Note to Eric

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Home : 2002 : November : 2

Note to Eric
By kathy

Eric--

What's done is done and I wouldn't worry about it. (Water under the bridge at this point!) You cna't go back--you can only go forward!!

My "take" on this situation is that you did "overreact." Considering the
age level (2nd), this child's behavior was pretty normal. Children at that age are very used to routine--and if putting the name on the paper first was that teacher's routine, the child may have just done this automatically.
Sounds like you were pretty specific with your directions. I agree that certainly children need to learn to follow directions and should be held accountable--but

not knowing this child (who may have had some type of auditory problems)--I would not have pulled their paper just for writing their name. (And I certainly wouldn't have pointed out to the class what he was doing wrong as one post suggested--to me, that's just demeaning!)

If this was an isolated offense and you were pretty sure the child wasn't trying to challenge you, but just wasn't paying attention--which sounds like was the case--I think going privately to him and whispering in his ear--"Hey, Buddy, what were my directions?"--would have been sufficient for the first offense. We're talking about a young child here--not someone in junior high or high school. Also, this is a routine "speed test", not the SAT's! (I'm not trying to be sarcastic here--just help you put things into perspective.)

Most children would "catch" themselves--realize that they were in the wrong and listen the next time. I think whenever you can get your point across with a light tone, everyone wins. The majority of children are very eager to please!

As far as your e-mail goes--I tend to agree it was a bit "overkill" if you had already written a note to the teacher.

Some of the posts to you seem quite critical--I hope you don't take mine that way. It sounds to me like you are a conscientious teacher that is trying to do the right thing. I applaud you for that!

It's natural when you are starting out to secondguess yourself and want to handle each situation perfectly. Hopefully, you will never lose that thirst for excellence! Just remember that it's also important not to be too hard on yourself (or the kids!) We all make mistakes--and that's how we learn!