Classroom management is one of the hardest aspects of our jobs. This is especially true when we are working with an at risk population and when we share our space with other staff members and have to balance what works best for our own style with what works with another person's style. The key is finding not only what works best for us but what works best for our students as well. As I keep saying, we must keep our students as they focal point of all good decision making both socially and academically,
Please read the following article:
Once you have read this article, please indicate in your response which of these principles best work for you or if you could add a principle to these five what it would be and why.
I look forward to reading your responses.
Focus on Building Relationships
ReplyDeleteI believe in student-teacher rapport. To develop a close and harmonious relationship between students and teachers is essential for successful classroom culture and student academic success. We are working with an at risk population. Our students are struggling not only with school performances but also personal lives. They may not have understanding and loving parents or caregivers in their lives. If teachers show concerns and cares to them, students may do better because they feel they are not alone facing their trouble lives. They need support and love.
Simple efforts like remembering their names and greeting them outside the classroom is a good start. Besides, listening to them and understanding their needs are huge to them.
I believe it is wise for teachers to love students unconditionally, but hold them accountable.
Out of the five principles I think that building relationships is the most important. If the students don't feel like you actually care about them they won't try as hard in your class.
ReplyDeleteI have also found that if you show the students respect and understanding they will come to you and tell you that they're having a bad day and you can give them some space, or your ear. Teachers might be inclined to get on the case of a student who is sleeping in class, but if we come to us and say that they were up late last night taking care of their younger siblings then we can better judge our own reactions to this behavior.
I also believe that setting rules and a routine in the classroom from the very start is essential. My students know what I expect of them, they know where to find information on what we are doing that day, and they know that we always start class with a bell ringer. Not all of this applies to UALC, but the idea is the same. If the students know the rules, and we enforce them the same way every day, then the day goes much smoother.
I believe that all of the five principles are just about equally important. The first one-Take Care of Yourself-is extremely valid; if we don't get enough sleep and relaxation off the job, we're not going to be as effective in the labs. Also, #5-Involve Parents and Guardians--we're doing that more and more this year what with calling on blue slips and publishing grades every week-these are great things to do and enhance our relationships with the families.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to add one more, it would be to Listen More, Talk Less. This seems to work especially well with our students here. The amount of time that teens can listen is dramatically shorter than the time they need to explain their own point of view, which after all, is most important to teens. You can almost see their eyes start to glaze over after a talk has gone on too long, and then the listening stops. So it's best to let them talk first and then add a few things if necessary. Actually, I learned about this method at one of the PD days last year and boy, does it work!
Although I am a proponent of building relationships with students, I feel I have discussed this a lot in previous blogs. The principle that I think gets overlooked is 1. Take Care of Yourself to Take Care of Your Students. I have a friend who is an elementary teacher at a Tile 1 School. She is very successful and is often given the most difficult kids to deal with. After spending a weekend with her this fall, I asked her on the drive home if she was worried about getting home late and if she still had papers to grade. She explained to me that she does not typically assign homework to the students, unless they did not use the class time to complete the assignment, and she corrects the assignments in class with the students. She has one of the most balanced lifestyles I know and her students benefit from that.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the quote "be consistent but flexible, love them unconditionally but hold them accountable" to which I would add the Russian Proverb made famous by Ronald Reagan, "trust, but verify."
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ReplyDeleteOne principle that is important to me is building relationships with my students. We are fortunate to work in an environment where we see our students and interact with them more than in a traditional setting. I have even told students they are in the English lab so many hours I see them more than my own kids:) Building those relationships is crucial for what we do and the demographic we work with.
ReplyDeleteOne principle I would add is body language. How you carry ourselves says a lot to our students. Are you crossing your arms when a student is talking to you? Do you pat them on the back? Are you approachable or are you closed off? Do you look at students in the eye when they are talking? Students can feel the energy from another person and tell if it is positive or negative.
Rules and policies are crucial to outline classroom management, but I have found that focusing on building relationships has been the most important principle of outstanding management style. Not only should teachers get to know students academically but we should also know our students socially. I have found in the past focusing on content knowledge without spending time on building rapport with students has created several disruptive days. Learning doesn’t happen without relationships. Once you have built a relationship with students they tend to respect you and what you have to say more than someone who hasn’t attempted to get to know them. One way we can form relationships with students is to share a bit about ourselves with them, and create opportunities for them to share with us will make a great difference with classroom management.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the most important of these principles is building relationships with students. Building relationships with students helps them see that we care. This article made me think of a piece of advice my one professor gave to educators "You need to find something you like about each student." When I have focused on the approach of finding something positive in each student, it helps me look at the student differently even when they are being disruptive. It helps me have a more positive reaction, which in turn creates a more positive environment and well-managed classroom.
