Seeing Eye to Eye

 

Welcome back y’all! As you know I have been in a Head Start classroom for the past couple of weeks, and as the time starts to wind down and come to an end,  I would like to address some observations that took place in the classroom. It’s difficult to fully understand what goes on in a classroom when you are only there one day out of the week for a couple of hours. But from what I have noticed, there are different teachers that are in the classroom, and not counting the Millersville students. It definitely seems a lot especially since there are ten students in the class. But for some reason, all the teachers work together and make the days go smoothly. If you don’t remember from my last blog post, I talked about the student’s behavior inside a classroom and how the environment affects the students. I took notice of how each teacher handled situations and how their own feelings got in the way of helping the students. But a couple of weeks ago, we were told that our original teacher was no longer coming to class and there will be new teachers coming in. 

… With that being said, I instantly thought to myself “how do different teachers affect the students?”

New Teacher, Who This?

If you didn’t know what the roles of a Head Start teacher are, Then here it is. Its pretty simple, well not really. Your job as a Head Start teacher, it is important to keep the students at the same learning pace so that no student is left behind. They work with teacher assistants and special needs aides to develop a curriculum that works for each child. Yes, it may seem like a general education classroom but I promise, it is not what it looks like.  It’s dealing with different behaviors and students who come from low-income families, providing the students with what they need to continue to grow and be a good student. But dealing with their behaviors is the hardest part of being a Head Start teacher.

You are probably wondering where I am going with this, but let me tell you, my Head Start teacher no longer works for Akron Elementary School anymore; so we got new teachers throughout the school year. I decided to do some research on how having different teachers would affect the students. From what I have found, the student’s behavior would most likely change, especially for a student who isn’t used to drastic change. More importantly, why do the teachers leave? According to Michael B. Wells, Head Start teachers don’t teach anymore because of their own attitudes towards the class and colleagues (Wells pg. 105). If the teacher has a bad attitude, then the students will have a bad attitude which will make it harder for the teachers. But teachers don’t realize how it affects the students. Everyone knows how hard teaching can be, and it is definitely not for everyone. But if you are willing to stick it out and make a difference in a student’s academic career, then I would suggest continuing teaching, no matter what. I understand that it may take a toll on some people, but if a teacher leaves in the middle of the school year, then it will take a toll on the students.

With another finding, students who experience multiple changes with teachers, their bad behavior begins to increase. Students may experience separation anxiety for the first couple of days or even weeks. If a teacher decides to quit on the spot, it will be much harder for the student to understand. Lieny Jeon explains that students will start to act out if they do no trust the new teachers ( Jeon pg. 565). If students see that the new teacher is nervous or doesn’t really know how to control the class, they will start to think that they can do whatever they want; like a three to five-year-old, they already think that. It is important to explain to the students what the new changes are going to be so they can start acting right towards the change. If a teacher decides to quit during the school year, the student might stop participating in in-class activities or make a huge scene. Therefore, it is important for everyone in the classroom to understand the new changes and to be ready for what will happen in the future.

My Point of View 

I have mixed feelings about getting new teachers throughout the school year. I do not like the fact that some teachers would think to put students through something like that without even an explanation of what is happening. These students are starting to have lots of questions for the teachers and it’s important for the student to trust the teacher. Being in a Head Start class, the teacher has more responsibilities, and building a relationship with their students is the top priority.  But on the other hand, if a teacher doesn’t like what they are doing, then it might be best to leave so that the students are getting the best education they can receive. If a teacher has no intention of being there, then the attitudes in the whole class will be negative. I think it is important for teachers to be there for the whole school year, even if they have to suck it up. There are students in a Head Start class for a reason and to continue to put different teachers in the class will make the students not what to be there or behavior right. So in my opinion, I think having different teachers throughout the school year is bad for the student’s behavior.

 

B. Wells, Michael, and AbstractHead Start. “Is All Support Equal?: Head Start Preschool Teachers’ Psychological Job Attitudes.” Teaching and Teacher Education, Pergamon, 4 Jan. 2017, reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0742051X1630823X?token=D8F63BE2E76233947048F2008F01FB9312C04A4D4E49D2DE505452EC7D4BF73B2897ECF30B549AB2EBCAB8DD892EB0CF.

Jeon, Lieny. An Organizational‑Level Analysis of Early Childhood Teachers’ Job Attitudes: Workplace Satisfaction Affects Early Head Start and Head Start Teacher TurnoverL. 21 Feb. 2018, eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=efdf46ea-ff1e-4484-8b1a-2e937d99ed3e%40sessionmgr4008.