I feel like classroom management is always a difficult topic to talk about because I think teachers often feel like they can't say they are not fantastic at it without being judged. I run a classroom where students learn and are interactive, but they have been chattier and more off task this week. This leads me to a discussion on classroom management.
I feel that perhaps I didn't do enough initially to set the tone in the classroom because I was trying to develop a good relationship with my students. I know that both expectations and relationships can be developed, but at times it feels like all that comes secondary to planning good curriculum. A student threw something small at another student yesterday and due to this I have decided that routines and work time needs to be valued more heavily in my classroom - starting today. The problem is, I still want kids to enjoy coming to my classroom, but I need them to take classroom rules more seriously. I guess my goal is to try to be more concious about my nonverbals in class so that I am encouraging the class to do what I want without having to lecture. I am also going to try to focus on engagement time so that my students always have something to think about.
Ideas/suggestions are always wonderful, but I think that just stating that this will be my current focus helps change my mindset.
I think it is always a fine line and a challenge between making the class an enjoyable place to be and also make it a learning environment. I agree that we want our classes to be enjoyable and welcoming, and also not feeling like we have to teach them the content as well. I have learned a great deal from colleagues about setting up a safe environment in class--and then students feel like they can learn. Students do value clear and sometimes more strict rules. Even though as teachers we may feel that we are not creating relationships when we are strict--in many senses we can create better relationships because expectations are more clear. Does that make sense? Thanks so much for your honest post, Connie, I have been wondering the same questions. And I think it is a ripe area for discussion about classroom management.
ReplyDeleteAre there others out there with the same challenges and questions?
I agree classroom management is always a challenging subject and an important one! It is something I am constantly working on too and if something isn't working I try and change it. What I think is interesting is that every class can be different too! I have one class this year with students that are extremely chatty! I had to take a few days extra days to go more in depth about talking expectations in class. They are a class I feel like I have to be more "strict" with otherwise it can get out of control pretty easily. I think you gain confidence in classroom management the longer you teach, but depending on students and class dynamics, I think it will always be something you reevaluate and change/adapt.
ReplyDeleteI completely share your thoughts/concerns on classroom management. I really make it a point to make my class one that students enjoy coming to...mostly because I think learning will follow. I overhear students all the time talking negatively about specific teachers who I know don't have very many discipline problems because they run a classroom where rules are valued over building relationships (at least that's the appearance). The consequence of that is that students don't like going to that class everyday. I tell myself that I don't want to become that teacher. Not because I want everyone to like me, but because I strongly believe that kids will learn more in a room that they want to come to everyday. So I guess what I am saying is that I don't think it is a situation where we should be completely to one end(valuing rules vs environment)...and that somewhere in the middle is a good place to be.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a tough balance! I know you Connie and know that you would do anything for your students, no matter how frustrating they are:) I think the best advice I got was when I started teaching a new class to be meaner than nice. I was told "You can always get nicer, just not meaner."
ReplyDelete