ReplyDeleteSo much of what we do focuses on building relationships. We do an amazing job developing connections with our students. We bend over backwards to accommodate their needs and foster encouragement, especially when students are struggling in their personal lives.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, setting rules, boundaries, and expectations—and then following through with them—is also important to me. The rules need to be communicated up front and then consistent applied. Boundaries need to be established and enforced, including simple one such as whatever is on the teacher’s desk belongs to the teacher and should not be touched, borrowed, or played with. Expectations need to be laid out and students need to be encouraged to not only reach for them, but meet them. To me, expectations are similar to hurdles. They may seem high, yet set properly, students can sour over them and feel successful.
It is up to us as teachers and staff members to communicate, enforce, and encourage constantly. Providing a nurturing environment with a solid, consistent framework for proper behavior and academic success is crucial, especially for students whose home life is anything but stable and loving.
I've been thinking about these different points here and I feel like a lot of them can be taken to heart. I've been thinking about myself in terms of what I can do here and lately I can relate to Jessica where she is putting in the work, but her performance can suffer from not taking care of herself. I feel like this is something to work on as I do notice when I am well rested it is easier to manage the classes. Besides that, what can I think helps the most is building relationships. The students who I have the best relationships with are the ones I have less trouble with. even a student who is habitually, difficult, for many teachers, can more easily be plied into doing what you want more often if they have a good relationship with you and feel a mutual respect the " could you please go back to your seat" is more often met with a yes, than a no, when you have a good relationship with them. While I think this is of the utmost importance, it cannot be the only factor to make thing work, each of the parts listed plays its roll. Having set guidelines falls into building relationships because you then need the expectations to be active in the relationship with the students.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been pondering on this and after much deliberation (thinking, thinking, thinking...mmm….) I’ve come to the conclusion that all 5 of these principles are important and work best when they are interwoven. Granted there are times when one relies more on one principle than the others, but to build a classroom environment in which all will thrive requires the implementation of a solid set of expectations that focuses on respecting others and providing an environment in which all can learn. Since we are working with people it is just natural that relationship building will occur. As far as contacting parents, there are two schools of thought on this. The first is that home and school should be connected, “it takes a village to raise a child.” I, as a parent, want to know what is happening with my child at school and expect the school to contact me if my child has a problem at school or something that should be addressed or supported at home. I don’t want to find out weeks later after the situation has become “bigger” than it needs to be. However, not all parents agree with this or can deal with this. For example, years ago I had a very active ADHD student who had a lot of difficulties at school. I was working with the “resource room” teacher, counselor, social worker and the mother. One day I called his (exhausted) mother and informed her of some of the things that were occurring at school. Her reply to me was simply stated, “I understand that he is my child but you’re his teacher and he’s with you right now. I don’t call you on the weekends when he refuses to listen to me and ask you to deal with his behavior.” This made an impact on me and changed the way I dealt with student misbehavior, it was at this point I implemented behavior contracts and tweaked my system of rewards/consequences.
ReplyDeleteOne final thought, though all are important I think the foundation is appropriately stated as #1 in the article, Taking care of yourself to take care of your students. I learned this as a 1st year teacher, with no prep and teaching 7 ½ different classes (1 split). The human body and brain can only handle so much stress and requires a certain amount of rest, relaxation, and care. I also relearned this as a new mom. A rested person is more likely to be proactive rather than reactive. A rested person is also more likely to make better decisions and be able to “shake-off” the small stuff, sometimes even with a laugh. So I guess taking care of yourself to take care of your students does play a slightly stronger role so that the other principles are better implemented because better thought out decisions are made.
I come from a very different teaching background then many of the teachers here. The type of training that I have focuses on building relationships with the students. I have always said that if a student likes and respects you they will try to do well in your class even if they hate the subject (math). Since I have this type of relationship with many of my students it is easier for me to set rules, boundaries and expectations. I receive many comments on how well the students work for me but not in the other labs. I believe that this goes back to building a relationship with each of my students.
ReplyDeleteOf the five principles mentioned, I found #4 to be the most interesting for me. Trying to "find ways to make your hardest kid your favorite kid" is great advice. Also the section regarding cultural differences and the role they play in our expectations is very meaningful.
ReplyDeleteI feel that all of these principles are important in classroom management but I have to say that setting rules, boundaries, and expectations are an important part of the beginning of the school year. I always work with my students to clarify structure so they are successful. We work together to come up with guidelines (don’t like the word rules) and all agree to comply as a group. Many students will hold their classmates responsible if things aren’t going well or if someone is not following the class guidelines. Each class is different and therefore the guidelines are different. Students are more successful when they know what is expected and that the class environment is safe for them.
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