Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/norman-and-the-bunny/5011156/
One of the most fearsome of tasks for a student teacher is learning to work with children who are difficult. At our student teacher seminar meetings, I often hear comments like these: "I hope I don't have to work in the block area today. That's where Asa likes to play." "I don't know what I'd do if Jenny spit at me like she did at those other teachers yesterday. What would I say?"For those of us who supervise students, it is always a challenge, sometimes a fearsome task to find a method for students to learn from their own experiences. As an instructor, I look for ways in which students can become aware of how they respond to the individual needs of children, including difficult and demanding situations.
The following dialogue took place while meeting with a group of student teachers around a large oval table in a student teacher resource room during one of our weekly seminar sessions. This particular seminar started out rather sluggishly. For the students, it had been a long morning with the usual amount of tears and aggression for a Monday in late September. Near the ...