Micro-Managing the Classroom and Lost Causes

Today, I spent two out of three periods in the math classroom with the other fifth grade intern's mentor teacher, I'll refer to her as LH. We have started to establish a routine where we switch more regularly so that we can ensure that we are meeting all of the standards for the PBA and for graduation. This has been quite the challenge with the controversy surrounding the Science/Social Studies teacher and the task of collaborating with multiple teachers to address the needs of 90+ students.

I had a brief conference with one of my mentors this morning so that we would both know what to expect. She has a very structured classroom and teaching style that I have not quite mastered yet. All students are expected to sit in learning position for the duration of the class, they must walk in a certain direction to reach their destination, even if that means they have to walk farther to get there, they can never leave their seats without permission, etc. There is very little opportunity for student freedom or choice in this room and there are so many rules that it sometimes seems that students are so focused on how they are supposed to behave than on what they are supposed to be learning. During our conference, she made the comment that she really hoped to help me strengthen my classroom management skills because I don't enforce her rules as closely as she would like. How do I address this issue of competing styles without being disrespectful or sounding like a know-it-all? Am I really allowed to have "style" at this point in my education? The point of the matter is, that I don't think the way she does and reprimanding students for not sitting in the learning position is not something that I am interested in at all. I believe that the purpose of teaching is to prepare students to become independent and to take responsibility for themselves and I'm not quite sure that is happening in this classroom. Perhaps it's too early in the year to tell.

I also learned that this teacher believes in lost causes - children who are too lazy, stupid, neglected, etc. to learn anything. Several students are struggling but they are systematically ignored because "they aren't going to learn" or "they don't want to learn" or "they have nasty parents." I believe that all students can and want to learn but I'm being told to ignore those students?! What's the point of teaching if we give up on students who struggle? Especially at this early point in the year! It is so disheartening to work with a teacher with that attitude.