The Top Dog

Things in the classroom went much better today. I think it was a combination of being more organized and also of going in with more confidence. I have one class "Writing" that hasn't gone so well recently. Like I said before there is always a period in the beginning where you have to build the rapport and build the students trust. The writing class is the highest level class in the junior college and higher level students tend to be a bit more demanding. Today I just went in with a little more confidence and I made a point of talking to the girls I think are the leaders in the class. I just chit-chatted with them, just so they would know that I am aware of them and to build some kind of relationship. When they left they both said good-bye, which is a definite step forward. There are always students in each class that have to be won over. If you don't do it one way or another they can quite annoying over the long haul. Boys and girls are different of course. There are the tough boys, some who will try to intimidate you by giving you the look or just freezing you out. I tend to confront those boys directly just to show them they are far from intimidating. My confrontation just involves talking to them a lot and not showing fear. With girls I think it is important to have a friendly relationship if possible. As with the boys I just try to make some kind of connection with them. My theory on group dynamics is that every group needs a top dog, a leader, and as the teacher I am going to be that dog. When the group doesn't have a clear leader, somebody will try to filll that role and it is usually not a postive person. I have even seen that at the graduate level. I had one class where the teacher was very knowledgeable, kind etc. but not very strong. One of the negative students in the class ended up taking leadership in the power vacuum and of course the result wasn't pretty. I think students, especially the less mature ones can smell weakness, so it is important to establish early that you are the lead dog.