Etre et Avoir

Much can be learned through observing Mr. Lopez interact with all of his students. His calm, always in control presence is the first thing that I noticed. At times I am sure he feels annoyed by their questions or behavior but he is able to maintain his positive attitude and never ceases to speak to them, on their level, in a calm and encouraging tone. Mr. Lopez was seemingly always in control, however the children still tried to pull tricks on him and convince him that they did not have to do their work. This made me realize that no matter how much control you think you have over a situation, children will be children and are always testing their limits and trying your patience. Another message I took away from observing Mr. Lopez is the importance of allowing mistakes to happen. The child will learn best if you let them figure something out on their own and then take a step back and see what went wrong. You can compare what a child knows versus what you think they know by allowing them to make this mistake and through questioning them allow the correct answer to come out. Echoing what a lot of other people have already said, the fact the Mr. Lopez never gives a direct answer but guides the children along so that they can answer their own questions is another great technique.