Questioning My Calling

Dale and I found our way to Room 302, the last class on our observation list. However, after we located the room we found it locked and vacant. We left and on our way to find Principal J we bumped into Dr. H, who instructed us to find Kim for further direction. We found Kim and after several failed attempts to find the “missing class” she decided to bring us to Room 230, a self-contained Social Studies class. Before entering Kim warned us that the classroom teacher was at a meeting and that the student teacher that had been left in charge, was having a hard time controlling the students. As soon as we entered, a few of the students began “showing off.” Even without the distraction of our presence, it was obvious that there were behavioral issues with several of the students.

RI Department of Education: District C Support System & Plan (March 2013)

The student teacher, with the assistance of a teacher assistant, tried her best to ignore or calm the disruptive students and continue her lesson:

“Do you have a responsibility to 

help/ assist others in an emergency?”

The student teacher tried again and again to finish reading an article out loud to the class, however she was having extreme difficulty with all the fuss being made by two particular students. They were talking and arguing back and forth with one another, swearing frequently, and blaming the TA for their bad behavior. The TA was trying unsuccessfully to calm the students down, but after many failed attempts she called District C’s behavioral specialist to the room.

What I found most interesting about this experience is how I reacted and felt about being placed within this environment...

I was not uncomfortable. 

I was not nervous. 

In fact, I truly wished I had more authority 

to help the student teacher with the students who were acting out. 

I wanted to pull each of them aside and talk with them. Let them know that this was not the way to get the most out of their education. And discuss with them that their behavior was not only disrupting their classmates’ education, but their own. The only reason I did feel uncomfortable was the fact that Dale and I were most likely the reason these particular students were “showing off” and I had empathy for the student teacher, who was obviously struggling. 

This experience really made me question my career path... 

Do I want to work in a Special Education environment? In a self-contained class? I didn’t feel out of place, if anything I felt an extreme drive to help. Short-term I wanted to be able to calm the students, get them refocused on the lesson. And the experience got me thinking about the long-term. If this were my class, what types of rewards/ discipline could I use with the students in my class to help improve these undesirable behaviors? Why were these particular students acting out? Was it a need for attention? Were they having problems at home? Were they having a bad day? How would I have handled this situation if I were in charge? Would I/ could I be a good special education teacher? I know I am now interested in learning more and I plan on looking into what it would take for me to become certified.