Having watched the video on "Painting Nails" and "That Bunch of Animals", what are your perceptions and interpretations? What questions or concerns does this raise for you?
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80 comments:
I guess there is a fine line between letting students learn in the way they find best and knowing when they arent paying attention!
Painting Nails raises the issue of who is trying to control whom. If you look at the interaction between the teachers, it is an example of how NOT to manage people, as assumptions are made, and correction or criticism is done publicly. In the second video, we learn that we cannot let preconceptions control how we treat students.
honestly, both videos made me rather nervous. i think the approach is to stay firm and calm; rather take more time to work building better understanding & realtionship than to throw in the towel.
Nail Painting:
My thoughts are if the student is not disturbing me or the other students in terms of learning, I don't really mind. Students nowadays are very capable to multi tasking. If they are able to learn and paint their nails at the same time, by all means. I would however make note to everyone in the class that that is not the best attitude, esp if they were to bring this learning ethic to work, it will not be appreciated by the colleagues and their bosses
Bunch of animals:
No matter what the students did or how they act, it is not right to make such a comment. It does not help in building a rapport with the students. Besides sharing our knowledge with the students, our job is also to set a good example to them, hence I feel that in that situation, the lecturer was not setting a good example.
The painting nails issue,even if other lecturer were to raise up the issue of the girl painting her nails ,it should not be in front of others.Lectures duty is to guide and correct the student and not to critisie them.
Painting Nails:
This is an activity that should not be encouraged, expectation needs to be highlighted to students
A bunch of Animals
Such personal and harmful comments cannot be openly discussed.Rather it should be in a private room.
regarding nail painting video:
seems to me that the student are not being given any projects or assignment to do, so maybe such actions occurs during lesson time.
In my opinion, this nail painting shouldn't even happen in class or even in work places at all. As i feel that it's a personal thing to do.Lecturer Denise could have express his comment in a better way. What he did is no better than what the student had done. The only difference is he's a Lecturer and she's a student...so what?
bunch of money video:
Don't think it's a good idea to use such words on student, however it's a fine line. Still, very tactless if Lecturer uses words like this if he's not well like.
Coment from fellow Lecturer might want to consider giving comments NOT in front of the students.
Sorry! spelling error!! I meant bunch of monkeys video NOT money!! :(
Nail Painting:
Nail painting is not acceptable behavior during lesson time, the lecturer should stop the student from doing so.
Bunch of Animals:
The comment about the students being a 'bunch of animals' should not be said in front of the students, this may hurt their feelings if they heard this.
About nail painting: I'd rather say something to the student nicely and hint to her that she should consider doing that prior to the class or after the class cos it's unsightly. Some 'creative' communication techniques might also be needed so as not to make a scene out of it. The thing is no one is stupid. If the lecturer doesn't care about it, the other students can feel and will know it. In time there is a possibility of a 'backlash' in the form of either the students will be more brazen or they will comment that the lecturer is incompetent..or both. As for the way that issue was brought up among the lecturers, that approach is too confrontational.. nah..not a good communication technique - leads to lousy working relations.
As for the 2nd video, staffs (both acad/non-acad) must not behave like that in front of the students. It's a very bad image plus it is hurtful to the students. Furthermore those students seemed to be the graduating bunch..hence there's also a need to be able to 'let it all go'..
Painting Nails
Well, I guess it's part of multi-tasking in class. Making maximum use of time.
Studies do show that girls / women able to multi-task a little better than boys / men? (Ok, only some buy this theory)
Personal Take: Students are young adults. This is tertairy education.
Take it basc education completed and they want to be here to further their minds. The focus will have to be on quality lectures and assestment for our "customers". And less on "policing" them.
Nail painting:
Perhaps Mark has given some breaktime for the students to do what they like, as a reward for completing a task. It is best to understand the situation, before we judge. So Mark.... what's the story?
That bunch of animals :
If i were one of the students,
Roar.... I would be complemented no one ever saw that animal in me :)
A bunch of Animals
Mark: I like your reaction when Dennis referred the students as a bunch of animals! Quite hilarious!
