What
This week’s performance task, I greeted the students in the morning and asked them how they were doing. Day one of my level three internship, I watched my Collaborating Teacher (CT) greet the students as they came into the classroom. She always had a huge smile on her face and it showed the students that she was happy they were there that day which helped set a positive atmosphere in the classroom. The students have a routine in the morning where if they are going to breakfast, they come in and set their backpacks off to the side so that that teacher knows they are gone. If they do not need to go to breakfast, they have to unpack their backpacks. Their agendas are given to the teacher to look at incase there are any notes from the parents/guardians and to put their green dot in the agenda. They also are required to put their blue folders in the basket. My CT would open them to check for paperwork that needed to be returned or classwork that needed to be finished at home. After day one, I have taken over this routine in the morning for her. As the students come each morning, I greet them by name and say “Good Morning”. Most students are good about remembering to stop and see me each morning to complete the morning routine. If the students forget to stop by and see me, I jokingly say, “Did you forget me?” This usually is enough to remind them to unpack their backpacks and get ready for the day. I do have one student in the class who usually does not greet me when he comes in. With this student, I say “Good Morning” and then remind him what he should be doing. I have really enjoyed it because I get to greet the students as soon as they walk into the classroom.
According to our text, “People of social being who have a need to belong, to be recognized, and be accepted (p.65).” Greeting students in the morning, I believe is a part of being recognized. It shows students that you are happy to see them and glad they are there. I know I enjoy watching the students smile every morning when I greet them at the door.
So What
Doing this in the morning has helped me get to know more about the students because I ask them questions about how they are doing and what they may have done over the weekend. Students love to talk and with the busy schedule of the school day the morning is the only time they have to talk to the teacher. This is important for a teacher because sometimes they may be the first smiling face that child has seen that day. The parents may have had to rush them out of the house to get them to school on time. I believe that teachers set the atmosphere of the classroom and if they are happy to see the students then the students are more likely to respect them. This also helps with the school day, if the students know the teacher is happy to see them, they are more likely to pay attention. Just by saying “Good morning” to your students can help eliminate some behavior problems. Students who respect their teacher are more likely to pay attention. Teachers can earn respect by doing something as simple as greeting their students by the door and say “Good morning” or “how are you doing today?”
Now What
Since completing this task, I have changed the way I greet the students in the morning. I try to no longer just sit in the chair and greet them as they come in. Now I walk around the room or stand near the door. I feel that the students like this much better than me just sitting in a chair waiting for them to enter. In the future, I want to be the teacher that stands near the door and greets the students as they walk in. I want to make them excited about entering the classroom each morning. I also believe that it is a good way to get to know more about my students. Many times, they are excited to tell you about what they did the night before or what they did over the weekend. This will help me get to know things they are interested in outside of school. At the beginning, I greeted each student by name to help me remember the names, however this is something I have continued because I feel that it makes each student feel important. I have had teachers who don’t even look up at the students as they walk in. This is not a way for them to earn the respect they need from the students.
This blog addresses FEAPs:
2a: Organizes, allocates, and manages the resource of time, space and attention