Field Blog Post 1

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This comic strip was based on my field hours completed at Brady Middle School. While I observed a 6th grade English class, I noticed that the students were all very lively and talkative. When the teacher told the class that it was time to work independently, I was sitting next to a table of students that were having a hard time doing so. It was clear to me from the start of class that one of the students named Trevor was a very talkative and energetic child. However, when it came to this independent work, he was focused on his work, while the other classmates at his table were loud and distracting. When he called his classmates out for talking, the teacher immediately assumed that Trevor was the one causing the problem. The teacher asked trevor to finish his work in the hallway. Trevor tried to tell his teacher that it wasn’t him causing the problem, but the teacher did not believe him.

Trevor was extremely upset and began kicking chairs on his way out into the hallway. He was mad that the teacher didn’t believe him, and so was I. After class, the teacher came up to me and told me that he has issues with Trevor and called him a “trouble maker”. This comic strip pertains to the chapter our class has discussed called “I Believe You”. Teachers began saying “I believe you” to their students because it makes them feel heard and sends a strong message to their students that the adults in their lives are present and take their concerns seriously. This saying validates students and helps them to feel comfortable in voicing their concerns and their truths. At Brady Middle School, I think the teacher could have handled the situation better. The teacher didn’t know that Trevor was the student causing all of the distraction, nor did he address any of the other students at his table that were talking. The teacher simply assumed that it was Trevor because of his past, knowing that he is usually a “trouble maker”.

It’s important as future teachers that we never label students, or assume that they are to blame all the time. If a child, like Trevor, is trying to explain themselves, we must listen and validate their feelings. Saying “I believe you” opens the classroom to be a safe and comfortable space.

Discussion question: Why do you think its important to say the phrase “I believe you” to your students?