APExxon Mobil has biggest profit ever at $11.68BThursday July 31, 8:46 am ET By John Porretto, AP Business Writer
Exxon Mobil earns $11.68 billion, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any US corporation ....
At least we are not contributing to thier profits this morning. Wow. Can you imagine earning $1500.00 a second? That is just unreal.
Ok questions for Positive Discipline:
1. This again is designed to transcend the classroom...what we teach and model with this system transfers into the real world. Whether they are intrapersonal, interpersonal, strategic or judgmental, the skills that stem from PD could potentially have some productive dividends. A big part of this program is through the class meeting. Express your support or apprehension to this concept? Moreover would your peers (other teachers), admin, and parents support you if you decided to use this system. Does this approach fit the current Zietgeist?
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17 comments:
I think class meetings are a good concept if they are conducted appropraitly. The teacher who is facilitating these meets needs to be trained to offer advise to students. I know some teachers are very uncomfortable in these types of situations. Another apprehension I have with the meetings is when will they be?? It seems all you hear in schools anymore are the two big words TEST SCORES, and to take time away from teacher would seem like a bad idea in this day an age, even if it will help the student more than learning something they may never use in their lives. I could not see getting support from administrators if I was going to implememnt something like this in my class. I am sure they'd say you can talk to them at lunch, or it's taking away from the learning process.
The paradigm shift (AKA zeitgeist) seems to not only be focusing on technology, but also in preparing students for the 21st century workplace (Classrooms for the Future). So the idea of a class meeting may have some definite benefits in preparing students in their future. These class meetings can help students in sharing their ideas and opening up to hear other ideas and converse in debates on issues. Students may also learn planning strategies and learn to reflect on their thoughts and make needed changes. I would hope that peers, administration, and parents would be in support of that.
Yesterday in class I may have come across as believing that these classroom meetings would never work. That is not how I feel. I do have reservations in the belief that students would "open up" in front of their peers, knowing how judgmental teenagers can be. I do think, however, if that level of trust is established first, positive results would most likely come out of the meetings. The idea of these meetings occuring 2 to 3 times per week troubles me. The logistics of these meetings would prove very difficult. How long are they, are they taking up class time, because I feel like I have no class time to spare. Because of this, I do not think that I would have the support of the administrators. They would support an after school or before school session, but it is unlikely that they would allow it to detract from the curriculum. Parents are another question. I think in many aspects, parents wouldn't mind, other times, taking away from teaching time troubles them too. Although I do believe that this technique could produce positive results, I do not think it is a plausable method in today's schools for those reasons.
The classroom meeting I am sure can be a very positive thing. Getting students verbalizing their actual thoughts and feelings is great. I think you have establish their trust with some subjects that are not to deep. Then when they feel comfortable with each other you can get into more complicated subjects. This will take time. We have classroom meeting time right now but instead of in your class it is with your homeroom. This does take time away from instruction but it takes away from evryone else also. This will not solve any classroom problems you might have but it should make it easier to communicte. Just like many things in my school some people take it serious and other people do not put much effort into it. We do have support from administrators in fact they are the ones that initated the meetings. Being consistant is the key and we need to work on that.
Class meetings are yet another way to be proactive and gain mutual respect in the classroom. I am planning on implementing class meetings into my classroom on a regular basis. (I don't think I will be able to do the recommended 3 times a week. I agree with tom about the time factor and the pressures of TESTING.) I do think once a week I will be able to find time to conduct a class meeting. I would want the class meetings to be related to our classroom's function. For example we would talk about the rules/consequences, the topics to be learned, types of activities we are using, and the demonstration of their learning. I don't want my class meetings to be of a personal nature where I am an emotional counselor...I'm not qualified. What I do want to help my students achieve are better communication skills, a sense of student involvement in the learning process, and respect for others. I think with this approach my peers, administration, and parents would be supportive. I think they would all agree we need to teach kids life skills as well as the academic curriculum.
