"No smiles before Christmas" er det et uttrykk som sier. Det betyr enkelt og greit at man som lærer i en ny klasse skal være streng og ha strikte regler "fram til jul" (eller et godt stykke ut i året) for at elevene skal lære seg å høre etter. Etter jul kan man dra fram de hyggelige timene, for da har elevene allerede lært seg reglene og det går greit å fire på kravene.
Dette med "no smiles before Christmas" er noe jeg aldri har vært tilhenger av. Og så vidt det er meg bekjent er det heller ingen andre lærere som praktiserer dette til punkt og prikke. Men i det siste har jeg reflektert litt over dette med å være bestemt, og hvilke konsekvenser det gir.
For er det kanskje sånn at elevene responderer bedre på tydelige rammer og en bestemt lærer som setter krav? Selv ønsker jeg veldig å ha en avslappet og hyggelig stemning i timene mine, og jeg misliker sterkt å måtte bli streng, måtte sette anmerkninger og så videre. Og selv om jeg alltid har hørt at jeg må være strengere, har jeg ofte vært ganske avslappet, og smilt og ledd mye med elevene mine. Jeg ser jo selvfølgelig også at elevene trives i dette, og jeg har bygd mange gode relasjoner, så noe riktig må jeg jo gjøre.
Men det er kombinasjonen av dette jeg kanskje må bli flinkere på. For i det siste har jeg sett at det å være avslappet ikke alltid fungerer. Hos noen klasser fungerer det kjempefint, men det er ikke til å stikke under en stol at noen elever - eller hele klasser - responderer mye bedre på tydelige rammer og en lærer som har klare regler de må forholde seg til. Med en gang jeg slakker av og blir for avslappet så sklir elevene ut og jeg må bruke mye tid på å hente de inn igjen, mens der hvor jeg er en tydelig leder med tydelige krav på oppførsel helt fra starten så blir det mye bedre med en gang.
Jeg ser også at de andre, mer erfarne lærerne på skolen tar dette mye lettere. Det virker som de har større kontroll på oppførsel, og etter å ha spurt litt rundt så skjønner jeg at det er nettopp fordi de ikke er redd for å ha tydelige rammer. Rammer på oppførsel, på PC-bruk, på forsentkomming og så videre. Og det virker som om det fungerer.
Så kanskje nye lærere også burde få et kurs i å sette rammer i et klasserom. I å ha tydelige regler, og å følge opp disse. Kanskje nye lærere burde "oppdras" til å være en enda tydeligere leder som skjønner at det å ha det hyggelig i timen ikke trenger å gå på bekostning av alt rundt. Man snakker mye om klasseledelse, men først nå, etter to år i skolen, begynner jeg å skjønne akkurat hva det betyr.
Det er kanskje feil å si at man ikke skal smile til elevene før etter jul, men et lite crash-kurs i tydelige rammer, det hadde ikke vært å forakte. Hvis ikke så får vi trøste oss med at om et par år er vi også erfarne lærere, og da får vi sikkert til dette enda bedre vi også.
tirsdag 30. oktober 2012
tirsdag 2. oktober 2012
Litt om det å være en rollemodell
Jeg skrev denne posten på et annet sted, derfor er det på engelsk. Men jeg synes det passet inn her, så jeg valgte å poste det her også. =)
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Lately I've been thinking a lot about the teenagers of today, and what kind of examples we're setting for them. I spend my life with teenagers, and I see the things they go through; the things they still don't know about life; the things they have yet to learn. And I remember how I felt, not that long ago, and how big and confusing the world sometimes was (and still is, let's not kid ourselves). As someone who's survived my teenage years, I see it as part of my job to help the teens of today navigate the world they live in, and help them make healthy decisions that will last far beyond their teenage years - much like people in my life did and still do today.
But the fact of the matter is that more than me, more than parents, teachers, youth leaders and peers, the things that shape today's teenagers and young people, are the media. They watch TV, they read books, and they listen to music. And that's what this post is mostly about. I promise this won't be a "the world is ruining the youth of today"-post. It's just a few thoughts I've been having lately.
