Pamela M. Fowler
The best way I have found to develop trust within a class is to get everyone involved in a situation that will prove your belief in someone. The games for Trust Development are meant to always be successful and to never force a person to participate, rather to have the class encourage the individual and to say, “Trust us, you will be fine.”
The games and situations that each child will participate in are derived from my past educational experience, Outward Bound Programs, Project Pride and an assortment of books I have researched.
Throughout the first quarter each class will be formulated in the same manner.
We will begin by a warm-up activity to loosen the tension, as well as the muscles and vocal cords. These will be from a variety of materials I have collected from various institutes. The vocal warm-ups ranges from saying and singing the ABC’s to mimicking sounds that are a part of everyday life. The physical warm-ups, I envision consisting of “feeling the space around them,” sculptures, puppets, etc.
After the warm-ups we will engage in a variety of theater games and role playing which primarily aid children (and the teacher) in developing trust, self-esteem and a degree of confidence. After each game we will discuss what happened. Focusing on the good, the bad and the questionable. Questions like “How did it feel to be . . . ?” “Were you comfortable?” Why or Why not? Each person will be expected to contribute the conversation by expressing how they felt about: a) the game and b) themselves as a part of the activity. My goal is to have them express in a complete sentence their honest reaction to the activity and why without me prompting them. If time permits we will repeat the sequence with another game and discussion.
Finally, upon completion of the class period I will calm everyone down with a relaxation exercise.
By the end of the first quarter in my class, I hope, will have developed a sense of trust for one of their peers if not the whole class and for myself. I in turn hope to have learned a great deal about the children whom I will be spending the next nine months with.
At some point in the unit the games will couple with role playing and problem solving situations that the children face daily. I will give them a dilemma and they will have to up with a realistic solution that will solve the problem and/or make it better for all parties involved. We will also usn techniques that will help solve school problems effectively. We will work out fights, suspensions, detentions, ‘bad’ days, arguments with teachers and peers. I want to stay away from typical responses line “You just don’t do that” or “Do it because I said so, I am the adult.” I want the children to internalize these statements and understand why they are made. I want them to know the proper behavior in many situations and to develop respect for their peers and adults as well.
TIME PERIOD
The unit will begin on the first day of school and continue throughout the first quarter of the year. I am confident that the time I have allowed for each activity will be sufficient. Each lesson is designed to last a total of 45 minutes and I am expecting the unit will be taught three times a week in order to be beneficial for both the teacher and the student.
MY CHILDREN
The children I service are fifth, sixth and seventh, and eighth grade students. These children are classified as Learning Disabled, Socially-Emotionally Maladjusted and/or Educable Mentally Retarded. These labels are based on the testing results each child is required to be given in order to remain eligible for special services each year.
Despite these labels, the bottom line is that my children are very needy emotionally as well as academically. It is my opinion that some of my children are having academic problems because they are not able to cope outside of school. In their lives there is nobody saying that right is right or that wrong is wrong. They don’t know the difference. I have some to believe that if a child is confident and praised for not only his achievements, but for the efforts he puts forth in reaching his goals, he will prove to be a productive member of your classroom and eventually of society, so long as this nurturing continues at various levels. My class lacks a great deal of this nurturing and confidence building.
They are from a place where anger is the only emotion to exhibit, inflicting pain on others as a result of this anger is okay and no one outside of the neighborhood is worth trusting or has ever proven to be worthy of their trust. “After all,” I was once told, “You teachers can leave her. I have no where to go except here.” I am in a position where I not only see the pain my children suffer, but I also know it. I want to use my experience as learning devices for my children to help them grow, mature and reach for more than they are now. I also want to help them develop the confidence to do whatever they want to do, go to college, own a business or simply leave the area they are growing up in for better and safer neighborhood.
Through this development my children will be able to “read between the lines” and internalize the pain and anguish of those who survived the Holocaust and the other horrors of our past. They will be able to identify with the feelings of oppression and will now have the strength to overcome it without hurting others in the process.
My class is still young enough so that breaking down barriers will not be as difficult as is they were 15 or 16 years old.
I teach in a setting where my special education students are mainstreamed into the regular education classes. I am their base, their security and at times their controlling force, when they need it. My class is small, with eight full-time students who receive 16-25 hours a week of special instruction and an additional ten who come to me throughout the day for supportive help with their regular education classes. These ten part-time resource students receive special instruction of 1 to 15 hours a week. The children for whom this unit is written are those who will be with me on a full-time basis.
As you read through “We Are One” you will notice that the teacher becomes a part of the whole, your class. Without you there is a void. The class will seem ‘not quite right’, and the kids will feel it. You will do what you ask the kids to do. You will risk yourself as well. You will now allow the children to see the teacher as a real live person who also has feelings and emotions.
FINAL COMMENTS
These names are meant to develop confidence and a feeling of oneness and trust in the classroom. They are also meant to be fun. I have included many ‘risk’ situations for both the teacher and students. Risk is something we all have to take throughout our lives and it is scary when we risk a friendship or our lives or our reputation. The risk becomes less intimidating if we know that there is someone around us who we trust and feel comfortable with. Risk is an important part of “We Are One”. Without risk you will never know your boundaries, your limits or your capabilities. Just have fun!
Scary? Yes it is. You will now know and be more able to understand how your kids feel. I can almost guarantee that once you show the kids that you sincerely are participating and letting your guard down in hopes of helping them help themselves they will begin to take risks not only in school, but outside of your classroom and eventually at home and on the streets. They will trust you. You will also receive a different respect from the kids than you normally would have without this interaction. The unit will begin to flow, everyone will have fun and look forward to the next session.
Before I begin, I must also add that the feelings you touch upon and relationships you develop in this 45 minute time period should be carried over into the entire school day. Use the information that has been taught. Have the students practice the skills in the cafeteria, in the playground, during free time or wherever they are. This reinforces the skills and the more reinforcement the kids receive, the more likely they will internalize the messages.
What is important to keep in mind that you are also a human being and should be one. Just because teaching is a profession, no one said that you have to be two different people. Don’t change your personality the minute you walk through your classroom door and do an about face when you leave. Consistency is the key. You’re mad, okay. Be mad. Show the kids how to work through the anger and how to get rid of it. Show them what it means to ‘put it all behind you and continue.’ To the kids it is just a bunch of words. Worthless words unless they are taught what they mean and how to do it.
This unit is planned for 42 days. It is assumed that it will be taught three times a week for a 45 minute class period. I have anticipated the first quarter to go as follows:
Day 1-3—Getting to know us
Day 4-16—Trust Development
Day 17-29—Self-Esteem
Day 30-42—Cooperative Learning