Nail painting: I feel the lecturer should impose some basic discipline on the students on the proper behaviour in class.
Bunch of animals: The lecturer should not have use such harsh words... Too damaging to the students, furthermore to a graduating class.
Well for the nail painting part, it seems like Mark is not conducting any lesson at that point of time and probably giving them a break.I don't think painting nails during break time is going too far.It depends on the situation, of course doing that during lesson is definitely not a good thing.
As for the bunch of animals, I think it is a safer way to be more sensitive in whatever we do in front of the students.Calling them animals do not help and may invite unnecessary controversy.
Painting nails in front of the lecturer during lesson? That student was really trying to test out the lecturer's EQ. Having said that, direct confrontation may not work well nowadays. Hence, i think the better way of doing it is to 'remind' the student in a humorous way.
As educators, we should always respect our students as well. Calling them animals is not setting a good example.
Nail Painting:
If the student has an urgent need to paint her nails, I would advise her to kindly take it outside the class. In a way, she would have to learn to get her priorities right during lesson time.
Bunch of Animals:
The lecturer obviously does not like students.
Nail painting: clearly shows she's not interested in the lesson, has no respect at all for the teacher and doesn't give two hoots for the consequences of such an action. being so new myself, i'm not quite sure how i would handle it but perhaps the best would be to ask her aside and speak to her about it privately after the lesson.
Bunch of animals: golly, would never have expected a teacher to say that in front of the students, and definitely not when they're within earshot! would take the teacher aside and speak with him privately about this.
not impressed with the student's behaviour but even more unimpressed with the attitude of the teacher. that he is jaded or disillusioned is his problem, not the students'.
Nail painting: Interesting scenario. Probably I'll go to her and acknowledge her nail-painting activity. If it's painted beautifully, I'll jokingly commend the good job, and ask her to give me some tips AFTER CLASS on nail painting so that I can paint the nails of my girlfriend. Then tactfully (and personally) requests that before we do that, she needs to give some attention to what's going on IN CLASS first. Perhaps with that she'll know that she is important to the class. The main thing here is to make it known to her that I am acknowledging her presence, and then maybe through that, get her engagement in what's happening in class. I'd probably end the class early to have her teach the whole class how to nail-paint!
Easy- or serious-going:
Shall lecturer be an easy-going or a serious-going person to the students? Different people may have different perceptions. My opinion is that lecturer should be frank and friendly but make sure that the the whole class is attending to you when you are talking. What kinds of language a lecturer is supposed to use? I think the best way which can correctly deliever the knowledge and instructions to students will do. But painting nails and playing games, watching videos, etc should be aviod and forbidden as those actions will lose the attention and also affect other students. Lecturer should also understand how to drive students' attention.
On Painting Nails:
This should never be allowed unless the student has an acceptable reason to do so ie. rushing for a modelling shoot or a pageant after class. Still the student should seek permission from the tutor first. IMO, this is a simple basic act of decency and respect that we need to inculcate on our students before they graduate from SP. And it would be more appropriate for the tutor to ask the student to work on her nails in the ladies instead.
On Bunch of Animals:
You should never call your students a bunch of animals, unless you're an animal trainer in a zoo or a circus.
In the painting nail video, the teacher either could not be bothered with what went on in the class, or was too scared to control the students. It's ironical how we can sometimes feel "intimidated" by certain students, and hence not speak the truth to them when we should. But that's something I am going to work on from next semester!
In the 2nd video, I think there is no excuse for the teacher to use such a derogatory term on the students.
Painting Nails: I think if that situation arise, I will ask the student who is painting her nail to come and see me in my room to understand why she is doing that. I must know the background before I make any judgment on her. Sometime, there may be a reason behind. This is to protect the ego of the student. Hopefully, after counselling, she will not do that again.
