When it comes to the concept of “Do No Harm”, I believe most adult ESL students have adequate life experience to understand that they should not harm self, others, or the environment. However, there are still things that need to be reinforced. My students who have had little or no public schooling need the most teaching in this area. There are also cultural differences that need to be considered.
Young adult students might not understand that answering the teacher before anyone else and asking a million questions can be disruptive to class learning. In one true-to-life case, I talked with my overzealous student and explained the problem. He insisted he was being a “good” student. I explained that others in class also wanted to learn and his actions were making that challenging. It was helpful that his mother was also in the class to reinforce my message. As the school leader, I would make sure that my beliefs would be evident in school rules. Before dishing out discipline I would dig deeper to find out the cause of the behavior and see if there was anything staff staff could do to help. If discipline was needed, I’d ensure that the punishment fit the crime. As the school leader, my beliefs would be reflected in program practices and initiatives by continual staff training. I’d model good behavior and expect staff members to do the same. I’d talk about ways to bring out positive behavior and share resources with the staff on this topic. The overall goal would be to create a safe learning environment. As the school leader, my beliefs would be reflected as a component in the PLC team meetings. The teachers would discuss discipline - what works long-term and what doesn’t work. We’d shift our focus away from enforcing the rules and more on creating a safe learning environment and teaching/affirming students’ good behavior. I think the concept of teaching students to “first do no harm” is not entirely integrated into the culture of my school. We need to change some of the current rules, aka Student Expectations. Locking students out if they are late from break, does not open students up to learning. We need more training on the “Do No Harm” concept. I am saddened by the above paragraph. I hear voices saying: “We are adult school. Their being students is a privilege, not a right. We have too many classes at night for students to be continually coming back from break late. Students need to learn that being on time is a part of life and especially important if they want to get a job.” I think that we jumped right to the quick fix, a tough rule, instead of asking teachers for other solutions. Here are the 5 things I’m willing to do this semester to make my school a more positive restorative place:
3 Comments
Bill Robinson
9/21/2015 10:54:31 am
Sheila,
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Sheila
9/28/2015 10:24:18 pm
Prof. Robinson, Yes, there are fewer disciplinary problems; but they still happen with adult students. For most students, if the expectations are clear they can follow the rules. But, others still think that the rules do not apply to them. Getting "buy-in" from the students would be helpful.
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David
10/17/2015 04:52:07 pm
Sheila,
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Sheila L. DavisPassionate Adult ESL Instructor at Grossmont Adult School. Seeking to learn new habits and unlearn bad ones. ArchivesCategories |