Comment on Mark Thompson's Ed Found post 1

Hi Mark,

I would like to comment on few points from your post:

• In your second paragraph (Will I be allowed to be the teacher I want to be?), I agree that Jane would be limited by the school and department of education's rules and regulation, which is true for every teacher. In the particular context of Jane, I would add that she is also limited by her knowledge of the community as well as the expectations of the students she is working with. Her students are from remote rural community and their culture, their motivation for schooling and the kind of education they need and expect can be very different from what a middle class inner city woman has experienced . In addition she can also be limited by the school resources and style.

• The second point is in response to your point 4: Am I ready to teach?
  In the context of Jane's story, she might have feel very confident after her high academic results and the success of her first practicum placements. She was in a good position for starting her career as a teacher, but was she ready for this environment? Jane's story points out the importance of the teaching environment and the need for teachers to be flexible and prepared for different environment.

• Finally,I would also like to comment on the problems of discipline in the classroom. In his article (Educational psychology in the inclusive classroom, chapter 12, pp 454) Krause discusses the studies from Louden (1985) on the influence of home or school on students disturbed behaviors. If home factors like high level of family stress or socio-economic disadvantage can results in behavioral problems at school, he also identify school-related factors like “inappropriate teacher expectation of students” or “instruction in irrelevant skills” as well as a “lack of instruction in critical skills”. Jane's difficulty to control her classroom could be explain by her lack of experience in rural environment which can lead to inappropriate expectations from both sides and a different view on what critical skills are needed.