The other day I was walking through the shopping mall in town when this one song came over the speakers. It was a pretty catchy song, and I soon found myself humming along with the chorus. Then I realized what, exactly it was I was singing. "Daddy, I've fallen for a monster. Somehow he's scaring me to death. He's big and he's bad, I love him like mad. Mamma, he's the best I ever had." (Black heart by Stooshe.) And that's when it hit me: is this really the message we want to be sending our young people? That it's okay that a guy is treating you badly as long as you love him and the sex is really good? Do we want the young men of today to think it's okay to treat girls like crap as long as they're great in bed?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that a lot of the messages in today's mainstream media are just that; girls should allow boys to treat them badly as long as love is at stake. And it's not just in this song. The big teenage heart throb of the day is Twilight's Edward Cullen. And there are countless girls out there who dream of the day when a strange man will come through their window and watch them sleep. (It's true! I've heard girls who said just this. And it's every bit as creepy as it sounds.) Or who want a love so strong that when your boyfriend leaves you because he, apparently, knows what's best for you, they feel as though their lives are no longer worth living. Are we okay with that? As Stephen King said: "Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all popular culture is bad, and if you know me at all you know I mean that. But I think we, as grown-ups and rolemodels, have a responsibility to show today's teenagers that there's more to life than being in a relationship; and there's definitely more to life than being with someone who doesn't respect you, love you, and treat you well. We don't have to remove all mainstream media - on the contrary, I love mainstream media. But for the love of God, let's not advertise songs, books and movies that openly teach teenagers it's okay to give up who you are to make room for someone else. There is so much more to life than that.
----
Lately I've been thinking a lot about the teenagers of today, and what kind of examples we're setting for them. I spend my life with teenagers, and I see the things they go through; the things they still don't know about life; the things they have yet to learn. And I remember how I felt, not that long ago, and how big and confusing the world sometimes was (and still is, let's not kid ourselves). As someone who's survived my teenage years, I see it as part of my job to help the teens of today navigate the world they live in, and help them make healthy decisions that will last far beyond their teenage years - much like people in my life did and still do today.
But the fact of the matter is that more than me, more than parents, teachers, youth leaders and peers, the things that shape today's teenagers and young people, are the media. They watch TV, they read books, and they listen to music. And that's what this post is mostly about. I promise this won't be a "the world is ruining the youth of today"-post. It's just a few thoughts I've been having lately.
The other day I was walking through the shopping mall in town when this one song came over the speakers. It was a pretty catchy song, and I soon found myself humming along with the chorus. Then I realized what, exactly it was I was singing. "Daddy, I've fallen for a monster. Somehow he's scaring me to death. He's big and he's bad, I love him like mad. Mamma, he's the best I ever had." (Black heart by Stooshe.) And that's when it hit me: is this really the message we want to be sending our young people? That it's okay that a guy is treating you badly as long as you love him and the sex is really good? Do we want the young men of today to think it's okay to treat girls like crap as long as they're great in bed?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that a lot of the messages in today's mainstream media are just that; girls should allow boys to treat them badly as long as love is at stake. And it's not just in this song. The big teenage heart throb of the day is Twilight's Edward Cullen. And there are countless girls out there who dream of the day when a strange man will come through their window and watch them sleep. (It's true! I've heard girls who said just this. And it's every bit as creepy as it sounds.) Or who want a love so strong that when your boyfriend leaves you because he, apparently, knows what's best for you, they feel as though their lives are no longer worth living. Are we okay with that? As Stephen King said: "Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all popular culture is bad, and if you know me at all you know I mean that. But I think we, as grown-ups and rolemodels, have a responsibility to show today's teenagers that there's more to life than being in a relationship; and there's definitely more to life than being with someone who doesn't respect you, love you, and treat you well. We don't have to remove all mainstream media - on the contrary, I love mainstream media. But for the love of God, let's not advertise songs, books and movies that openly teach teenagers it's okay to give up who you are to make room for someone else. There is so much more to life than that.
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