Question #1: If
you had to sum your classroom management style up in a short sentence, what
would you say? How would you summarize what you do in terms of classroom
management? What's your "style"?
I usually work
on one, basic premise: everyone respects everyone including his or herself.
This is my only real, concrete rule in class. I don’t agree with the idea that
teachers should establish multiple lists of rules. Too many rules will confuse
a group of students, especially younger students. There is no real need to get
too specific and I’ve never had to. If a student is respecting his or herself
and respecting others, including the teacher, then the class can run smoothly.
________________________________________________________________________
Question #2: What
are some mistakes you've made in the past in terms of classroom management
and/or classroom organization? How did you both learn from these mistakes and
then go about fixing them?
The biggest
problem that I have and continue to have with classroom organization is
collecting too many things for grading. Assessment is important but
unfortunately, I used to make the mistake of trying to grade ALL of the work
that the students complete. This is not really necessary. I’m still constantly
trying to remind myself that it is not necessary to grade everything, just the
most meaningful assignments. Too many things to grade can lead to an
unorganized classroom and this can be counterproductive.
________________________________________________________________________
Question #3: Does
your classroom management style vary depending upon the class you have or do
you have a universal, "one size fits all" approach?
My classroom
management style absolutely depends upon the class I have. No class is going to
be exactly the same and you have to adjust to the class. I’ve learned that you
can never give anything back. What I means is, you have to start out the year
stern and conservative. Then, over time and after learning about the class, you
can start to give a little more leniency. Once you’ve given too much away
however, it’s all over. You can give a little more to classes that can handle
it and you can tell which classes you need to be stricter with fairly quickly.
________________________________________________________________________
Question #4: What
is the biggest issue you regularly encounter in terms of keeping your classroom
organized and functioning both smoothly and properly? How do you go about
correcting this issue?
Keeping track of
student progress can often be a big organizational problem if not handled
properly. However, like I said before, you have to find a balance between
keeping justified and effective feedback/assessment from students and becoming
overwhelmed by too many assessments and feedback. I’ve gotten much better at
this over time as a teacher.
________________________________________________________________________
Question #5: If
you could provide one piece of advice to a new teacher regarding classroom
management, classroom organization, or both, what would it be? What is
something you wish you knew when you first started teaching?
When I first
started teaching, I wish I realized that all kids couldn’t necessarily achieve
the same things. Some kids can work and work all year long and still not get it
exactly while others can get it very easily. Success really varies from student
to student. Also, I didn’t realize initially just how much baggage kids can bring
with them from home in to the classroom. At first, I saw some kids as simply
“behavioral issues.” Later on however, I learned a lot about the home lives of
some of these kids and I finally came to understand why they behaved the way
they did. Honestly, it makes sense.
Another really
difficult thing for me to get was that you can’t solve all of the worlds problems.
As a teacher, I can only do so much for my students. When I first started teaching,
I used to take all of my students’ problems home with me every night. I learned
after some time that I simply can’t do that. There has to be a line. One last thing:
No arguing with students ever! Even if you win the argument, you still lose because
you have lost that student forever. In the same way, never embarrass a student
in class. While embarrassing a student may help with classroom management in
the short term, that student will never want anything to do with you from that point
on. Once again, I think it all comes back to the “respecting” rule which I talked
about earlier. We all need to be respectful, both teachers and students.
________________________________________________________________________
Question #6: What
is one example/story you have of either a classroom management or
organizational nightmare and then how did you manage to get through it? (Real
stories are appreciated!)
I have to say that
I’ve been extremely fortunate because I really can’t think of any terrible or
standout management issues from the past. It’s just a problem I can’t remember
encountering all that much. I do remember however, a time during my first year
of teaching where I became overwhelmed with student work. I had an enormous pile
of ungraded, unchecked student work on my desk and this was during the time when
I still had trouble with trying to grade everything. Finally, I became so overwhelmed
that, one day, I went out in to the hallway, I made sure no one was around, and
then I threw out all of the work. I simply couldn’t get to it all. It was too
much!
________________________________________________________________________
Final thoughts:
-Remember, only send
a kid to the principle’s office as an absolute last resort. A student will never
take you seriously again if you can’t handle the problems in your class on your
own. Things will only get worse.
-Also, remember
that both respect and being genuine all the time are keys to really being a great
teacher. Don’t try to fake sincerity. Kids can tell immediately if you’re full
of it.
-One last thing:
never “fake it.” If you say that you’re going to do something, you must follow through
with it. For example, if you tell a student that he or she will get a zero if his
or her homework is not in class tomorrow, then you have to give that kid a zero.
There are no exceptions. It’s really difficult to always stick to your guns but
you have to if you want to be taken seriously.
No comments:
Post a Comment