Page 43 - Demo

IDEA7If the teacher interacts with children in positive ways, what happens in the classroom?%u00bbAs adults, most of us have learned to express our needs in kind and respectful ways. Children usually haven%u2019t learned that yet, so teachers must look for clues that a child is ready for new experiences. After a long period of concentration a child may need to rest by choosing a quiet activity alone, or by watching others at work. While he appears to be doing nothing, his brain is actually absorbing what he has just learned. Teachers must understand this and wait to offer new challenges when he is ready.%u00bbConcentration interrupted is learning interrupted. A teacher who is careful about interaction will be respectful of children%u2019s concentration. Especially sensitive teachers recognize concentration, even if doesn%u2019t LOOK like concentration. Say a child who has been disorderly in the classroom one day suddenly begins to rearrange the furniture. Many teachers would be inclined to stop her, but a sensitive teacher would wait to see if her activity might come to a useful end (this activity might be the child%u2019s first moments of positive concentration). In other words, a sensitive teacher might leave this child alone, as long as she wasn%u2019t disturbing others.43