Teacher Observation by Whitney Riccio

Teacher: Mr. John Kimble

ricciow6 — 2025-07-24 14:23:12 UTC

Mr. John Kimble, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop, is an undercover police officer, posing as a kindergarten teacher.

Instruction

ricciow6 — 2025-07-24 14:26:12 UTC

Initially, John Kimble used class discussions and personal interviews with the students. These questions were student-based, because he was learning about the students on a personal level. Progressively, Mr. Kimble started using a mixture of lecture-based teaching, followed by hands-on activities to apply and practice the content. For instance, Mr. Kimble instructed them on the rules and pace of walking in a straight line, then walked the class through the school and playground to practice it.

Assessments

ricciow6 — 2025-07-24 14:27:43 UTC

At first, John Kimble was unable to assess the students, because his classroom management was so dreadful for the students to cooperate long enough to do any lessons or assessments. The questions and answers were initially personal things about the students, so it was not really any type of assessment. However, later, Mr. Kimble was able to assess the students by observing them in practice and timing their assignments. He taught them how to properly conduct themselves and leave the building during a fire drill. Mr. Kimble would then use repetition with practice, timing them until they could complete a fire drill properly within a certain time frame.

Classroom Management

ricciow6 — 2025-07-24 14:28:59 UTC

On John Kimble’s first day, his classroom management was nonexistent. He reacted in anger, scaring the children to the point of tears. Mr. Kimble immediately regretted this, realizing that fear was not the best way to manage the students. During the first fire drill, Mr. Kimble reacted in fear and the entire class came scrambling out of the school, screaming and running in a very unorganized, untimely fashion. After speaking with his police partner, herself a retired teacher, Mr. Kimble realized his fear and uneasiness was felt by the students, making their behavior worse; he would need to have confidence when addressing and teaching them for the students to begin to respect him. Mr. Kimble started giving the students responsibilities and praising them when the students were successful. The students began to respect him and seek that praise, tremendously improving student behavior.

Organization/Planning

ricciow6 — 2025-07-24 14:33:21 UTC

John Kimble was organized from the beginning. His goal was to identify the student the police sought, so he came to class with a list of questions to ask the students. However, Mr. Kimble did not expect classroom management to be so difficult, which caused chaos, and his plans would fall apart quickly. However, as his classroom management improved, his plans progressed and developed as planned. His teaching had improved so much that the students did exactly as instructed when a stranger walked into the school during a fire.

Student Rapport

ricciow6 — 2025-07-24 14:34:05 UTC

John Kimble’s rapport with the students was initially very poor, even though he asked questions to learn more about each student. The students were fearful of him, sensed his fear, and did not respect him. Mr. Kimble scolded, yelled, and lectured the students initially, which only increased student misbehavior. However, as he came to class prepared and with confidence, his students grew to like him. Mr. Kimble protected his students, made the outcasts in class feel welcome, and knew how to address each student. He was a strict teacher and, while initially doing some very unethical things in the classroom, Mr. Kimble’s improvement earned him the respect of his students, other teachers, and the principal who had doubted his abilities from the start.