Ch. 5--Classroom Management

I think I am good at clearly reviewing classroom management periodically. I reflect on strategies that are working and are not working to see what needs to be tweaked and how. I've learned that each year's group of students are different, behave differently, and have to be dealt with in different ways. I think I'm good at evaluating myself and re-evaluating how I am as a classroom manager. I can see that I've really changed from my first few years as a teacher in that I am enforce rules and expect them to see ME as the classroom manager. In my first years in this career, being younger, it was sometimes hard to be mean and enforce things as needed. Deep down I wanted to be thought of as cool and funny, but most of the time that just doesn't work. Now I don't care about their opinions on my management skills. Don't like me? Fine, but are you able to concentrate and focus and succeed under my watch? Yes, then that's what matters most. As the book points out, I have to judge as a "manager" whether the current conditions meet the most primary goal I have as a teacher, and that's if they can succeed academically under my care. I like that page 112 points out the fact that 85% of new teachers admit to not knowing how to handle certain student behavior. This is so true to me! I also think I am good at establishing a positive classroom environment, stating rules in a positive manner, and expecting things that are age appropriate. I think I'm clear on what I will accept and won't accept, and I've learned the students appreciate structure. They appreciate knowing what to expect and knowing the guidelines. I think I'm a very good delegator. I can delegate jobs and responsbilities well without sounding too bossy.

One thing I could improve on is preparing my classroom in a way that reduces interruptions and negative behavior. Sometimes I wonder if I re-arranged my seating, would that help? Another thing I could work on is letting go of some of the control I want to have when we do group work. I could let them pick their own partners, as mentioned on page 114. I could work on explicitly enforcing the rules by modeling more. I bet some of the kids don't know how to act because they haven't been shown. If I modeled, they might "get" it. I could do more role-play and repeat procedures more to ensure they understand. ANother thing I could improve upon is setting up expectations when I'm out and have a sub. I often feel like they don't treat the subs well enough and this is scary to me. I truly appreciate any sub who walks in the door, as I realize it's a hard job to fill. I want them to treat him/her as good as they would me, maybe even better! THis is something I need to work on. They need to better know what I expect with them and a sub.

I could use parents more in having effective classroom management. I've gotten better at this, but I'd like to continue using parents as supporters and using them more when needed in behavior issues. I've learned they want to be informed and want to give me support so that I can help their child. This is something I could continue to learn about and implement in different ways. I'd also like to implement more of the concept called "tootling". I think that's a neat idea that I'd like to look more into.