Loving Discipline

There are many types of teaching techniques. Different children need different kinds of teachers and teaching methods. But after numerous years of working with toddlers and young children I believe I know how their mind works. I know what makes them happy, sad, devious, and comforted. I can tell by a flicker in their eye what they are thinking or what their next move is most likely going to be, and I know the kind of response they need to change their behavior to one that is more appropriate.

I feel like I have a more extensive knowledge on this type of thing because I have worked with children with special needs. You have to have a fine tuned eye, ear, and sense of each individual child AND their disability to be able to predict/understand their behavior at any given moment. You want to talk about unpredictable behavior? Walk into an AU classroom (class with numerous children with Autism) and try to decipher what each child needs....or what each child is even thinking about. Not only is every child with Autism different but sometimes a child with Autism can not speak so they can not tell you what is bothering them with their words......you only have their behavior to decode to come up with a solution to whatever is ailing them. It is completely and totally up to you to figure out that the tag on the back of their shirt is bothering them and that is why they are throwing a tantrum, or the dump truck down the street is too loud and that is why they are plugging their ears. Sometimes you will never know. But if you can thrive with these children, helping them to become successful, earning their trust, breaking through the "Autism-barrier" that sometimes takes them to a whole other world we are not a part of..... then i would venture to say that you can work with ANY child and be able to see exactly what they need.

I was not sure how this kind of experience and knowledge of children would translate to working with children of a foreign culture. Would their mannerism's still be the same? Would I still have that same intuition that helps me to see when to give in and when to hold strong? I had been told of so many differences between Korean children and American children, but aren't all kids still just kids at the end of the day? Regardless of race, culture, or language spoken?

My answer was almost immediate. Within the first few days I saw very quickly that my suspicions were correct. Kids are kids, all over the world. They still would get a devious look in their eye when they were about to disobey the teacher or light up when they were praised for something they excelled at. As I got to know each child in my class more intimately, I could tell what kind of teacher they needed me to be for them to succeed in my classroom. For the kids that rely on their friends helping them all the time or me spoon feeding them the answers, I give some tough love and a lot of praise when things are done correctly. For the ones that do their work with ease I demand better handwriting and more creative thinking. For the ones that are quick to tear the pages in their book, hit another kid, or begin speaking in Korean to their classmates I discipline often and give frequent structure too so they don't have wiggle room to get off task. I give opportunities to all kids to "be my special helper", to gain rewards from me, and praise the child who is sitting nicely instead of getting mad at the one who is bouncing in and out of his seat.

These tactics are things I have picked up over the years that help my crazy classroom to flow here in Korea. Yes I discipline often, and I expect a lot from my students every single day. But I also take time to hold their hands as we walk in the hall, give them stamps and smiley face stickers, bring candy when they do well on tests, and give lots of hugs! So even when I am hard on them, not a single child in my class has a doubt that I don't love them to bits. After only 1 month of having me I would get homemade drawings that said "I love you Ms.Nikki" and their parents humbled me with compliments on parents day. I was even told "My boy doesn't usually open up to new teachers the way he has opened up to you in such a short period of time. It shows how much he trusts you and likes you as a teacher."

Knowing and understanding children's behavior is so essential to being a successful teacher. Without this, you would be lost how to run your classroom. Everyday I hear about how other children act in other classrooms. I hear how other teachers choose to discipline, teach, and eventually try to reach their children on a level that makes it impossible for them not to succeed. But it my classroom we work from one strategy that has helped me over the years; loving discipline.