But I am always kind and supportiitve.
You dont have to call names or be mean but we need to make them follow certain rules for their own good.
I think that you are correct, Darlene. We need to have a certain kind of toughness, they need to know that we are in charge. I have an after school program and my first priority with the children is doing their homework. I will help them if they need help, but I try to make them do it themselves so that I can see what they know. I think that letting them know that they need to respect you is also necessary. Part of the problem with today’s children is that they don’t have respect for their elders and therefore don’t always feel that they need to follow rules. My students know my rules and I am very strict when it comes to enforcing them. I have told them without rules society would be lawless and we could all do as we please even if we are hurting someone while doing it. My students love me – they hate going home when their parents come to pick them up.
Get to know them individually from the first day of school, learn how they tick, let them know you seriously care and what you expect from each of them. Teaching should be nurturing to grow a positive child. As a kindergarten teacher, I am known as the “huggy” teacher but they also know I expect them to be their best and there are consequences for their behavior.
I have always believed in the four “F’s”… Fair but Firm, Funky and Fun! If children learn your rules and procedures from the get-go (with a LOT of modeling), the rest will fall into place. 😀
I definitely agree with Reva! You need to set the standard for your students at the beginning of the year. Letting them know that you are there to primarily support their learning is key. They need to know that when it’s time to learn, it’s time to learn an when it’s time to have fun, it’s time to have fun!
Let them know you care, and care enough to expect their best. I hold mini-conferences every few weeks, show each child their work, comment on things done well, things to do better, and end with another positive comment. This strategy gets results as kids beam over the compliments and make sudden improvements in weak areas during the next week.