Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Gospel of Classroom Management

Classroom management - the most important thing a teacher should master, or at least that’s what I’m told.  I believe it too.  A teacher’s main goal is to teach, but that’s impossible if you’re in an environment that inhibits learning.  This is where good ole classroom management comes in to save the day and the teacher.  I’ve only been teaching about two weeks, and I can safely say classroom management is crucial.  I should say crucial one more time.  Crucial.  Did I say it’s a crucial?  I can also safely say it’s not something I’ve mastered yet.  With time, practice, and a little pixie dust, maybe one day i’ll have it mastered (keeping my fingers crossed).  On the bus ride home yesterday, I was thinking about what it would be like if students could physically not talk while sitting in class, almost as if it were a law of nature.  What if they couldn’t talk and HAD to listen.  *pause for astonishment*  I guess being a teacher changes the way you daydream.
Anyway, we keep hearing about consequences, rewards, and consistency and that some magical combination of them will foster a good teaching and learning environment.  Everyone’s equation is a little different, but we each have one.  I’m a fan of all three, but my weakness lies in consistency.  I have the hardest time being consistent with my consequences.  Somewhere in my mind I think I’m still at camp, and I want to be their friend.  I’m getting over that though, because I realize that can’t happen, at least not in the beginning.  Being their teacher should be my focus, their friend can come later, after I’ve established myself as an enforcer who WILL be respected and obeyed.  (As I write this, I wonder how I’ll feel in two years when reading these words.  I hope I’ll come back and read these at some point.)  I understand that giving out consequences will be better for the student, the classroom, and my sanity.  When planning out my lesson, I think about how big and bad I’m going to be when they go crazy at the seventeen minute marker.  When I’m actually up there in front of the class, though, it’s a different story.  I guess I need to stand in front of a mirror and practice.  Or maybe I can just randomly give fake consequences while socializing with friends.  I’ll definitely look crazy then.  I have faith that one day I’ll be a master, but I just have to be patient and practice.  And be the LAW.

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5 comments:

  1. The most important thing I've learned so far is the importance of making classroom management priority #1. Without it student's will not learn and it will gradually get worse and worse unless something gets changed. From one teacher of the week to another -- GREAT JOB!

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  2. Oh Charlie, unfortunately I've not seen you teach yet, but rumor around HSSS is that you're one of the best 1st years in our class. And just knowing you for the little time I have I've come to see that when things go "wrong" in your mind, they are actually just fine! But, since you're worried about consequences I'm going to give you the same advice I'm continually being given. Stand in front of the mirror and say, "I'M THE LAW." Say it over and over, then you set up different expectations for who you are when you're in your "teacher persona." Some mornings I believe it, and I feel my days go better. Some days not so much, but don't knock it 'til you try it! Good luck with classroom management!

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  3. I just wanted to say hang in there when it comes to feeling comfortable giving consequences. It's going to become much more natural for you as you keep doing it, and you guys are getting way more practice than any year of first-years has ever gotten. By the time you get to Simmons, you'll be a pro! Seriously, though, I'm not sure if you meant it as a joke, but practicing giving consequences is actually a really helpful way to get comfortable doing it for real. The funny-yet-annoying flipside to this is that I also find myself accidentally teacher-looking or doing the classic "You have a choice..." outside the classroom. That means both non-teacher friends and strangers--AWKWARD.

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  4. Charlie I love that you are feeling the difference in day dreaming. I think about this all the time. I am thinking and think and I even find myself pausing for dramatic effect. At times I think I have lost it and I think that these kids are getting the best of me. I hope that I can come up with the magical combination of rewards and consequences to help out our little school in Hollandale. I just want to show them what a family the teachers are and what a family they must be in order to succeed.

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  5. It may be creeping into your daydreams now, but just wait until your dreaming about teaching on a regular basis. I still have dreams about my third graders from 2001!

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