I have observed my district over the past 10 years or so as morning meetings were strongly encouraged when the district adopted the strategies used in the Responsive Classroom. Ruth Charney is the author of this program. Teachers were very resistant to the idea of morning meetings at first. They already had too much to do in the morning with attendance, lunch count, collecting permission slips, etc. The district has been very supportive of this program with a lot more than their words. They pay for several teachers each year to get training in the program. They also pay for higher levels of training for those who are inspired to do so. It has gone over so well that we now have some people in the district who are qualified trainers themselves. The teachers who use the morning meeting strategy say that it simplifies their lives rather than adding a complication. It is an opportunity to address emotional and physical needs when everyone is captivated in a group. At the elementary level I truly mean captivated and not captive. The kids love the game-like greetings that are involved and the opportunity to have everyone's attention on them for a moment.
At higher levels, I think it would take a special person to carry this off. I echo Tom's concerns about proper training for the teachers. Having said that, I think in class discussions, many of you described doing classroom meetings to discuss problems informally. Those who are comfortable discussing problems outside of the classroom should be able to do that if it does not negatively impact on the curriculum being taught.
I think class meetings are a great idea in elementary school and should be used regularly. I do think there would be less behavior problems if students became more aware of how their behavior can affect others. But with all the curriculum that needs to be fit into the day and the tight schedules, it is difficult to justify the time needed for class meetings. They have many positive aspects that could enhance classroom climate and management. Personally, it wouldn't work for me because I don't have a homeroom. I'm always clock-watching to be sure my kids get to where they have to be next, so when I have the LS kids in my room, I'm teaching. But, the class meeting is a structured teaching venue for learning to interact positively with others, sharing thoughts and feelings, cooperating,and showing respect by listening to and considering someone else's opinion, without condemning. Students gain cofidence and can learn public speaking in a safe climate. Sure, a lot of these teaching moments happen throughout the day, but not in the focused setting of a class meeting. This process takes time, and the pay-offs are worthwhile. I think many teachers, administrators and parents would agree that the class meeting can be a very positive use of time. But where do we find that time??
I certainly hope the need for the skills learned though class meetings will ever be out of style, so it does fit the current zeitgeist!
I was approached by my assistant principal last year to help her develop a program for the 9th grade students coming to the high school... one that would get them involved over the summer, help them build relationships with one another and teachers, and make them feel more comfortable about coming to the HS. As we discussed class meetings yesterday, I immediately began thinking that having such meetings in addition to a summer program for the freshmen could be extremely beneficial, if done effectively. We currently have a graduation project schedule where teachers are assigned a class of a certain grade and meet with them once a week at the end of the day to prepare them for their project. I have 9th graders and currently there is nothing done for them during this time. It is simply a study hall. I feel having class meetings would be a powerful thing if the teachers who have 9th graders would be trained to conduct these meetings... it would be even more powerful if these same teachers were involved in a program over the summer where relationships could begin to be built. I personally don't feel I would have the time to conduct meetings with my classes. I barely get through the curriculum as it is. I also think doing it as a grade level can be more effective... especially with groups that they are with every week and can learn to trust in time. It would even be neat to have a blogging site for such an advisory group... communication could be monitored by the teacher so that it remained positive, but the students might feel they can express themselves easier this way.
I think it is a good idea but I am not sure that teenagers will take advantage of it or open up to it. I think it would be a good idea for teachers to have maybe 15 kids come to them for advice if they want to in a private setting. The teachers could be trained and advise a group of kids and follow them thru their high school careers.........
however isn't that what
that what school counselors are for??
I substituted in places that did morning and afternoon homerooms and mtgs but the kids just used that time as a study hall.
Wow, I just ate lunch with some fellow teachers in my building. I brought up Nelson's idea about meetings. Their first thought was that it might work. Kids may open up and some good discussions could evolve from them. There were some reservations about the topics to be discussed and how they were to be presented, but felt those particulars could be ironed out. A flood gate was opened, and I got an earfull, when I began to fill them in on the logistics. They felt it was impossible to hold meetings 2-3 times per week. With our present schedule, it would be difficult to find one period to set aside for a meeting let alone 2-3. From that point on, the discussion was all about finding time to remediate; losing teaching time for 4-sight testing;PSSA prep etc etc..... So to answer the question as to whether or not the administrators and staff in my building would support something like this, I would say, probably not.
