Weekly Photo Challenge: Imagine (Cover Art)

Imagine

I stumbled upon this grafitti on my visit to London a few weekends ago. It depicts two people- one white, pressumably British, male and one woman who is wearing a burkha- holding hands. In light of what has happened and what is happening in the world, I think this is one of the most powerful pieces of art that I have ever seen.

John Lennon’s song Imagine came to my mind when I saw this.

Imagine:

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

________________________________________________________________________

In response to this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Art Work

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Emma Watson’s HeForShe UN Speech

Helpful Tips on How to Get to Know Your Students

 

Getting to know your students is one of the most effective ways to create a harmonious classroom environment. Teachers and teaching assistants alike know how different each child is from his or her peers. Similar to adults, they all have their own set of attitudes, beliefs, biases, likes, dislikes and coping mechanisms. Knowing all of these can be the difference in developing a fun, yet respectful atmosphere in the classroom. For instance, if you know that a particular student dislikes being praised publicly, you can give praise subtly either through writing a note in his book or speaking to him/ her one to one.

Getting to know students in an individual level can be challenging especially if you have a huge class. But, however large your class is, there is always a way to get to know them. You just have to be willing. Here are some ways that I have found useful over the years:

1. Ask pupils about their weekends every Monday morning: Find 5 to 10 minutes on a Monday morning to ask what your students did on the weekend. This is a relatively simple task that can reap such huge rewards. They may tell you that they have watched a sports game or a movie, and who they watched it with. From this conversation, you would know what sport they love and which player/ team they follow. Such wealth of information can be used as ice-breakers when they become unresponsive in lessons. For example, if a child who supports Chelsea and love Fernando Torres struggles with addition, you can give hypothetical examples such as ‘Torres scored 1 goal against Arsenal and 2 against Liverpool. How many goals has he scored altogether in those two games?” 
2. Join in on their games in the playground: Being able to join in on the kids’ games in the playground can make them feel comfortable around you. By playing their games, you are showing that you are also capable of following their rules, as they follow yours in the class. It shows them that a person can both be respected and be fun to be with.
   
3. Crack some jokes once in a while: Similar to the previous tip, this one shows that you can be fun. Most teachers fear that once they crack jokes, students will not take them seriously. But my experience suggest otherwise. Having shared a joke or two with my students (particularly when I worked with teenagers), I began to be accepted even more. One student commented that I became the person they approached the most because I can relate to them.
4. Find out what music, TV programme, sports, etc. they like and familiarise yourself with them: As a person from a different generation, they may think we are out of touch with the current trend. Surprise your students by knowing more about their favourite artists, films, etc.
5. Listen actively to your students: Use body language effectively. Allow your students to finish what they are saying and concentrate on their points of view. Make sure that you clarify anything that you do not understand.
6. Use a ‘Free Expression Box’: There would be more than one student in any given class who prefer not to say anything due to anxiety. Make sure you have a box (call it whatever you like) in the classroom in which the students are allowed to put notes in. These notes may contain their thoughts about you, their peers, the school or their family. Be very clear about the rules for confidentiality and disclosure, though.
   
7. Use these positive words and phrases:
8. Ask them for feedback: Do not be afraid to ask them how they felt about your lesson or activity. Ask them what they enjoyed and what you could improve next time. One may fear that this gives complete control of your class to the students, but I disagree as this promotes harmonious and inclusive atmosphere in your classroom. It makes your students feel that you consider their thoughts and opinions.
9. Use Golden Time and Free Play times to speak to your students: Spare 5 to 10 minutes of your marking/ planning time to speak to kids during relaxed/ unstructured times such as free play and golden time. Ask them about their day/week, how their pets are, or anything that they are interested in.
10. Let your students know you: Communication and relationships are a two-way street. Let your students know a bit about you. Tell them what music/sports/TV programme, etc. you like. Just like you, they will find some similarities between you that would build a foundation to a stronger bond between you.

What we do, don’t and must know about Autism – Prof. Francesca Happe

Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion

You know, kids don’t learn from people they don’t like! – Rita Pierson

How Cognitive Theories Can Help Us Understand Autism- Uta Frith

Positive Words and Phrases to use in school contexts

Below are words and phrases commonly used by teachers when speaking to students and parents. Immediately next to them are words that should be used instead to create a more positive atmosphere during parents’ evenings and/ or whilst disciplining children.

Taken from Smith et al., (2004) Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Settings.

A Simple Phrase to help with Behaviour Management

Students misbehave, some much worse than the others. This is a fact that parents and teachers are more than aware of. Inappropriate behaviours range from low-level disruptions such as whispering, up to shouting, swearing or physical aggression. These behaviours have destructive consequences to their academic and social well-being. Not only are they destructive to themselves when they misbehave, but they can also disrupt the harmony of the classroom and the school.

Behaviour management in schools usually involve verbal reprimands, time-out, parent-teacher meetings, and exclusions. Having worked with students of different age-groups, in different environments for almost a decade, I still find it a challenge to find a way to better improve students’ behaviour. Most of what is done in schools (mentioned above) only manages to stop the behaviour from occurring in the short term.

Recently however, it occurred to me that every behaviour is a form of communication. Each utterance and action is a result of something that is happening or have happened to a child. Once this occurred to me, I aimed to approach children differently. Instead of getting angry straight away, I ask the children why they are behaving the way they are. I always tell them:

I want to speak to you because I am worried about you. You’re not behaving the way you always have. What’s the matter?

Once children hear that I am concern about them, and that I want to hear their side, they became more likely to explain the reason of their behaviours. In addition, because I have explicitly told them that I know they can behave well, they are more likely to change their behaviours. Such a change, as one can imagine, takes time. But I have found that this positive approach brings about desirable results better than other approaches.

22 Things a Woman Must Know If She Loves a Man with Asperger’s Syndrome

Very interesting:

 

Video taken from AutismHangout

A lesson from Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki (Leonard)

 

The above was Johnny Galecki’s response when he was asked to address the rumours about his sexuality, a few years ago (fast forward the clip below to 4:10). This is definitely the best response I have ever heard from anyone regarding homosexuality. There is so much stigma against being a homosexual, and responses like this can help extinguish them. Johnny’s attitude about homosexuality can be extended to many different things such as one’s race, mental and physical (dis)abilities and socio-economic statuses.

Remember: eing who you are is not a bad thing. It’s others’ attitude towards you that’s the problem!