Introduction
Kindergarten is one of the basic institutions that are present in any educational system. It serves to cultivate the societal values in children, developing their social integration, and most importantly forming their academic base. The main interaction in these institutions is between teachers and students, with the student-student interaction being equally important (Copple, & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 32). In the course of these interactions, there are both positive and negative episodes that may take place. The major influence as to how these actions affect the learning of the students in this grade includes the teaching strategies adopted by the teacher, the classroom rules that are in place, and the involved students. This essay presents some of the critical episodes that have occurred in the kindergarten, the methods used to manage the issues, and the utilisation of classroom rules and teaching strategies to influence the decisions made.
Episodes that take place
Several episodes have taken place between teachers and students in kindergarten and specifically for the grade three. One of the major issues that occurred was bullying between students in the same class (Rosenthal, 2008, p. 7). One of the male students in the class was involved in bullying some of the smaller children in the same grade. The occurrence occurred for about a month. It was brought to the teacher’s attention after the children who were victims reported to their parents. The children accused the said offender of hitting them often during playtime and always making them cry. They also had to give their rations of any food to the bigger child or face his wrath.
The accused child denied being a bully, but admitted that he enjoyed playing with the two other children while at times hitting them because he thought they liked it. He also stated that they did not complain whenever they were playing and that any of the things he took from them were often given willingly and not taken by force. The parents also complained of seeing some scars on the bodies of their children who stated that they had gotten them out of being pushed around by the bigger boy. He in turn stated that the scars were due to some unfortunate episodes and accidents that they had during playtime and that they were not his fault.
The teacher discussed this issue with the students involved and their parents where he made some recommendations to be effected in the classroom. Some of the measures included the punishment of the child who was accused of bullying, with the other children in the class being made aware of the happening and the consequences of such actions. The teacher also made lesson plans on bullying. Some of the activities included how to treat classmates and what bullying entailed.
The teacher described areas where bullying may take place and some of the actions that entail bullying. Bullying is a major problem in learning institutions. Some of the people involved can find the origin of the problem in the basic teachings that they had in kindergarten (Rosenthal, 2008, p. 7). The teaching practices that were instituted here were a major determinant of the outcome of some of these actions, with teachers having a major role to play in their management (Mastropieri, & Scruggs, 2000, p. 15).
Some of the classroom rules that were ineffective in preventing the bullying in the above occurrence include the one where students should maintain discipline within the learning institutions and/or avoid bodily harm to their colleagues. The rule is not specific on the discipline that students should maintain, but states that students should not harm each other. The child involved in this case therefore broke the rules and was eligible for punishment as per the teacher’s determination. The teacher also discussed the issue with the boy’s parents. This was another way of ensuring that discipline and punishment were instituted (Henderson, & Lawrence, 2011, p. 21).
From this scenario, a number of lessons may be learnt in the management of classroom issues. One of them is that teachers should be more aware of students’ welfare in and out of class during school time and that they should emphasise that some of the classroom rules are applicable both in the class and outside (Cole, 2008). Despite there being basic rules that students are allowed to follow in class, teachers should not assume that students are going to follow them as they do at home.
They should therefore develop these rules by ensuring that they are kept within and outside the classroom. Teaching strategies are also important in the mitigation of bullying within institutions, especially where the children are as young as in kindergarten. The teacher needs to teach the meaning of bullying, the actions involved in bullying, the effects of bullying on the victims, and the expected consequences for those found responsible (Mastropieri, & Scruggs, 2000, p. 15).
Another issue that happened is where some students refused to do their homework blaming this on some several things such as forgetting books in school and forgetting to do the homework. In one particular scenario, two of the students agreed not to do their homework. Instead, they planned to give a reason that they were sick. The action taken by the teacher included talking to the parents of the children involved, instituting appropriate punishment as per the class rules, and having the children learn the mistakes that they had done.
A student refusing to do homework is one of the biggest challenges that kindergarten teachers face. Several strategies have been developed to ensure that this does not happen frequently (Mastropieri, &Scruggs, 2000, p. 15). One of the major strategies to ensure that this does not happen repeatedly is the classroom rules that act as the central feature in the management of the problem.
In this particular case, the teacher involved had to punish the students according to the classroom rules to which the children were party. The children were made to repeat the homework and do some other activities that were related as well as having to skip their break times to do the homework. One of the students however decided to involve the parent with the claim that the teacher was being unfair, disliking him, and that the teacher hated the student. The student also made up several lies about what the teacher had said to him, thus implying that the teacher had demonstrated favouritism in the punishment and teaching. The parent came to school complaining of the same. The teacher had to explain the misunderstanding.
The conduct of the teacher was also put under focus, with the school board meeting to discuss this episode. After the teacher, student, and the parents sat together in a meeting to resolve the matter, it emerged that the student had made up the story just to escape doing the homework to have the teacher leave him alone. This issue was managed at both the institutional and classroom level. The classroom rules were important in this resolution (Mastropieri, & Scruggs, 2000, p. 15). The teacher had to alter the teaching strategies that were in use to prevent the emergence of such a problem in the future.
Some of the changes included the making of more classroom rules to cater for some of the related problems that may arise in the future. The teacher also had the responsibility of punishing the involved child for the mistakes he had committed. Teachers also had to recommend the same for the parents. The new classroom rules include the strategy that students should discuss any issues with teachers before they can have them discussed with the parents if possible
One of the lessons learnt in this episode is that teachers should be more involved with the issues affecting their children, as these issues may later turn out to affect them too in their practices. Students who are unable to respect class rules should be made aware of the consequences that are likely to follow them. This can be done mainly through effective teaching strategies that teachers should adopt (Mastropieri, & Scruggs, 2000, p. 15). Teachers also need to ensure that they get involved in the problems affecting children in their respective homes since such issues may be a major hindrance to the effectiveness of the classroom rules and their teaching strategies.
Conclusion
There are a number of issues affecting learning in kindergartens. This paper focused on some of them that have occurred in some of the institutions. The teaching strategies and the classroom rules were recognised as some of the most important tools in dealing with the issues that develop in the grade under scrutiny.
Reference List
Cole, W. (2008). Educating everybody’s children diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs, serving children from birth through age 8 (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Henderson, P., & Lawrence, D. (2011). Teaching strategies. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Mastropieri, A., & Scruggs, E. (2000). The inclusive classroom: strategies for effective instruction. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.
Rosenthal, B. (2008). Bullying. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.