Blog #6 Kohn

    While reading through Alfie Kohn’s chart I analyzed the “good” and “bad” signs to look out for in a classroom and recognized some of these traits are crucial to be incorporated in the classroom. 

    Alfie Kohn talked about the set up of a classroom, the student’s faces in the classroom, atmosphere of the school, as well as student activities in the classroom. When I go to my placement during this semester I recognized the tables in the classroom are set up in groups, there’s a rug for doing work together as a class, and small comfy couches for the students to sit on. I recognized my classroom has both good and bad signs in the classroom but I don’t think it’s something to be too worried about. 

    “Respectful, genuine, warm” 

   When I analyzed John’s chart I found the teacher’s voice section and I would like to discuss how that can make a classroom feel more comfortable. The teacher in the classroom that I volunteer at does not have the most comforting tone in her voice. Sometimes when my teacher talks to her students, she tends to raise her voice. When this happens, I believe the students start to realize a pattern if they misbehave that they will get scolded, which is something I hope my students never fear of my teaching style. 

“Student’s reaction to visitor”

     This is another section I would like to discuss because my students are eager to talk to me when I enter the classroom every Thursday, but when it comes to another person walking into the classroom they don’t pay them much mind. My students have learned to sit down in the morning and eat their breakfast while completing their work and I wonder what the students would be like if I saw them at a different point in the school day. 

Alfie Kohn’s : “What to Look for in a Classroom”