I could not help but see a common tread in all of the postings I was reading...students are behaving like children, and not like the little, responsible, motivated and self-discipled smaller adults we need them to be. That would be only so that they can realize and appreciate the fine resource provided to them by having "us" as their teachers!
It gets hard, but we must force ourselves to go back to those lessons we learned back in Developmental Psychology...these youngsters may be housed in bodies that are large, and adult-like, but their brains are still immature. The human brain continues to go through profound developmental changes in thinking, reasoning abilities, and sound judgment-making abilities until the age of 21, or 23 in some cases. We are teaching immature children, not adults, and we should remind ourselves of that fact frequently as a method of maintaining personal sanity!
I have a co-worker who phrases it less tactfully, "Essentially, their brains are not what they should be yet, so in essence they are still retarded; not yet fully developed in their mental processes." Think that when they start to get on your last nerve!
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteYou know, you are right. Sometimes I am very guilty of not being patient enough with my students. Sometimes I get VERY frustrated with their behavior.
Yes, I need to be more mindful that, yes indeed, they are just that...kids. Kids who are not quite adults yet.
You make some good points. I am going to try harder at making myself more aware.
Connie