Kerry Wright EDU7666 Journal Entries
Blog 8 Dr. Signer

Topic Heading

For this discussion, I went on the discussion boards under the Teacher.net, chat boards (reading first) from 11/3/08- 11/28/08. The posting was initiated by a teacher that took over a class after the previous teacher had to leave. This teacher had a real hard time handling the class. The teacher posted the comments under “desperate”. The class was out of control and the parents were also difficult.

All of the responses to this posting suggested a positive reinforcement system. Other teacher suggested investing in popcorn, stickers, and other little rewards. With this plan the teacher gives a reward for behaviors like sitting in you sit and raising your hand. The rewards would be given immediately. Then as the class improved the distribution of the rewards would lessen. This is expensive approach but all the contributors of the discussion agreed that it would be worth the expense.

One of the contributors also suggested that the new teacher redefine rules for the class. Start over like it was the first day of school. I thought that was a good idea. However this contributor also made a negative comment about these students even through the teacher didn’t know them directly. This concerned me because teachers have a big impact on child’s life. I feel it is important that teachers do not express or have negative views of students. This could have a serious consequence on the child.

Questions I posed with responses

This discussion did reinforce my belief in a positive reinforcement system because all the contributors, including myself, have used it and found it to be effective. I also found it comforting that another teacher finds the little prizes to be expensive. I agree with that because I do find I spend a lot of money on the reward box in my classroom. But this is a system that works so it is worth the money.
The desperate teacher did write back that she found a system that was working. However, she did not disclose what the procedure was even after I posted a question to that teacher.

Responses to other questions

I chose this question because I noticed that it was under a new subject on the discussion board. The new subject was reading first, which is the program I have to follow at my job. The issue of the discussion was a classroom management problem rather than a reading first issue. But effective classroom management is extremely important for any classroom. So, I found this discussion a helpful reminder of effective teaching.

Last posting

All of my discussions were on the discussion board chat room. This is an effective tool for teachers for several reasons. Teaching is an isolating job where you are in a room all day with children and no other adult. Sometimes you are also in a school where the other teachers are not friendly or helpful. Discussion boards are a way to reach out to other adults for ideas. It also gives you a wide range of opinions and ideas because the network system is country wide. Therefore, you have more selection of ideas.

On the other hand, you are also exposed to some unusual comments and views. I did come across some comments on the discussion board which I was not comfortable reading. Also, the information could be incorrect because there is no formal evaluation of the information being posted.

Overall, I do feel that discussion boards are an effective tool to help teachers and parents with educational issues. I posted a question about the expectations of second graders with regards to the seven continents. One of student’s parent complained about the expectations I had for students regarding the seven continents last Friday. Even though I have completed this project with this posting, I will use the discussion board for this issue.