Bunch of Animals: Within a group of people, there will be a leader. Identify the leader and talk to him/her. Once you manage to convince the leader to behave, the rest will follow. Basically, you need to read your students' mind and play around it. Remember, dont insult them infront of the class. They must realise it internally. Never confront a group of people and think you can change them, it is impossible. You can only start but working on one at a time.
Painting Nails:
1. Both of the lecturer and students shall keep mutual respect to each others. Dennis walked to Mark’s room and interrupted the whole class did not sound right in the first place, and I supposed Dennis (the role he was acting on) did not understand what’s meaning of mutual respect.
2. For the student case [Painting Nails] , Dennis should have questioned and explained to the student regarding her inappropriate behaviour on the spot [but not in front of the others] (I am a bit old fashion) , instead of transferring the blames to the lecturer (Mark) afterward.
Bunch of animal:
As this was the graduation class, and Mark was speaking to them in a friendly manner, I do not find any thing wrong with the phrase.
For the video on painting nails, I think if the session was given to students for them to revise their coursework, then the lecturer should have emphasized to them not to do any other things besides the coursework.
For the video on bunch of animals, I think it is not a good word to use on students, especially in front of students. Actually, in ourselves, we as educators shouldn't have the thought at all that students are bunch of animals. What we perceive will affect how we manage students.
Everyone has their own style of managing classes. If anyone who is not interested in the lesson should just keep quiet or leave the class. Any activities that disturb the class should be prohibited.
Anything about the students should not be discuss openly in front of them.
Nail Painting:
I myself don’t do nail painting but I know we girls do when we are bored or we have nothing to do. It is obvious that the student was not engaged in the lesson. I don’t think the lecturer had noticed because he had no clue what was happening. If he did, well, he failed to manage the class. I am afraid if I saw my classmate doing that, I might find something else to entertain me too since it is Ok to do so in class.
Bunch Animal:
Seriously I watch video 3 times. I couldn’t catch the word “bunch animal”….
If you meant what the lecturer behave might be wrong, I see no problem. Since this is not interfere any of his lesson. It’s just a farewell goodbye. Oh, but he interrupted the other lecture class anyway…
I observe that Dennis' tie was not well made - it would indicate to the students that the lecturer is slack and does not care about his deportment. Also it was disturbing that he regardrd the students as animals as this negative perception of students would cloud one's mind in teaching effectively. I am sure students will be able to pick that kind of perception or attitude up.
Painting Nails:
Well, my impression is that Mark didn't seem to be in the middle of teaching, so perhaps there was some planned activity going on at that time. If the girl painting nails had already finished her assignment, and then painted her nails while waiting for the other students to finish, it's inappropriate & a little "much" but still forgiveable. I think Mark would be at fault only if the student was doing her own thing and ignoring her assignment. Dennis should clarify in private with Mark before deciding whether to rake him over the coals! Not good for supervisor to lecture staff in public ... .
Bunch of animals:
Harsh name-calling by Dennis! Especially indiscreet in front of the students. Sounds like he's quite frustrated with the students - probably unable to manage them in the classroom
Students should make the most of their time in class and it's our job to make sure that they will benefit if they pay attention. Such behaviour would disrupt the learning process of other students if not dealt with properly.
NJK
Nail Painting is so real! Yes, it happened for my class. To be honest, there was a dilemma then whether to acknowledge that I know that they were nail painting, especially being so new. Finally, I decided stand near them. It worked! When I keep walking 'the infected area', they begin to get the hint and stop it in a subtle manner.
I feel the real issue is expectations of staff on the class.
In both cases cases the aggressive manner in which one staff reacts to the events is most of the cause of the problem.
On a different note however, I feel that is not such a good idea to come into other peoples classes, either to talk to the staff or students. The purpose of the class is to learn, not for a chatting session.
Teachers need to be assertive to discipline their students and yet teach with their heart. Students can feel if teachers genuinely care for them and are able to accept teachers reprimand when they know that they are at fault. Teachers must ensure that students give them the due respect and always be in control of the class
Guess it's normal for girls to want to look pretty. I'm ok as long as she is not disturbing others.
