I believe that control is a very important aspect to the classroom. Like the discussion prompt stated, one of the challenges of constructivism is giving control to students. As future teachers, we need to give our students control, while still maintaining control ourselves, in order to build a mutual respect.
Regarding control over technology in our classrooms, it is not necessarily inevitable. We can choose not to incorporate it in the classroom, however it may severely hinder students from learning skills and information necessary to future classes or jobs. If we give students full control with technology, it is likely that they will not behave properly, damage something, ect. For example, in high school I was able to use computers and the internet whenever I needed to. I was given a lot of control and freedom, but the school restricted student’s from accessing many websites. This was an indirect form of control because while the teachers weren’t sitting there telling us what to do, we knew it wasn’t appropriate go to on Facebook or other inappropriate websites during school hours.
Control in terms of importance in the classroom, like I have previously stated, builds respect. I believe this to be true because it is very similar to Choice Theory in that control is closely related to power. Younger students often resent teachers because they may be “too mean” – I find this to be they are too strict. After all, who wouldn’t want a teacher that would give them a little control, power or respect every once in a while?!
4 comments:
I agree with a lot of what you said. Technology is something that really throws a wrench into the age old tale of "teacher as supreme ruler." I think that it is important that we give students some control in assessment, technology, coursework, etc. Without this they would seem disconnected from the classroom. This is not something that I personally would like to happen in my classes. The MOD readings discussed a lot about the integration of technology and assessment and I really feel that your feelings on control run with them. There is only so much you can actually give before it is abused.
I agree with both you and Patrick.. I definitely agree that we need to give students some control over their own learning. I think that if teachers took all the control away from students, they would, as Patrick said, seem disconnected from the classroom, and as we know, if students are actively engaging in a lesson, there's virtually no chance of them learning anything.
I whole-heartedly agree with a point you made: if a teacher and his/her students can strike a balance between control for the students and control for the teacher, a mutual respect does develop. I feel this is one of the best ways to gain control in a classroom. Obviously, you will always have the students who think its "cool" or their personal mission to cause as much trouble in the classroom as possible but in my personal experience, I feel as though this works to benefit both the teacher and the student.
Do you think Glasser (Choice Theory, which he originally called Control Theory) would agree that a teacher has the power to give student's control?
I took a look back at Glasser's "School Violence from the Perspective of William Glasser" article, and I found some interesting ideas he proposed. Glasser focus's a lot on relationships and how to better them and make them stronger. He talkes about external control, which I would think many teachers use in the classroom. He says we need to give up this control and replace it with choice theory. In order for teachers and students to be able to gain this relationship they have to avoid his 7 deadly sins: criticizing, blaming, complaining, nagging, threatening, punishing and bribing. These are all examples of external control, so I would believe that Glasser would say teacher's do not necessarily have the power to give students control. Control is in the hands of each individual of the classroom, whether they are willing to be controlled or to take control themselves.
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