Teaching Community (aka I ain't afraid of no kids!)

So as mentioned in the post below I was an SEA for PE class. Well, something the teacher did made me really mad--and I see teachers do this WAY TOO OFTEN. So I just need to rant.

The PE teacher had written on the board, get into groups of three (NOT TWO, NOT FOUR). He even verbalized this to the kids before he let them get into their groups.

So three of my SE kids grouped together and two of the others grouped together and they were looking for one more. Coincidentally, I saw a group of four girls. (Everyone else had paired up.) PERFECT! One of the four girls can join my group of two fully functioning SE kids and it will be perfect. I went over to the girls and asked for one of them to come and join my group of two kids. They pretty much ignored me. What do you expect!? I am a sub and their regular ed teacher is there, so I have no say.

I went over to the PE teacher, thinking that he just hadn't noticed the groups of two and four. I mentioned to him how I tried to get one of the girls to join the group of two, but they ignored me. The PE teacher then said to me "Oh, we'll just keep the group of four and two. If we try to split up those girls we will have a fight on our hand." And he walked off.

WHAT!? You are worried about a fight?! From 13 year olds? You are going to let them not follow instructions (while the rest of the class is required to follow instructions) because you are afraid of dealing with some big talking over-hormonal thirteen year old girls. I KNOW YOU DIDN"T! Let me also mention this PE teacher is a fairly large man.

WHOA WHOA.... Okay now is my turn to rant.

How are these girls going to learn the importance of community-working with others--if this teacher is not going to promote it. In the business world, are these girls always going to work with their best friends? Are they going to challenge their bosses instructions because they don't like them? Are they going to be able to get along with their coworkers? Are they going to be able to hold a job?

School is so much more than reading, writing, arithmetic. It is about learning to get along with each other. LEarning to make good choices. Learning COMMUNITY!

COMMUNITY--this is the first thing that should be taught in a classroom--and this is always my goal. You have to start at the beginning of the year when *hopefully* they are nervous, want to make a good impression, and finding their place among their peers. I often have "getting to know you games" to help. Then for the first semester, I assign the groups. I don't allow my kids to create their own, because I know that they won't branch out to meet their classmates. I also grade them on their group interactions (here I have had some parents get upset with me.) I try to assign roles in the group. If one of the kids is not performing their role and interacting with their group, they lose points. I have had parents get mad at me about this.

"Ginger did her work. You can't take points off her assignment because she didn't ask her classmates involvement." --Oh yes I can. Do you think Ginger's boss is going to be happy if she is assigned to perform this in her job, and yet she refused to consult her colleagues also assigned to the same job. COMMUNITY. We need to learn to get along with each other, no matter what our social status is. By the way, I send home a letter at the beginning of the year explaining how I grade AND I have parents sign it saying that they have read it and understand it. This is always a good back-up when Ginger's mom comes a-knocking.

Community should be the number one goal of any teacher. If you have students that are supporting each other and building each other up, you are going to create the best learning environment. Kids are going to feel safe. They won't worry about getting made fun of by asking questions or not understanding. (This also means that the teacher MUST take disciplinary action if any student is bullying or making fun of another student.) Community is definitely the most important thing in the classroom and in our world. Let's build it!