Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Critical Incident Protocol

Critical Incident Protocol

Objective

In 2004, I was teaching at a Kindergarten Hagwon in Hwa Jeong, Goyang Shi, Gyeonggi Do, South Korea. I had twelve students in the class. I asked each student a question. If they answered correctly I gave them a ‘check’ by their name. At this point all the students had six checks by their name.

One student named Thomas started joking around. I told him to be quiet and he continued to disrupt the class. I then took the white board eraser and erased 3 of his stars. He was so distraught by this that he collapsed on the floor in a pile of despair.

I had to spend the rest of the class trying to console him.

Semi-Objective

Why had my lesson gone array? What terrible punishment had reduced this student to mush?

Meaning?

I had failed to notice just how important the ‘checks’ were to the students. If they received 3 checks then that would lead to a sticker. They would put the sticker on their sticker chart. Once they completed their sticker chart then they would receive a gift.

For a Korean seven year old (five years international age), this was a big part of their self-esteem and self-image. I failed to recognize that their status in the classroom was based in large part by ‘checks’, stickers, and the teacher’s approval.

Implications?

Now I recognized the value of this system and how it should be applied. I still gave the students’ ‘checks.’ Three ‘checks’ still meant a student would get a sticker to put on their sticker chart.

However, now I took a different approach to discipline. If a student disrupted the class then I would pick up the white board eraser and hold it over their ‘checks.’ I would call out the student’s name. “Thomas!” He would see my intention. Then he would prostrate himself and say, “Sorry, sorry, sorry.”

That was enough to get him back on task. I avoided an emotional meltdown that would have disrupted the class further. Instead we could continue with the lesson unabated.

3 comments:

  1. Hello :) How are you today? While I read your teaching experience, I know the students attitude reality. Until now, I dont' have lots of teaching experience, so I have a dream like always beautiful atmosphere before i read your thinking. However, now i am thinking is different. I agree with your opinion like your 'check" methods and called some students if students sleep at all times in the classroom. Of course, students will not agree your decision for the first time. But after a few days later, students know your thinking and opinion i think. So if i am an English teacher in the future, i will try to do for my students life like your methods. It is possible? :)
    Thank you for your thinking and have a nice day.

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  2. Hi! Chad.
    I can imagine your classroom and agree with your 'check' system. ^^ It's not new situation to me. Everyday, I struggle with a question what is a good punishment or a good praise for my young students. But finding answer is not easy because there are so many students in public school’s classroom. Even though that waiting with white board’s eraser is hard, I’m trying to wait and smile also. Thank you for your story and have a nice weekend.

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  3. Hi Chad,
    Wow, you did a good job. You story reminds of mind. Teacher has to understand why students do certain behaviors and then he/she can find the solution. Your first action leads the boy worse behavior, however, because of thinking reflectively you could get his attention later. Thank you for your true understandable story.
    Cheers!

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