My co-teacher and I decided to split up our inclusion class today and do the same activity in teacher-led small groups. A last minute glitch in our plans had us scrambling to regroup, and in the interest of time we separated them into boys and girls.
"Who do you want?" I asked him.
"I'll take the boys," he shrugged, and led them to an empty classroom next door.
The girls and I pushed a couple of tables together over near the whiteboard so that we could sit in unison as we worked our way through the lesson.
"It's so quiet!" one girl said. "I can't believe the boys make so much noise!"
I laughed and continued the lesson.
"It is so much easier to pay attention!" another girl remarked.
"You guys are doing a really good job!" I told them, and I realized that group praise had been missing from their class. It's tough to find something true and good when at least one adult in the room has spent most of the class time redirecting a few of the students. Added to that is the fact that the group dynamic is such that none of the students want to be singled out for praise, either.
We continued the class with this newfound attitude of competency. "Look at how much we got done!" one of the girls said with pride and disbelief. SHe turned to her classmates. "We should go to an all-girls school!"
"Who do you want?" I asked him.
"I'll take the boys," he shrugged, and led them to an empty classroom next door.
The girls and I pushed a couple of tables together over near the whiteboard so that we could sit in unison as we worked our way through the lesson.
"It's so quiet!" one girl said. "I can't believe the boys make so much noise!"
I laughed and continued the lesson.
"It is so much easier to pay attention!" another girl remarked.
"You guys are doing a really good job!" I told them, and I realized that group praise had been missing from their class. It's tough to find something true and good when at least one adult in the room has spent most of the class time redirecting a few of the students. Added to that is the fact that the group dynamic is such that none of the students want to be singled out for praise, either.
We continued the class with this newfound attitude of competency. "Look at how much we got done!" one of the girls said with pride and disbelief. SHe turned to her classmates. "We should go to an all-girls school!"
No comments:
Post a Comment