Term Paper on "Classroom Critical Incidents Are an Unavoidable Component"

Term Paper 5 pages (1644 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Classroom

Critical incidents are an unavoidable component of the classroom experience, and it is imperative for teachers to acknowledge that they are necessary in facilitating the growth of students and teachers alike. At the same time, critical incidents have the potential to disrupt the classroom environment, making it especially crucial that they are dealt with and processed efficiently. Even teachers with ample training and seniority will unavoidably encounter critical incidents, and such occurrences do not reflect poorly on their efficacy within the profession. This paper begins with a description of three critical incidents that have occurred between teachers and students. Subsequently, the paper then analyzes the specific ways in which the situation was dealt with poorly and/or effectively. Finally, the analysis concludes with a description of the lessons that students and teachers can learn from the critical incidents.

A critical incident that occurred in an 11th grade United States History course concerned the expression of political beliefs in the classroom. The teacher was in the process of explaining Reaganomics, the term that is deployed to refer to the economic policy of President Ronald Reagan. Although the teacher attempted to provide a balanced description of the economic policy that included both the virtues and downfalls of the system, his lesson concluded with the statement that Reagan's policies left the United States economy with substantial debt. The critical incident then surfaced when one of his students raised his hand and stated that Reagan's policies had vitalized the economy, proving the efficacy of Reagan's policies by noting that there was no more popular president than Reagan. The teacher then stated that there were positive and negative aspects of Reagan's policy, but that political beliefs had no place in the classroom. The student was then offended and told the teacher that he had discriminated against his personal political beliefs.

In this critical incident, there are ways in which both student and teacher should have behaved differently, as well as ways in which things went well. First, the teacher was correct in applying a balanced approach to the lesson; a partisan approach is never efficacious as it does not allow the student's the freedom to form their own opinions. Meanwhile, the student is to be applauded for having an opinion, as it reflects intellectual engagement with the material. At the same time, the teacher should have dealt with the student in a more sensitive manner, complementing him on having formed a political opinion while gently instructing his pupil that expressing personal beliefs should only occur during discussion sessions. The student should have had the foresight to realize that the lecture was not the setting in which to express his personal views on the material, and instead scheduled an out-of-class appointment in which to engage in a dialogue with his teacher.

A second critical incident involves a high school student being scheduled to be dismissed from class halfway through in order to leave for a sporting event. The student, who is a star player on their team, decides that they want to miss the entire class period and skip the class without informing the teacher of their decision. They are then penalized for skipping the class, which reflects poorly on their grade in the course. In response, the student complains that he is being penalized for his actions while at the same time expected to represent his school in athletics. He contends that the school behaves hypocritically for expecting him to perform superlatively in the athletic contest while denying him the necessary preparation time to perform at the best of his abilities. The episode qualifies as a critical incident as it prompted the teacher to evaluate whether they should treat athletes differently from other students.

In this critical incident, there is little that the teacher could have done differently, although it is perhaps incumbent on the school to more effectively communicate their policy for leaving class early for athletic events. In order to avert similar incidents in the future, the teacher could take a more active interest in his student's sports team, which would signal to his student that he is not malicious in penalizing him but instead enforcing a necessary policy. However, the teacher was correct in deciding not to honor the student's actions, as this would have set an uneven precedent in which athletes are privileged over those who do not play sports.

Meanwhile, the student should have recognized that even though he was the star player on his team, his talents were not grounds for exemption from class. Certainly, the student should be appreciated for his athletic talents; however, even an athlete who excels in his sporting contests does not properly represent the school if his success comes at the expense of his classroom education. Sports are also not the only way in which students represent the school; students who perform in the school band, theatrical productions, etc. also represent the school, and if the athletes are granted special privileges, the school sends the implicit message that it favors sports over other extracurricular activities. Ultimately, the high school must impress upon their student athletes the importance of placing their academics before their athletics.

A third critical incident involved a student asking excessive questions; although their questions were rooted in enthusiasm for the course, they were both excessively esoteric and derailed the focus of the lesson plan. One example of such an instance involves an English lesson that discusses Hemingway's novel the Old Man and the Sea. The focus of the lesson involves making sure that the class understands the basic plot of the book, as well as several "pertinent themes" that the instructor selects from an instructional manual on the book. Meanwhile, the student repeatedly asks questions on other Hemingway texts. The specific setting is an 8th grade classroom with only 10 students, and the teacher is charged with teaching each of the students in each subject (the school is particularly small and the instructor teaches the students in each academic subject.) the instructor, exasperated, tells the student that they do not have time for his questions. The student then appears hurt and asks no more questions.

In this incident, there are areas in which things went well and badly. The episode qualifies as a critical incident as it forces the teacher to reconcile the enthusiasm of one of his students while at the same time trying to engage the other students. It has been argued that questions constitute critical incidents as they force teachers to challenge their own assumptions (Watts et al., 1997), and this incident is no exception. Indeed, the teacher typically emphasizes the importance of asking questions and loves engendering discussions of literary texts. However, in this episode he instructs his student to ask no more questions. One of the central conflicts that a teacher is faced with involves relating to each of their pupils on an individual level while at the same time acknowledging each student equally. Such a balance becomes impeded when one student monopolizes the situation. The teacher was correct in that continuing to answer questions from the single student would have favored the student at the expense of the other pupils, which is unacceptable. Meanwhile, the pupil is to be commended for his enthusiasm. However, the teacher should have offered to meet with the student outside of class, and the student should have recognized that it was unfair to his peers for him to monopolize the discussion.

There are lessons to be learned in each of the critical incidents discussed. The main lesson -- which relates to each of the incidents -- is that there must be open communication between students and teachers. Critical incidents have such a dramatic effect because they involve situations for which students and teachers are not prepared. Therefore, it… READ MORE

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