Teaching Goal Setting in Primary Grades
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Very young children are like clean slates. Most haven’t had the time to learn bad traits and can easily learn good ones. Even the spoiled child can learn to set good goals for himself. Good goal setting is never learned to early. In fact the earlier the better. Good students set goals for themselves and work hard to attain them, Therefore, teaching goal setting primary grades is essential.
One of the first goals small children learn is to stay in their seats until they are told they can get up. Without this goal, the classroom would be in chaos. Most people don’t think of this as a goal but it certainly is because most children really don’t want to stay seated. Little children love to run around. That is their normal state. The pre-school teacher helps them to understand that they must stay seated or they will get into trouble. Therefore, they form the goal of staying seated or risk punishment.
Character goals are the goals most often learned in the primary grades. Next the teacher instructs her students to speak only when they raise their hands or risk having their names on the board. For little children having their names on the board is a punishment. The goal they are being taught is to only speak when it is their turn. These goals are not overtly taught but the message still stands. If a child wants to be considered well-behaved, he must be quiet and stay in his seat. These goals are non-negotiable for the strict primary teacher.
Another goal a teacher wants her students to attain is to do their work as neatly as possible. Remember only color between the lines. The teacher will hand out something to color. She will remind the students that neatness count. She is teaching them the goal of doing their work as neatly as possible. She hopes that they will carry this goal from coloring to all of their work.
Most primary teachers also teach their students to be on time to class. Tardiness is simply not tolerated. The goal of always being on time is certainly a worthy one because always being late is nothing but trouble. Some children have to learn punctuality the hard way, most often by staying after school or losing recess.
If children are to succeed in life they must learn goals very early. The primary grades teachers set the foundation for every child’s academic career. They are to be commended for the excellent goal setting they help their students to understand. These important goals help children to become good students who excel in school. Teaching goal setting primary grades is often difficult and trying but certainly worth the effort.
Copyright 2007 Janice D. Sterling - All Rights Reserved
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