And so if she is more interested in painting her nails than learning,I'll set up a personal corner at the back of the room for her to paint till she's think she's pretty enu to attend my lecture.
One way to confront the student in a friendly manner is to attempt join in nail painting session... Students do know that they are expected to pay attention. By attempting to join in, this usually throws the student off gaurd. This unexpected attention is usually enough pressure to guide them in the right direction.
Painting Fingernails-
(Prevention)
I believe that this should be prohibited/stopped as these can create ambiguity as to what other vanity things that students can do in class besides the main purpose of the class being conducted.Lecturer will be out of control if the others start plucking eyebrow,doing leg waxing etc.
Bunch Of Animals-
Even with difficult early years with the class that Mark openly admitted,apparently,he had build a good rapport with the students over the years with a good Class Management that Dennis had failed.
Painting Nails: Lecturer seems to have lost control of that particular student. Such acts during class are contagious. If the problem is not corrected, very soon it will become an epidemic! The other lecturer who saw that should advise him privately.
Bunch of Animals: Degrading insult to a group of young teenagers.
On Painting Nails:
Lecturer should alert the student as well as the whole class that any actions which is disruptive should be discouraged. A light reminder or warning should be given to the student.
On Bunch of Animals:
Lecturer did not have any intent to insult the students, but the choice of words was inappropriate.
On painting nails: Not acceptable, inappropriate place, the students lack discipline and the lecturer is not even aware of what the students are doing. Assuming he has given the class activities, this behavior shows that the student didn’t bother to listen and do what she was asked to do.
“Bunch of animals” Inappropriate words to use, though it might be the lecturer’s way of considering his students as his future buddies (after completing the course the teacher-student relationship is over) but again wrong time and place.
Painting Nails :
During tutorials/lectures, the activities should be confined to learning and module-based activities. Unless nail-painting was part of that class lesson, the tutor/lecturer should have stepped in and stopped her right away. The ground rules on the tutor/lecturer's expectations of the students' behaviour (do's and don'ts) should preferably be stated upfront and if there are lapses, the students should be reminded. Follow thru action to enforce is firmly but gently.
That Bunch of Animals :
We are entitled to our opinions and views but it is foolish to express them, especially negative ones within ear-shot of the students. It only reinforces the behaviour or views. It is difficult to gain students' respect or cooperation if they feel or know you feel negatively or have little or no respect for their feelings.
Teachers :
I dislike the idea of fellow colleagues dropping into the class to disrupt the class with non-critical issues (when there are other means of doing it). I think fellow colleagues should be aware of their conduct as well.
Painting Nails
A little ambiguous. I felt that Mark was not really teaching at that point and it could be the students just haning around in class waiting for their next class or friend. Mark may not have even been teaching at the point of time. If he was then he should have noticed and acted on the student painting her nails.
Dennis did not bother to clarify the situation before hand. However, I feel that although Dennis did not clarify the situation, he did avoid another disaster by not confronting Mark in front of the students.
That Bunch of Animals
It really shows the class dislike and boredom from Dennis' class. Mark on the other hand did invest time in those "difficult initial periods" that did build a rapport with the students in such a way that they knew something was going to happen when he walked into the room. It may have just been a "Good luck guys and gals" sort of well wishing, but Mark's presence perking up the students was enough to show he built a good bond with them.
Painting nails:
Not acceptable behavior. Lecturer can tell the student nicely to put nail polish away but when to do this is the question. If this is done half-way thru lecture, it will invite attention and embarrass student. One way is to close an eye for the moment (since the female student is not really disrupting the class) and approach the student during break/after class to tell her what's appropriate behavior; or approach her while others are given an activity to do.
"Animal" - the comment reflects Dennis's opinion about the students. This has a vicious- cycle effect in that it then determines his attitude towards students and invites more bad behaviour from students. It is more constructive and helpful to be firm but nice!
