Final 2 Weeks

The clock seems to be moving faster and faster as my time in Australia comes to an end. It is hard to believe that I only have ten days left here. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to everyone, especially the students and my host family. Everyone has been so open and welcoming since day one and it feels like home here. I have definitely seen growth in myself as a teacher and the students as learners and am looking forward to Three way conferences next week.

At our staff meeting this week the Assistant Principal, Helen spoke about Assertive Discipline. I found it to be a great refresher course for me because it has been some time since I heard the details of the theory. The main idea of assertive discipline is that teachers have the right to teach and children have the right to learn. For me, this sounds like a basic concept, but when Helen broke it down I began to realize some of the things I do or say in the classroom can sway the behavior of my students.

Being effective with this type of discipline program requires the teacher to always be aware of how they present themselves and act around the students. Your behavior is a direct reflection of student behavior. The initial setup in a classroom can also greatly impact how students behave in the classroom throughout the year. By establishing classroom rules and expectations, creating a class motto and mission, and implementing a reward and consequence system, students are less likely to act out or feel as though their opinion is not valued.

I found this session to be very valuable to me and my future experience in the classroom. There were two other comments that Helen made that really stuck out in my mind and made me reflect on my instruction time and the discipline system that has been established in 5/6L. They are:

"Say what you mean and mean what you say."

The full attention span of a student equals their age in minutes.

• Example: An 8 year old has a full attention span for 8 minutes

I will leave you to ponder those two statements. I have been borrowing Alan and Carolyn's computer to blog and do some planning and am so thankful for that! In case I do not have a chance to blog before the weekend, Susan and I are taking a trip to Sunshine Coast as it is our last weekend to travel and see Australia!