Originally published in TEACH Magazine, January/February 2004 issue
By Alex Van Tol
As a student in the Faculty of Education, I learned a little bit. I discovered how technology was changing the way students are taught in the classroom; I figured out how to approach the algorithm of multiplication from a variety of angles to accommodate different learning styles; I learned how to spend four hours labouring over a 30-minute lesson plan to introduce a picture book to a group of Grade two students.
All useful, though not all necessary.
Not once, however, did my course group have a lesson on how to create a harmonious atmosphere of respect in the classroom. Sure, we had a guest speaker come in to discuss “disciplining the difficult child,” and various strategies for classroom management were offered to us by our instructors. We shared horror stories from our in-school practice and tactics for controlling wayward students. But nary a mention of respect.
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