Painting nails = I feel that eventhough Mark was not teaching teaching at the moment, this action should be stopped unless of course, it is a personal grooming class. Otherwise, I feel that it can easily escalate to make-up or doing a facial mask in class. Personally, I will not be able to tolerate the smell of nail vanish.
While I think it is true that the working memory is 7 +/- 2 bits of information, I do not think it is right to say that human brains are primitive. I will argue that this same brain has done great things. The human brain can collapse X bits of information into 1 bit of collapsed information, forming a nested bit set.
For me, the main concern of managing students is to get the rapport going. It may be easier to start with 1st years as they are fresh with each other than when they are in 3rd years.
First meeting with a group of students has a novelty effect and it is probably easier to establish ground rules rather than subsequent meetings where you may have to break old habits.
Handphone student = I think it is not wise to talk down to a student in class especially the actions do not affect others. Maybe I will talk to the student in private about his/her actions.
Critical lecturer = By being critical, the problem is not solved. I will argue that the action may be a manifestation of a deeper problem and the lecturer will never know. It can even explode into a bigger problem in future.
Listening lecturer = I will take this model. At least, I will have the chance to gain a deeper insight of the student's problems and establish a rapport. At the same time, it is also a good chance for mutual respect.
I feel that if I failed to energise (or charge) the students with useful topics in the class room, the students will be at lost and wondering why I am doing nothing or worse, doing my own things and ignore them.
I think it is not appropriate for me to walk into a classroom and cause interuption, and I can not accept the 2 examples of "compelling urge to speak at once to get things done kind of attitude towards my fellow lecturer" in front of the students as shown in both videos.
So from these 2 examples, I will learn to manage myself first.
For the issue on the painting of nails in the classroom, the lecturer have to set some ground rule (in a more acceptable way to the student, such as making the rules heard during the start of the lesson).
On the issue on the "that bunch of animals", the lecturer should not behave like a "hip hop rapper" (be it to gain support or build rapport with the students). There is a fine line between a teacher and a student.
Respect goes both way, student <-> teacher.
Some thoughts on Painting Nails:
After watching the video, it seems to me that the teacher is also preoccupied with his own work and cannot be bother about the activities that is happening in the class. Most probably a relief teacher.
If there is nothing to keep the student busy, then for sure they will do their own things which include smsing, chit chating and etc, not forgetting painting of nails. This is reflected in the video.
In order to prevent or reduce these kind of things from happening, I think that the teacher need to actively engage the student so that they dont get too bored in the class. Eg, discuss the different possible colours of paints, what is paint made of etc.
P.S: better choice of paint will be preferred, i think.
Video on Bunch of animals:
I think everyone deserve some sort of respect and no matter what happen, one should not call names on other people. This is also basic courtesy. The teacher in the video has already given up on the students and is close to having a nervous breakdown. He must have bottled his frustration (on the students) for too long which made him conclude that the students are a bunch of animals. Not very healthy to the teacher, he should highlight to the students earlier what he is comfortable and try to strike a balance with the students. This kind of name calling can be avoided if both parties talk to each other to reach some sort of consensus.
Nails:
The class seems to be on some breaktime (Lect-Mark is not lecturing)...don't see why the students cannot relax & do whatever they want...There's a bit of over-reacting. Also, Lect-Dennis shouldn't discuss abt it in presence of others, embarrassing Lect-Mark.
Animal:
Name-calling/labelling is totally unnecessary esp in their face...... Lect-Dennis is been a bit too harsh & unprofessional to make such a sweeping statement.
(ps..Dennis' tie is not properly done...untidy!..haha)
Bunch of animals:
Not only has he given up hope on the students, he is also being trapped within his own circle as it seems to me that he has already drawn a thick line between the students and himself. If he is still in the early stage of his dilemma, he should be finding ways to remedy his situation - to revisit his technique on establishing rapport with the students (although this would require experience and a lot of observation if the class is huge). Alternatively, he could find out from his peer who had successfully won the students' attentiveness in class. I would suggest him to open up his heart and wear a smile in all his future lessons and start "being part of" the bunch of animals (not telling him to behave like them, but more to realign his thoughts and frequency and to lower the expectation he has for them) to know what the student think and thereby deriving the appropriate counter-measures.
