Things are getting back to normal after three days with year 9 on camp last week. During my time on camp I have seen a new dimension of the teaching profession. While I don't teach a year 9 class I do have them for homeroom so this was a really good opportunity to see them in a new light. Students that are disruptive and unmotivated in the classroom really shone in leadership and physical activities. While this was a really good chance to see year 9 take on a new role, it was also interesting to see their social interactions with one another. Most students got along well and worked as a team in problem solving activities but unfortunately there was also a case of bullying. A group of girls would dominate activities and taunt some of the other girls. While this was disappointing to see, it was a learning experience for me to see how such problems are handled outside of the classroom. It seemed at first that students believed that normal school rules did not apply as there were no classroom walls. Once strong rules were reinforced and repercussions were enforced at an early stage the problem disintegrated. What I learnt from this experience was the need to remain professional and enforce standards regardless of the environment.
I also learnt a lot about appropriate communications with students. One students while on camp was becoming clingy and trying to ask questions about my age and first name, relationships and so on. While in her mind these were normal questions to ask I was beginning to feel that she was becoming over familiar. I had to maintain a level of professionalism while also being approachable to her. The best way that I found to do this was to keep more of a distance and not enter into conversations with this student for lengthy periods. This appeared to work and since returning to school there have been no problems. I still have a good rapport with this student but the barrier between student and teacher is much more clear.
