Observation #3: Classroom Management
Classroom Management - The Hardest Challenge for New Teachers
I'm not a very authoritative person. I consider myself to be approachable, relatively easy-going, and willing to joke around with my students. I strive to make my classroom an open place, where students can have fun and learn English at the same time. I think, in this instance, that I may have given my students too much freedom for their own good. My vision of their expectations and behaviors is colored by own experiences as a thirteen-year-old and I'm beginning to remember that I wasn't what one would call a typical teenager. Oh sure, I was similar enough, and I'm sure that there are children in my classroom who are mini-versions of the kind of student I was back then. But I also have failed to remember that I was a fringe kid in those days. I existed on the outside of the student community back then, and I was something of an outlier when it came to my behavior in English class specifically. So while I paid attention with rapt enthusiasm, and chided the students around me when they distracted me from my learning, most of my kids aren't performing these kinds of behaviors. I forget that for some of them English is really incredibly difficult. That for some of them it's easier to distract me, or make jokes, or otherwise disrupt the flow of class than it is to participate and learn.
Up to this point in my classroom I've encountered issues primarily with my afternoon classes. They're rowdy and full of students who know how to push my buttons. On the day Shannon observed me they were being particularly awful, and I didn't know how to handle it. I've never had to demand respect before, and the very concept makes me uneasy. It seems so very foreign to how I view myself in the classroom. I think I need to reevaluate how I see myself, and what respect means to me. In my childhood, respect was often used as a sort of buzzword term that meant unquestioning obedience. In my head that word still has that ring of a barked order, it's still the stick that hovers over my head, obliterating even the idea of the carrot. As I work to deconstruct this idea, I am realizing that its more about care, boundaries, expectations and attentiveness. So far my biggest challenge with this, as a teacher, is expectations and attentiveness.
My first day teaching was nerve-wracking. I forgot most of what I wanted to say to introduce myself, and then my anxiety kept me from returning to say the things I had forgotten day one. My lack of clear expectations for my students, combined with how little they believed in my ability to enforce discipline combined to create chaos in my classroom.
After my conversation with Shannon and Mrs. Flynn I decided to create a poster which outlined my expectations for the students and which I've included a picture of. Step two of my plan was to give my students what I have heard referred to as a Come-To-Jesus talk. I told them I was disappointed in their behavior from the day before and that I expected them to behave better today. I explained the classroom expectations to them and went over the poster. I then directed them to silent individual work. Each class I talked to received a variation of the Come-To-Jesus talk that was scaled up or down in accordance with their behavior in my classroom. Periods 4, 6, & 7 got the sterner side, with 6 receiving the most of my ire. It worked that day, and they completed their work in absolute silence. The punishment reward system of a paw stamp and participation points are working slowly, and period 4 has definitely improved the most. I'm still pulling for more from Periods 6 & 7 but it seems promising.
I'm not a very authoritative person. I consider myself to be approachable, relatively easy-going, and willing to joke around with my students. I strive to make my classroom an open place, where students can have fun and learn English at the same time. I think, in this instance, that I may have given my students too much freedom for their own good. My vision of their expectations and behaviors is colored by own experiences as a thirteen-year-old and I'm beginning to remember that I wasn't what one would call a typical teenager. Oh sure, I was similar enough, and I'm sure that there are children in my classroom who are mini-versions of the kind of student I was back then. But I also have failed to remember that I was a fringe kid in those days. I existed on the outside of the student community back then, and I was something of an outlier when it came to my behavior in English class specifically. So while I paid attention with rapt enthusiasm, and chided the students around me when they distracted me from my learning, most of my kids aren't performing these kinds of behaviors. I forget that for some of them English is really incredibly difficult. That for some of them it's easier to distract me, or make jokes, or otherwise disrupt the flow of class than it is to participate and learn.
Up to this point in my classroom I've encountered issues primarily with my afternoon classes. They're rowdy and full of students who know how to push my buttons. On the day Shannon observed me they were being particularly awful, and I didn't know how to handle it. I've never had to demand respect before, and the very concept makes me uneasy. It seems so very foreign to how I view myself in the classroom. I think I need to reevaluate how I see myself, and what respect means to me. In my childhood, respect was often used as a sort of buzzword term that meant unquestioning obedience. In my head that word still has that ring of a barked order, it's still the stick that hovers over my head, obliterating even the idea of the carrot. As I work to deconstruct this idea, I am realizing that its more about care, boundaries, expectations and attentiveness. So far my biggest challenge with this, as a teacher, is expectations and attentiveness.
My first day teaching was nerve-wracking. I forgot most of what I wanted to say to introduce myself, and then my anxiety kept me from returning to say the things I had forgotten day one. My lack of clear expectations for my students, combined with how little they believed in my ability to enforce discipline combined to create chaos in my classroom.
After my conversation with Shannon and Mrs. Flynn I decided to create a poster which outlined my expectations for the students and which I've included a picture of. Step two of my plan was to give my students what I have heard referred to as a Come-To-Jesus talk. I told them I was disappointed in their behavior from the day before and that I expected them to behave better today. I explained the classroom expectations to them and went over the poster. I then directed them to silent individual work. Each class I talked to received a variation of the Come-To-Jesus talk that was scaled up or down in accordance with their behavior in my classroom. Periods 4, 6, & 7 got the sterner side, with 6 receiving the most of my ire. It worked that day, and they completed their work in absolute silence. The punishment reward system of a paw stamp and participation points are working slowly, and period 4 has definitely improved the most. I'm still pulling for more from Periods 6 & 7 but it seems promising.
Amber, you've done such a great job of reflecting and responding to this feedback. This is not easy work! But you're confronting it head on and setting up good practices for yourself as a future teacher. I'm really proud of you! Keep up the good work; getting kids to respect you and respond to you is not a cake walk. You can do this though. I have confidence in you!
ReplyDeleteClassroom management is a lot harder than I had anticipated! It sounds like you are handling it well and taking the necessary steps to ensure a classroom environment conducive to learning!
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