Painting nails:
There is no way to achieve 100% attention in class. There will always be a few with the "Bo Chap" (Simply don't care) attitude - coming in just to mark attendant. I feel that reprimanding her in the class would only demolish his image in her mind (making her more resistant and more reluctant) - a very negative impact. For me, I would ask her to move to the back of the class to do her chore or tell a joke, not a sarcastic one, but to make her feel that the class is now focusing on her (eg. hmmm, hey you, you have very nice fingernails, should go for manicure as it will make your nails more appealing and attractive!) - sometimes, we need to use wisdom to handle situations.....
Personally, I feel that being a teacher is not just about teaching. To be successful, you must not only be an domain expert but a leader, a mentor and a friend. You must know how to blend these roles very well. Sometimes, when the students do not listen to you, you must revisit the technique and strategy that you have been adopting and re-derive a new approach (may not be better, but one that works) – it is a matter of trial and error. Of course, our greatest rewards are always intrinsic; our satisfactions come from watching them grow or probably the most exciting thing in a teaching career is to see the proverbial lightbulb goes off in a student's head as they suddenly grasp the concept you are trying to reach. I would say a great classroom is a joyful classroom.
Painting nail:
Judging from the video, I presume that there was no lesson conducted then. I would hint to her to finish painting her nails quickly and do something more constructive. (Cross my fingers and hope that she won't continue to paint her toenails...)
A bunch of animals:
How do u feel when your students say things like this? "What can you learn from this idiot?"
Bunch of Animals:
The comment made to Mark was totally irrelevant to the well wishes that Mark had addressed the students with.
If such comments are not constructive in anyway, they should be kept to oneself.
Nail Polish:
This is not as straight forward as it seems. If it was their down/relax time, the girl painting her nails could have easily been a boy/girl playing sony PSP in class (similar type situation). I guess my stance is that if it is not disruptive to the class or the intention of the time spent in class, they should be allowed to do things other than schoolwork. Think you really need to understand the situation better before deciding what should/should not be allowed.
I guess both videos are about attitudes towards students. I certainly don't agree with Dennis, who doesn't show any sort of respect for his students, but if class is actively in session and it isn't downtime, then it isn’t the time or place to paint one's nails either! It makes me wonder about the kind of relationship I will build with my students though and how I can go about doing it. That worries me. I hope that I will be able to bring a balanced perspective: to be firm when the situation calls for it, but to also remain accessible to students. I know this is easier said than done!
Painting nails:We should first try to understand the situation and react to it.A direct confrontation in front of her peers may actually have a negative effect.Better would be to talk to her personally and explain to her the class etiquette.
Bunch of Animals: I strongly feel for a lecturer to utter something like that in front of the students is a very Bad example.The Lecturer's personal opinion needs to be voiced in private.
At first glance the nail painting is obviously grossly nappropriate, but just looking at this video we don't know what the students are really supposed to be learning in this setting. Of course, even if its a legitimate nail painting, maybe they are preparing for some DRAMA class skit? it needs to be controlled, the teacher should not be leaving them in total freedom. In the Bunch of Animals video, there are 2 extremes seen. Mark has obviously a certain rapport though it may be arguable how it may be too much of a good thing. Also, why do this farewell thing in someone else's lesson time? Dennis on the other hand has no reason in the particular setting /occassion to engage Mark on the correctness or otherwise of Mark's "warmth" for his students, or Dennis' own personal perception of what the students are. There 's no basis for Dennis to do this in lesson time anyway. Totally inappropriate.
Painting nails: Its ok to do personal stuff if its after the exams. On the other hand, if the student is disrupting the class while the lecture is going on, the lecturer should inform her to continue painting her nails after lecture in a assertive manner stating the reason. Adding on, it might be better for Dennis to talk with Mark one to one in a calm and composed manner, rather than criticising him.
