I like to share with you my most recent experiences. But before I start
with these, I need a small introduction.
I am working now for nearly 13 years in the Library of the University of
Technology at Delft, The Netherlands. It is a very large library that
serves also as the national library of technology. It's main task is to
create an infrastructure and services above this infrastructure for
storage, access, and delivary of information on technology and natural
sciences. Although I still enjoy my job (information scientist, focused on
innovation of client services), the last two years I am looking for a new
job (the world is larger than a library). I am very pleased with my
employer that he gives me the opportunities to spend some time for my
search for a new job.
One of the possible directions of interest is to become a teacher at a
secondary school. This interest became even more serious the past year,
since in the Netherlands there is now a very, very serious shortage of
teachers (in nearly all disciplines). Partly because of idealistic motives
(thinking of the long lasting damage of a whole country, if a complete
generation of school children don't receive good education), partly
because of my earlier interest in this subject, I started last week as a
parttime teacher. I replace an ill teacher in geography. Six classes (each
of 26 children) in their first year of the secondary school (age 13/14).
The school is generally considered as the lowest level of secondary
schools and it is ment to educate children for practical jobs. I had
experience in teaching to adults and university students, but not to kids
of the age of 13. Children who are told that a school is something
necessary, but generally have ambivalent feelings about learning. Not the
most easiest pupils I would say.
So the other week I started enthusiatically, knowing about dialoguing,
activating, triggering curiosity, stimulating, giving compliments,
variation of aural, audio and self-working, etc. HOWEVER ..... I have
difficulties in strictness and sterness. Now and then the class is a mass,
not listening to me, but to eachother. In short, it is sometimes chaos.
The classic pitfall of the unexperienced schoolteacher. Not all classes
are similar, each class has its own atmosphere.
We know in my country a good expression for such experience: "throughing
someone in the deep waters", meaning that practice will be the best
teaching (one has to learn quickly to swim, otherwise one will drown). It
is a great experience and one can make some interesting observations,
particularly in relation with LO's.
1. The new teacher (or manager) as a single individual in a larger group
that is already somewhat organised. It has to do with the "digester" (see
LO21272, were the forces are described between a small and a big group,
and the forces between well organised and less organised). It is the
battle or game around the question "who will be the strongest?".
2. It is also the search of "how far can we go without punishment?", or
the territorial battle between class and teacher.
3. There is also a strange paradox: the creation of chaos as much as
possible on the one hand, and on the other hand there is also a will to
learn. I have tested this last week. I asked the class: "who likes not to
learn?" Result: no fingers in the air. "O.k., who likes to learn?" Result:
all fingers in the air. And thus I said that they should listen to me
instead of talking and testing how far they could go with their chaos.
They seem to understand this. So I started with my geography lesson again.
After three words of me, the chaos started again. It seems that the class
is bagging for punishment.
4. How harmful should be punishment? That was my next question that I
asked myself. I did not like to punish with things like: "write 100 times
the sentence: 'I should be quiet and listen to the teacher'". I find these
kinds of punishment useless. So I invented another kind of punishment. A
pupil has to take his atlas and has to write x number of names from the
index, find out what this name is (city, mountain, river, etc) and in
which country this is. I thought that each name will take 5 to 10 minutes
for these children, so 20 names will be work for ca. 2 hours. Problem for
me: some kids seem to like this punishment?!
5. After all, the class is NOT a unity. Sometimes a receive a whisper, or
even a small letter: "Please master, you should be more strict and stern;
I like to learn". I became very touched by these pleas. It are the
whisperings of the quiet kids, overruled by the noise of their classmates.
How to cope with this situation?
6. You may imagine that I struggle with a dilemma. I don't like to hurt,
but there seems to be a need and sometimes even a request. This
contradiction creates much confusion in my mind, especially because I
remember still so well our discussions on the issue of "Hurting" (a.o see
LO-archive of august 1998).
7. It seems that my mouth is not shaped for the language of the class. I
once noticed the words of the director of the school to one of the pupils.
These words were so rough and brutal. But they seem to work. Should I
learn a new language, the slang of the street?? Also the mentality of: "if
he hits me, I will hit him", seems common at home.
8. The main need for these children seems to be a structured social life
and discipline. And this seems not or poorly present at their homes. The
common problems of these modern days are right in front of my eyes: single
parent, both parents working, parents who had also an unstructured or
unsafe and insecure youth, etc. The school is the place to give them
security and structure.
How can I give this to them and teach them a basic level of wisdom?
Please, keep in mind that with only slight differences, these situations
could also be present in organizations of adults.
You may got the impression that my personal experiment (teaching at
secondary schools) is a disaster. That I started with the most difficult
groups, you may imagine. Maybe the latter is true. It even is much more
difficult, since I am a temporary teacher and the class has already some
social structures. But my experiment is certainly not a disaster. It is a
great learning experience, and I enjoy it. I hope to increase my didactic
capacities. Maybe I learn to swim, maybe I will drown. But in both cases I
have learned a lot. I will continue this job for another month or so; I
hope that the original teacher will return in good health at that time. If
I stop now, the alternative for the kids is even worse than with me in
front of the classroom.
Why did I inform you about these experiences?
I did this because I hope to receive some comments to help me with
understanding the behaviour, (seemingly) paradox of asking for punishment
and willness to learn. It is this what makes me curious and which gives me
the energy to continue. You me give me tips on my lack of sternness,
although that is not my main request.
dr. Leo D. Minnigh
l.d.minnigh@library.tudelft.nl
Library Technical University Delft
PO BOX 98, 2600 MG Delft, The Netherlands
Tel.: 31 15 2782226
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Let your thoughts meander towards a sea of ideas.
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--Leo Minnigh <l.d.minnigh@library.tudelft.nl>
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