I have always loved kids. I am currently working on
earning my early childhood education degree so I can be an elementary school teacher.
My first job was being a nanny. Many people are exhausted by their energy and
annoyed by their disobedience, but I love their energy and can feed off of it
and have a high level of patience (at least with people under 12). This summer,
I took an internship at my church. My tasks included writing the Sunday school
lessons, helping to teach these lessons every Sunday, and helping out at the 2
camps they put on for kids. Through this experience and having such a wonderful
and talented supervisor I learned many beneficial ways to handle and teach
kids. Today, I’m sharing my best tips with you guys, in case any of you are
thinking about going into the same career path as me. These tips also will be
helpful if you get roped into babysitting often.
1. Layout
your rules and expectations immediately. I used to think laying out the rules
was unnecessary and made the teacher seem too stern. I now know what a vital
part of earning their respect this is. Kids are young, naïve, and easily confused
(much like us college students). They like being told what to do and knowing
the boundaries. They like structure. With rules being laid out they are more
likely to behave, and if there is any behavior issues it is much easier and
faster to stop the lesson or activity to say a quick reminder of the rules,
rather than having to stop to shout out a whole list of rules.
2. Experiment
with what tone you use when trying to be most authoritative. Many people think
they have to yell to get the children to listen. As somebody who is not a
yeller, and who just doesn’t like yelling at kids, I was very happy to find out
this was not true. Sometimes, pulling a kid aside while kneeling down and
whispering to them with perfect eye contact is all the kid needs to get them to
settle down. Another way is to sing to them rather than yell. Kids are used to
be yelled at, but not used to being sung to, so this grabs their attention very
quickly. An example of this is singing “I am talking so you are not,” or something
of that nature whenever you want their attention. There are many different
tones you can use to gain attention and respect, so never resort to yelling
just out of desperation and frustration.
3. Play
around with your tones. Once you’ve found a favorite tone it does make sense to
use that the most, but don’t be afraid to mix it up with a different tone on
occasion. Variety is the spice of life, and switching tones can be a good way
to keep the children’s attention. They will be drawn to you just to see why you
changed your tone.
4. If
you are trying to teach a kid something, break the lesson up and ask questions.
How many times have you been sitting in a class and been wondering when you are
ever going to use this lesson in life? What is the point of this lesson? If you
want the kids to remember the lesson, making the point clear is very important.
Stop frequently to ask them if they have experienced anything like what is
being taught in the lesson, and make questions very specific with lots of
examples of possible answers to the question. Make sure you have an answer to
your question or an example of how the lesson applies to real life, just so
there is no awkward moment if none of the kids can think of anything.
5. Don’t
be afraid to ask for help. Sometimes, as the youngest people in the office, we
college interns procrastinate asking for help because we are so desperate to
prove ourselves. If you don’t ask advice from the older workers, you are
missing out on gaining some insight and information that could teach you
valuable skills and make you infinitely better at your job. You took an
internship to learn and sometimes we can’t learn everything we need to know by
ourselves.
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