I think the key thing for me here is the issue of respect. If teachers respect students, terms like "bunch of monkeys" would not be said within earshot of the students. Likewise, students respecting class would not paint nails in front of teachers.
cirA bunch of animals;
To me, students are generally respectful to thier lecturers. It is obvious that the lecturer who passes this comment lacks the interest in building or managing the relationship with his students.
Nail painting:
I thought Dennise interrupting the class in the first place is not recommended unless it is something real urgent. I agree with some comments that probably we need to understand the situation more if it is actually a short break given by Mark before we make any assumptions. And yes, I think it is an issue about 'Respect' here. Probably it will be good to communicate to the students the basic ground rules.
Bunch of animals:
I totally disagree with using such comments on the students. What if that comment is make on you? How will you feel? I think it is basic responsibility to control the use of such languages.
Bunch of Animals:
Demeaning, derogetory, labelling.
Painting Nails:
1. Instructor should manage class more effectively by drawing boundaries as to what's acceptable / not.
2. Possible guidelines:
- Does painting nails distract others from learning?
- Is it "free-time", where the lesson has ended and instructor has given students to do their "own thing"?
- Is the activity disruptive?
I believe in looking at the good in people in order to transcend the unwanted negatives. Perhaps the student really takes great pride in her appearance and her nails are definitely part of it. These days, it is not just about teaching people to follow. Instead, we have to try to inspire them to excel. (Could painting nails in class also be a reflection of an uninspiring lecturer?).
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, practice the art of allowing. Allowing others to say what they want to say about others and not react to it. We will each feel more peaceful.
I believe in looking at the good in people in order to transcend the unwanted negatives. Perhaps the student really takes great pride in her appearance and her nails are definitely part of it. These days, it is not just about teaching people to follow. Instead, we have to try to inspire them to excel. (Could painting nails in class also be a reflection of an uninspiring lecturer?).
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, practice the art of allowing. Allowing others to say what they want to say about others and not react to it. We will each feel more peaceful.
Painting Nails - This incident reflected badly on the Lecturer as his co-worker/boss walked in on him and assumed he didn't manage the class well and allow the student to paint her nails. In primary school, the teacher will probably ask her to stand outside the classroom as punishment to shame her but at this age, it is really sticky to handle such bold behaviour.
The Bunch of animals - It is bad example for a lecturer to be brand the students with such negative terms. This is just reinforcing the fact that the students are unruly.
Nail Painting! Is not an acceptable activity in a classroom.
Unless its break time.
In this video i am not sure the lecturer actually noticed the activity.
If i was him and i saw what she was doing and it wasn't breaktime.
i would intentionally get the student to help me clean the white board and distribute the lecture notes.
Which will prompt her to complain that she just painted her nails. and that would be when i highlight to her if she felt it had been an appropriate thing to do during lesson hours.
AS for the bunch of animals video.
i replayed it 5 times and i still did not hear the term being called.
so no comments. =)
The student is basically not interested in learning from her teacher in class; also imply that his lesson is "boring" and "unimportant". She shows utterly no respect for her lecturer. If we had allowed this to happen during class, you might expect a group of students’ playing cards, even gamble or dink alcoholic drinks during class. Time to reflect why this happened in class... Basic discipline needs to be enforced, but how? Let's us think about it as it gets a bit tricky without a discipline channel, remember that army has a sergeant Major? So what will happen if she works in a company, painting nails during office hour (when things need to do done) or doing this while attending my meeting? Being a department manager, I’ll make sure she is sacked.
Calling students “bunch of animal”? I did not catch that in the video. But depending on their proximity, it may be ok. But generally, as a show of basic respect, we should address them by what they want you to call them.
Firstly,
I think the lecturers should be more polite to each other and address such issues in private rather than infront of other lecturers.
Secondly,
it is not appropriate for the student to paint her nails in class. She certainly should be corrected, but by the lecturer in charge. This kind of inappropriate behaviour is definitely not allowed in the workplace - so she needs to be taught.
