“Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.” – Taken from BCTC’s Professional Standards for BC Educators.
Reflecting back on my practicum experience as a whole, I realized that I had an interaction with a student during my Education 391 Practicum that aligns with this standard. In my practicum class at Nukko Lake, there was a student that struggled behaviorally and lacked empathy or remorse for their actions. During spelling work one morning, I was walking around helping students and reminding them to keep focus on the task at hand. When I got to this particular student and prompted them to remain on task, they got very upset with me and yelled and told me they couldn’t do it. I could see that they were completely shutting down, so I asked if they wanted to go on a walk to the gym to see if it was empty so they could take a break from the classroom and the situation to run a few laps and regroup. On our way back to the classroom, I talked to this student and asked what it was about the spelling work that they weren’t understanding and what I could do for them to help and to make the completion of the work a better experience for them. Although I cannot specifically remember what they told me, I do know that we went back to the classroom and worked together on the struggles they were having and we were able to get their spelling work done. After the work was done, I gave them $5 from the classroom economy money and a high five and told them that I was really proud of them for working through their struggles and taking the time they needed to regroup and come back to the classroom ready and willing to finish their work. The student was smiling and I could tell they were really proud of themselves for working hard and finishing their work. This built a deeper connection between the student and I. I was really happy I took the time to figure out the situation and how it could be better.
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, looking back, this was an example of an educator caring for students and acting in their best interests. I didn’t tell this student what I thought they should do to regroup and get back to work, I let the student decide what was right for them and followed their lead. I didn’t push the student to speak to me right away, I gave them time to walk to the gym, run a few laps, and regroup before asking what the problem was, if they were feeling better, and what I could do next to make the situation better once we returned to class. Everything I did in this situation was me being true to myself, and I wouldn’t have changed anything about the circumstance or the outcome. Knowing that I was upholding a standard came as a bonus. This wasn’t even something I realized, but was told to me by someone else when I was reflecting on and describing the experience like I just did above. I am glad I know this was an example of Standard 1, and I will continue to try to deal with situations in a similar manner to the best of my abilities to not only stay true to Standard 1, but to stay true to who I am as both a person and a teacher.
