Fine line between role model and buddy!
My name is Daniel and I am a Buddy!
Not an apathetic buddy at least, I'm actually really concerned with how my "buddyness" can be a disservice to my students by not allowing me to teach them valuable non academic skills such ass being responsible when it comes to deadlines.
Where do you guys draw this line? Of course you must always follow and enforce the rules but that is easier said than done isn't it?
How about when the late homework policy has to be fudged a bit due to a totally justifiable cause for the lateness combined with highly negative consequences.
When I first started teaching, I too tended to lean more on the side of a buddy as oppposed to a guide. I too would allow for tardy work or the make up of exams based upon "justifiable" causes. I found very quickly that I would have alot of make up work to grade by the end of the quarter. Here are some things that helped:
1. Put everything in writing in your syllabus and addendums. Have students sign a written agreement saying they understand the rules. I even allow dropping the lowest exam grade to allow for the occasional legitimate absence.
2. Stick with your policies from the very beginning. Students learn which instructors they can get away with stuff with.
3. As this program states, having administration and staff working together is important. We have now instituted a policy of no make up work without the program director's approval.
I hope this helps. Again I think the most important point is to start from the very beginning with the rules and procedures and stick with them.
Kristin, great post and thanks for sharing. Anytime the administration and the academy can work together to enforce rules and set students up for success via student agreements, good things tend to happen. There will always be situations that need a human touch as no set of rules or policies can take into consideration every student need. The real trick is to ensure all students are treated equally and you are consistent. Following the rules should account for 95% or more of the situations you encounter and the 5% that need additional caring and thought need to be offered to all students that qualify.
James Jackson
Daniel, do not confuse guide with NOT being a buddy. A quality guide will incorporate some of the traits of a buddy but the focus here is not allowing your buddy side to take control. As a buddy you may have a tendency to treat one student differently than another. As a guide, you still have an intelligent heart but if you bend the rules for one you must bend for all that qualify. A guide is not a dictator that enforces all rules without exception. In fact, the best guides just know when the rules need bending and how to bend so students still understand the importance of operating my the rules but there are extreme situations where the rules simply do not apply, which should be no more than 5% of the time. This is not an absolute number as much as a way of emphasizing that the rules should apply most of the times.
James Jackson
I also feel that I have in the past fallen into the "buddy" trap. Reading through this course I was actually able to point each of these styles to various points in my career as a teacher. At this point I feel like I have learned quite a bit about teaching and think of myself more as a guide, however this has not always been the case.
I think when I started teaching I was very controlling because that was how I was taught you had to be. I quickly figured out however that this is just not my personality and started becoming more lax in my classroom management. I feel that I was then very much a buddy to my students. I in fact have several friends now that were my students. I had some great student outcomes during this time, however I feel that I could have done a much better job at getting information across had I taken a step back and realized that they do not have to "like" me and that if I am doing my job they most likely will like and respect me.
I have now managed to find a good middle ground where I do know my students enough on a personal level to make them feel safe and secure in their learning environment, but also not so much as to be a distraction. I try to have a lot of open discussion in the classroom, but keep it on topic so that we can all share expierience and gudie the learning towards the desired outcomes.
I think it is a matter of time put into teaching. As much as we would all like to instantly be the best guide to our students, teaching is like any other skill in that it takes time to learn and hone. You can get the balance, just keep on teaching and learning and you will get there.
-e