Using the term "A bunch of animals" for anyone except animals is inappropriate...
The nail polishing student should not be doing that in class. Least where class is concern, it should be a place for learning & not learning to paint your nails. She should be ask to stop doing that as it will affect other students productivity.
Plus the teacher should be making his way around and not sitting there doing his own stuff.
I do think that painting nails is not respecting the teachers and other students in the class. If I were the teacher, i will ask and advise the student politely. "Bunch of animal" i think the lecturer was just trying to make him and the students closer, but not to insult them. Of cause, try to reduce these terms
Painting Nails:
I believe that the video was trying to say that making classroom a comfortable environment for students would increase their learning capacity and also creates a better bond between students and the lecturer which eventually leads to a more effective communication channel between them. Surely, this does not mean that students would be allowed to do "anything" they like.
Bunch of Animals:
In a few words it showed two opposite relationships of a lecturer and Students. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph the bond between the lecturer and students would be an asset to creating a true learning environment within the classroom.
Painting nails:
Honestly to me, it is a difficult situation. It is equally important to respect the student but yet correct the behaviour. For me, I can only think of making her write notes immediately and let her realise that it is difficult because of her nails or letting her do a 1-min presentation on her nail polish. But probably the best is to remind her to not do it in class again.
As for the bunch of animals, I agree to most of the comments here that such degrogatory terms shouldn't be used on students, which reminds me the quote, "do unto others as what you would have them do to you."
Jody said....
i would handle the nail painting with humor or make an instant JAM topic!
We need to respect everyone in the classroom.
Also uncomfortable with going drinking with students.
Painting Nails: At the heart of both scenes is effective management of behavior and expectations; what is the expected behavior within the classroom and during class time, and the question is how do we manage those expectations.
Student attitude and respect is another issue; it's not understood if the student was intending to be disrespectful, or possibly just bored. Boredom simply requires better management of activities in the classroom, disrespect is a discipline issue.
Painting Nails - Apart from the activity being inappropriate in the classroom, from my observation, there didn't seem to be very much going on in class to begin with. Not sufficient information to make a judgement. However, I found the confrontation between the lecturers was rude.
Bunch of Animals - Addressing students as 'animals' is inappropriate and condescending.
ben said
absolutely shocking what the girl was doing in the classroom. If she wants to paint her nails leave. This is extremely disrupted to the other class members as well as the lecturer. By the way the lecturer did not seem to care at all. no teaching and no learning going on at all. I believe the criticism is justified but it should be done in private.
Animals-wow nice thing for mark to say. That it has been a rocky road and now it has improved. But the other lecturer to criticism him for doing this in front of the students...wow
Students will be students..we as educators need to learn to control the situation and work with what has been presented to us.
Teacher should talk to the student about an appropriate time and place for painting her nails. On the other hand, it does not look like there was a lot of class activities going on.
Name calling is unnecessary in a classroom setting.
Painting nails:
There seems to be no classroom management and no facilitation of lesson taking place.
Concern: Students are not learning well
That bunch of animals:
The lecturer seems to have preconceptions of the students. The act of labelling of the students by the lecturer is deemed very inappropriate.
Concern: Learning of the students might be compromised as the lecturer seems to have little interest in teaching them.
I didn't think approaching Mark in front of the other colleagues was respecting him as a staff!
If there was any issue with nail painting, that could have been raised at that moment and not after.
Of course I do not agree to nail painting in class as it shows poorly of why is the student not doing work in the first place. And at the same time smell would certainly be an issue.
Calling anyone an animal is rude and especially in front of them, al the more coming from a lecturer. Besides there was no reason or context provided which is even more appalling.
Painting Nails:
-Student painting her nails should be told nicely but firmly there and then not to be doing so, as she isn't just not paying attention, she's distracting both the lecturer and the students around her. Also, not quite student-related, but Dennis shouldn't have told Mark off in front of the other staff.
That Bunch of Animals: Name calling the students was rude and totally uncalled for. If we want to command respect from students, we should respect them as students.
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