subject: School Furniture As Indirect Guidance Strategy For School Children [print this page] With Mrs. Hudson's free-play time in her pre-school class, one would be surprised at how calm her classes are. There was a clear division of the room into two interest centers - the quiet area and the noisy area. There is a place for every item in the room. The shelf has a label pasted of a photo or drawing for the different toys in the class - cars, dolls, animal toys, etc. Even blocks have outlines of different sizes for its shelf for easy clean up and storage.
It is believed that when you put a child in a certain environment, you can develop a certain behavior based on the said surroundings. The child becomes more focused and relaxed if he is placed in a setting which encourages learning, a child becomes more athletic if he is exposed to a setting with various sports and so on...
Another example is that Ms. Langley had a biter in her class. She first tried to observe the child's ways, behavior and body language before she attempted to hurt a classmate and as soon as she starts showing signs of hurting another child, the biter is immediately led to another location. In some cases where she was able to hurt a classmate, the teacher channels all her attention to the victim instead of becoming negative to the biter. The teacher tells the biter that she hurt the girl and let her know the consequences of her actions. In this case, the biter helped in administering aid to the victim and she realized her wrong deeds. Do you know what guidance strategy the teacher used in this case?
Children, especially in the pre-school level, tend to practice their authority and check if they can get their own way. There are cases of obstinacy behavior manifestations that last for a period of time but there are cases that it lasts longer for others. That is why guidance in behavior is needed to have a good development for kids and there is no greater way to start than in its early childhood stages.
In the direct guidance strategy, the child is told if he did something wrong. There are also restraining orders like keeping quiet if he is being loud and unruly. The teacher may also show appreciation by giving praises for a job well done. In the indirect guidance behavior, however, children's behavior is guided in a behind-the-scene-style. Shelves are used as a divider and a storage space at the same time. School chairs placed in a semi-circular way encourage congeniality. Material display in labeling is one good technique in helping children keep their things in proper places. And correct class schedules like placing playtime in the morning and naptime after lunch help the children practice consistency resulting to less stress in behavior. Both strategies facilitate a child's behavioral development that is why both must be practiced in school.