I do not like the idea of class meeting in general because I do not feel that I have the training to feel comfortable running them. I think an advisory program, on the other hand, where students have a teacher whom they get to know and feel comfortable with over a period of time could be very beneficial. Many of the same things could be accomplished as with a class meeting but in a much less formal way. It would provide time for teachable moments but without the preplanned aspect. This preplanning can seem very hokey to students and turn them off to the conversation. Students should be able to bring up things that they might be concerned about in a safe atmosphere run by a caring adult with whom they feel comfortable.
The class meeting fits well into the current zietgeist in large part because the 21st century marketplace will expect its workers to have strong collaborative abilities. Technology has completely changed the way people interact with each other and share information. These changes have created an open information-sharing marketplace that requires strong communication skills, self-confidence, and an ability to work well with others.
This past year my smallest class consisted of 7 honors students and my largest class consisted of 24 low level students. I was very fortunate to not have ridiculously high numbers. However, the class meeting system would work infinitely better in a class of 7 than in a class of over 20. The greater the class size, the more difficult the class meeting would become because of time constraints, the number of opinions that could exist, the number of issues that need to be discussed, etc.
My peers would think I am crazy and not spending enough time on content. My administration would only support this if I could prove that it would not negatively effect my students' PSSA scores. The parents of the honors students would probably question it, but the parents of the lower level students would probably never even comment.
I think we already do something similar to this. We have about half an hour set aside for "Class Meeting" every few weeks. You keep your homeroom and have the meeting with them. All of my homeroom students are also the students I have in class. It is up to me what I do with them. We are expected to address things such as bullying and character development. We are offered some resources, but not many. I honestly can't say that I felt that these meetings had much impact on the kids. Maybe I am wrong. As far as doing this in my actual class, that would be OK with me. I don't think three times a week is plausible, though. Maybe once every two weeks, and not for the whole block. I have 72 minute classes. I am willing to try it, but I am a little wary about a seventh grader's reaction. They can be very immature, and it is difficult to get some of them to take things like that seriously. Or they will talk a good talk in the meeting, but not apply it to the classroom. I don't like the idea of addressing a particular student's problem in front of a class. I can just see him/her going home and saying, "My teacher talked about me in front of the whole class." No thank you. I think things should be addressed more anonymously or more privately.
It sounds as though many school districts have already implemented some type of meetings with the students. I guess many of them our outside of class, in a specially designated time our period. It is wonderful that the administration has set that time aside for such activities. James brought up another important fact. Not all teachers see the need for this meetings, and therefore do not take them seriosly. This lack of consistancy is one of the major contributing factors of misbehavior that we have discussed. Is there anyway to enforce the teachers to lead these groups? What if the students are just not willing to talk? My school has set no time aside for these class meetings.
Another troublesome idea bought them was brought up in class. What if you don't feel like you are trained well enough to handle the topic. Do you just stop everyone from talking about it, do you call someone in...? All of these questions make me feel uncofortable about the meetings. I am sure they would be benificial, I would just hope that all of the teachers are up to the task.
I do have some apprehension to this approach. Although it is the one on which I presented, There is not time (in the high school 45 minute period) to implement meetings regarding behavior. If it is made clear enough to and with the students at the beginning of the school year, then Quite possibly one or two more meetings could happen when necessary, but weekly meetings even, I think are too much. I don't hink administration would smile upon it, as it take A LOT of time away from the curricular lessons. I forget what Zietgeist means...does it mean routine? If it does, I don't think it fits the current Zietgeist because there is just mot enough time to put into it.
I don’t believe this does fit with the current Zietgeist “No Child Left Behind” academically. There is so much focus on proper standardized test taking and standardized test scores. Our school spent 6 days taking Foresight tests to practice for the PSSA tests. STANDARDIZED TEST TAKING IS NOT A REAL WORLD SKILL. Are class meetings going to elevate our scores? No, but many of our student are lacking in social skills and problems solving skills. Class meetings might aid students in developing the real world skills of problem solving and interacting appropriately with their peers. Many jobs involve meetings. Whether it’s for a performance evaluation with your boss or a large meeting with a union. My administration, peers and parents would and do support class meetings. One of our 7th grade teams has implemenedt class meetings 2X a marking period and they have found them to be beneficial when deal with student behavior. My team is planning to adopt their idea.
Carrie T:
If your ninth graders are left hanging...why not suggest the meetings?????If there is CFF in your building, blogs would leave the chance for more kids to "open up" as they might not be as apt to face to face on certain issues!
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