Field Experience #5

I’m very glad that I’ve been able to attend so many school assemblies at Booker T. because it has given me a lot of insight into the school environment and the pressing issues.  Mr. Aristide has only been principal for 4 years and feels a special connection because the seniors will be his first graduating class.  It seems Mr. Aristide has a zero tolerance approach to discipline as he opened his speech by telling the seniors that if they are not trying to graduate that they do not need to be at Booker T.  I had mixed feelings about this because that kind of response to academic and behavioral issues may further alienate certain students and actually influence them to drop-out as opposed to motivate them to apply themselves or work through their issues.  I think Mr. Aristide and the other teachers that spoke were trying to ignite the upperclassmen’s intrinsic motivation by reminding them that Booker T. provides a lot of opportunities and has many networks of support in place for students including night school.  The PBS (Positive Support Behavior) coach reiterated the old adage that “kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  This statement definitely speaks to my teaching doctrine which will always seek to nurture the student-teacher relationship in order to encourage intrinsic motivation.