Week journal 5 (7 March 2014)

Significant Situation 

During a resit, I caught one of my students texting on his smartphone while he was busy making his listening and reading test. This is of course unacceptable and I told him so as I took his phone away from him. The student got up and asked numerous times for his phone back in a commanding voice. Each time, I told him that he wasn't allowed to use it while taking a test because using it meant that he was cheating.
We resolved this stand-off by compromising on him turning his phone off and putting it in his bag.

Reflection

I decided to compromise with the student because I didn't want the situation to escalate unnecessarily into aggression territory with the student.
The effect of doing is that the student became calm once more and continued with his two tests. The potential crisis was averted.
I think the student in question thought I was being unfair. However, I totally disagree because I told him no phones during tests and that he had to only have his laptop and ear-buds with him for the test.
I was crystal clear with my instructions and that was advice that I got the week before from one of the staff members at Deltion. He said that you need to be crystal clear in order for them to not be confused, lost, and also in order for them not to make excuses.
This situation is important for me because it was the first incident where I felt slightly unsafe with a student. It was interesting and eye-opening to see how I handled this situation, because inside I was scared but outside I acted calm. This definitely helped the situation, because I think if I was aggressively angry at him it would have been a catastrophic lesson.
I value calmness and peace and strive to achieve in any given situation, because I want what's best for the class but also the individual students. A safety environment where students can learn and be comfortable is very important to me.
In conclusion, I think the best ways in most cases like these is to stay positive and calm. It's better to come up with compromises than to be aggressive towards a student. You can avoid a situation getting worse by keeping your head on and radiating a sense of calmness. 
I will try these tricks again when (hopefully if) the moment arises.

Internship Progress

Next week, I'm going to be taking tests for the first time. I have never done this before, so it will be interesting to reflect on this at the end of the week.
 Until next week!