After this year, I'll have been in school for 14 years including junior/senior kindergarten. Throughout these years I've had numerous teachers with all different personalities and teaching styles. One thing that hasn't quite changed throughout the years though is the same rules each teacher seemed to have. Thus, I've developed quite the critique on the rules teachers have set in the classroom.
When I received this assignment, I immediately knew I wouldn't have any problems with it. I even thought I had the rules set and I did, but how I explain the rules I would have in my classroom has been influenced this week. I'm not going to elaborate further this other than saying these rules are not only influenced by the rules I've learnt but by certain ways teachers act, teach or are.
Note: For my classroom, instead of just having rules the students need to follow I am taking what I believe is a different approach. The rules will be treated as lessons, that the students will hopefully understand somewhat by the end of the theoretical semester. Although there will be no formal lesson, it is rather rules that will be enforced when needed but by explaining why it is important rather than just a 'because it is the rules I've set' answer. Without further ado, here are my rules.
(The buffalo is the animal which represents respect in Ojibway)
I was raised learning the 7 sacred teachings of my culture. If you didn't already know, I am Ojibway which is one of the first people of Canada. With that being said, it is only natural to incorporate such a big part of my identity into the rules of my theoretical classroom. The most relatable teaching is respect. Respect means to be compassionate, hardworking, attentive and a good listener. In the classroom I would expect the students to respect themselves, respect me, respect the other students, respect the equipment and respect the classroom in general. I know firsthand that in order to respect others that you need to respect yourself, so I would help the students realize this by being understanding of their needs and taking this into account. When the students respect themselves, they will begin to respect me, the equipment and the classroom in general.
Over my years in school, I've learned that the only way to succeed is to try YOUR best. To different people this can mean numerous things. To me it is to try getting a better grade than previous assignments, tests, quizzes or evaluations and to listen to what my gut is saying. This does not mean I need the highest mark in the classroom, but for me I need to always try being better at learning the content and finding new ways to do this.
In my classroom, I would like to enforce to the students the importance of this. The only way a student is to succeed in their dreams or goals is to TRY. Also, as you can tell, I haven't included a rule about being on time, being present or being prepared. That is because I believe that in order to try your best, you need to be worried yourself about your grades. That means coming to class daily, coming to class on time and coming prepared to learn both mentally and physically. Students need to learn the hard way that marks aren't given based on skills all of the time and are due to being active in the classroom. It should be up to the student whether they make the effort to come to class. Now I am not saying, I would condone students who skip all of the time but still manage to get high marks due to natural talent because I would tell important information in class that is needed to be heard rather than read by themselves and it is all part of the trying their best rule.
90% of the time I am scared of something, whether it be failing, not getting into university, not having the money to go to university, not helping my family enough, not paying more attention in class, not having money for the copious amounts of stuff that is required and overall just not being enough. Now these are all things I shouldn't have to worry about, but they still cause me to be anxious. When I am anxious I become afraid to ask questions, afraid to ask for help, afraid to make a mistake, and afraid to fail. Thus, I am no stranger to fears and in my classroom I would like to teach my students to never be afraid because I know firsthand that it is almost always something that can be fixed that is causing the stress.
5. Be Aware:
By teaching the students to never be afraid, not only will they excel in my classroom but they will also begin to excel in life. To not be afraid in my classroom would be to ask questions no matter how silly or stupid they think they are, to ask for my help no matter how big or small, to learn to love mistakes as they are only the building blocks to success, and by learning to no be afraid they will begin to not fail.
4. Believe in Yourself
Along with not being afraid, students need to know the importance of believing in themselves. For me, my success enforces that what I want to do in life is the right thing. A few assignments back I wrote saying I could see myself being a counsellor of some sorts, which is still a possibility but not my dream any more than it was before then. I wrote that post after feeling defeated and scared that I wouldn't get into Queen's University as it is my top choice. As luck would have It though, a few days after that blog I received my offer of admission into their Bachelor of Science with Honours program. This immediately perked me up and reinforced that I am on the right path in life, as this leads towards a degree in Life Sciences which then leads into medical school and then becoming a doctor. Therefore, although I had doubted myself during that post I still believed I would do something I love with my life. Whether it be becoming a doctor, becoming a counsellor, or whatever I end up doing, I know I will love it.
In my classroom, I would like to educate students on reaching for their goals by believing in themselves and doing whatever it takes to get there no matter what other people say. This connects to my classroom because if they need the course for their dreams, they will need to make the effort in order to reach them. I would not hand out marks for them not doing anything.
Lastly, by being aware students will need to know that I would not hand out marks for half-done work and that it is up to them to do what needs to be done. I, myself, know that in order to achieve what you want you need to be aware of what it takes to get there. When I first wanted to become a doctor I only knew that it would require a ton of time. Now I know exactly what I need to get into medical school and the past two years of high school, I have taken the courses I need for University in order to prepare for medical school, researched what it actually takes to be a doctor, looked up ways to pay for school, and found the requirements both academically and socially to be the right candidate. By being aware I have been offered and accepted to the program that will lead me to becoming a doctor and set me up for more than this one goals, by opening up opportunities within high school that I wouldn't of otherwise gotten.
In the classroom, I would expect students to be aware of what it takes to pass which is to show up to class everyday, to be on time to class and to come prepared. I would also expect students to be aware that the marks are in their hands, if they want to fail by not showing up every day unless they have a reasonable reason not to, or simply not paying attention, their participation would matter. Thus, to be aware in the classroom means to know these things and BE AWARE of how to put not only this rule into use but all of them.
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