They were by far the most socially inept bunch,
obviously placed together by some ill twist of fate and with my luck they
became mine. Fresh out of University in 2010, I came to work in the East-West
corridor, a far cry from the rural area I had been born and raised in. I was
running from something and the northern part of the country at the time was the
furthest place I could run to. I had no expectations really, after five
grueling years of study I was ready to get back to work. I was ready to put
into practice those strategies we covered extensively at UTT. Assessment and
Management, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts.
Nothing I covered at University prepared me for
what I was to meet. Twenty four students, a small class by the standards of the
school. The largest I had ever taught. Somehow it seemed they had not
negotiated the first four stages of Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages
efficiently and as such were maladjusted. There was mistrust, they didn't think
that any adult in the educational system at least had their well being at
heart. They doubted their abilities and did not think that they were capable of
accomplishing anything, even the simplest of tasks. They lacked initiative and
simply refused to attempt anything new and out of what htey were used to. And
finally they had serious inferiority complexes. It was amazing to me and
overwhelming as well that such a situation would exist with an ENTIRE class of
students. Not only did they have conflict within themselves, feelings of low
self worth and low self efficacy, born out of flaws in the educational system,
but they also had issues with each other. Most of these children had spent
their entire primary academic life together yet there was a habit of verbal
abusiveness, chronic complaining, teasing, tattling and overall resistant
behaviour.
Their parents didn't help the situation either, if
anything they compounded the problem. For example, I asked a parent to meet
with me concerning her child's social ineptitude. Before I could even go into
the issues I had with her daughter she proceeds to tell me of instances which
had occurred in first and second years. She continually made references to
these and even began crying as if to prove how badly hurt she and her child
were by all of this.
At the end of the academic year however, I saw
growth and improvement in their interaction with each other. This stemming from
the fact that I treated each of them fairly and made them feel as if they were
worth something to me. (and they were) We established rules for the class as
well as consequences for their actions. I was able to identify the pupils who
were the catalyst for classroom disruptions and gave them various leadership roles
thereby channeling their abilities in a different direction. I created an environment where they were free
to express themselves and their feelings, without the negativity and without
snickering and jesting from their peers. I even played sport and interacted
with them on a level that wasn't just about me being the teacher and the sole
individual of authority but I was also their friend and I wanted them to be
comfortable enough with me to come and speak to me about anything which was
troubling them.
These children have now gone on to secondary
school and I was proud to see them go because when they left the school two
years after I had interacted with them, I know they left better suited to fit
into the moral fabric of society and in years to come would be functional
adults.
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