reflection paper#10

One task that keeps teachers busiest is what Philip Jackson terms “gate keeping”. The original definition of a gatekeeper is a person in charge of a gate, usually to identify, count, supervise, etc., the traffic or flow through it. From the text book’s point of view the gate would be the topic and/or open discussions being discussed in the classrooms and the keeper, of course, would be the teacher. In the classroom as gatekeeper the teachers must determine which student will speak, when, and for how long. The teachers also determine the basic flow or direction of the communication in the classrooms. The gate keeping function influences the classroom rules by allowing the students to recognize that there are specific rules and regulations to aide b in the classroom. Classroom communication patterns do not train the students to be active, inquiring, independent learners. Rather, the students are expected to become quiet and reflexive, to think quickly, to rely on memory, and to be dependent on the teacher. I doing so, students become more aware of class rules and therefore become more interactive. With the gate keeping function I believe the students will learn to have respect not only for their teacher but for their classmates as well. When the teacher has opened up a class discussion, the students will know that they must work together according to the interaction patterns. When the classroom does not have a fixed pattern it affects both teachers and students. As stated in the text, although questioning signals curiosity, it is the teachers, not the learners, who do most of the questioning. The typical student rarely asks an academic question. When they do ask questions it’s usually a “May I use the rest room?” or “May I sharpen my pencil?” type of question. The teachers usually feed into the disarray and waist valuable learning time asking the students’ questions like “Didn’t I just send u to the bathroom” or “How sharp does your pencil need to be before you actually start doing your work?” Students are not given much time to ask, or even answer, questions. Teachers usually wait less than a second for student comment and answers. As they go through the grades the teachers interact less and less with the students. Perhaps the challenge new teachers should keep before them is finding a way to turn their gate keeping role into a benefit for the students, instead or hindrance.