Insights into Education

In the peer discussions between my learning partner and myself, one of the main issues that kept coming up was how to engage out disinterested, distracted and dysfunctional students; do we as educators modify our behaviors or do we try to modify theirs?

I have decided that we need to do both.

How do we do this? First, we have to address what I like to call "Technical Difficulties." Social media is both a blessing and a hindrance in the educational setting. Information and access to the world is widely available to students and educators alike in our technical age. It is also what can hold us back from learning. Facebook and Twitter have great potential, but in the classroom are a large distraction. You don't even need to be on a computer for them, they are available right on your phone. Educators need to set boundaries and take a no-nonsense approach to students who are disrupting the class in such a way. I have taken to wandering about the classroom and speaking with students using these media sites during class time; I have spoken with others who have a "Cell Jar," where the student (or teacher) must put a dollar into to jar every time their cell beeps, rings or someone sees them texting. So far, the "Cell Jar" has worked the best. I would greatly appreciate some suggestions, as most of the articles I found on social media is on how to integrate it into the classroom.

The second issue I would like to address is conflict in the classroom. As classrooms become global entities, through online courses and international students, educators need to make sure that they are prepared. Cultural differences and language barriers can cause tension between students. As an educator teaching students from other countries needs to be educated in both conflict resolution and cultures outside of their own. When international students come to our country, they receive language training and culture training on life in Canada. I believe that educators should have training, or at least access to training, on the cultures of the students they will be teaching so that we can have a better understanding of any issues that they may be having adjusting.

For excellent articles on Conflict Resolution and the Educators Role in Social Control and Culture, please see the Articles section.