A Good Behaviour Board was introduced yesterday, with the awards of tidiness, good behaviour and helpfulness. Some of the children may actually be behaving well to earn the awards. B'a and F'n seemed keen on being tidy, while L'e even helped a staff member dispose of things in the bin. I think F'n was already trying to be more of a tidy person even before the board was introduced though.
S'r seemed to be singing today. He hummed a bit, made smacking noises with his mouth, and then repeated the whole tune again and again. He also knew that there was cake on a high shelf, and he pulled on my hand, moving it towards the cake. When I refused to get it for him, he tried to climb up himself. He also spelled "DUMP" with some wooden alphabets, I wonder if that had any significance.
Two workmen were doing some structural work. The children were very interested in what they were doing and the noise they were making. Unfortunately, the workmen didn't seem to take extra precautions with where they were. Their tools and equipment were just left lying all over the building.
I found 2 large screws on the ground where they'd finished their work, and a child even got his hands on a hammer before I grabbed it off him. There were also power drills around, but I suppose they weren't plugged in, and wouldn't be accessed by the children unless they wandered very far.
Moving Forward
The Good Behaviour Board seems to be doing the job of enforcing good behaviour. I wonder if the children are too young to properly grasp the concept. Normally I see that kind of thing in the 3-4s, as opposed to the 2-3s room I'm in.
I wonder if the workmen were given any special instructions to be more careful in the nursery? Last week there was a professional photographer, who seemed to behave rather oddly. He used harsh language openly in front of the children, and the younger children were even distressed by him!
7 comments:
woa...i spot danger.how come the children have access near the workmen? construction in the room itself?
Agreed, children below 4 couldn't grasp the concept. They know 'good behaviour = more attention from teacher' (young children are attention seekers). It does not teach good behaviour and they are not able to internalise what is good behaviour yet. However, if managed properly, it does serve as a 'model for good behaviour' and if they do it often enough, it may turn into as part of their 'normal' behaviour.
Audrey: Unfortunately from the children's point of view, it's the bad behaviour that gets the most attention isn't it? :)
Mumzzy: Oh the stories I could tell. ;) But yea, the workmen were working on things at the edges of the room, sometimes while the children were in the room.
It's not construction like knocking down walls, more like fixing safety gates, handles, those wooden boards that you can stick pins into, etc.
The purpose of the good behaviour board then is to turn children's bad behaviour into good behaviour, at least they can understand this concept. It can serve as a guide to turn habits into behaviour/attitude.
Apparently, it is better to praise the child's work than the child. Since a praise is still a praise whether it is about the child or his work, he will be happy. However,when the child produced a bad piece of work (the child might reason that he is tired, no mood, etc), at least his self-esteem is not affected (take-away from the 2-day "falling thru the cracks' conference/workshop on learning differences).
Yep. That's what I meant when I said the room leader has very good concept of language, because she seems to do it automatically.
For instance, you always see people going "Awww, good girl!", or "Clever boy!". The better way of doing it would be something like "Well done for tidying up the toys!", or "What a beautiful picture you've drawn!".
It's all so complicated, and there's so much to learn and improve on. Yet it feels like people look at the job as though it's below being a McDonald's cashier or something.
It is complicated and the most difficult job ever! One has to experience teaching to know what it takes to be a 'good teacher.'
I always get this question from parents, 'which is more important, a good teacher or a good curriculum?' Most will say 'a good teacher' because they could see the direct influence on their children, they fail to see that a good curriculum is the base for their children's learning. Both are equally important.
Yea, it's quite a lot for a minimum wage job. ;)
That's an interesting question. You can't have the curriculum without the teacher though.
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