Chapter 12: Classroom Management

by April

I thought this chapter had a lot of important tips for teachers regarding classroom management. I was relieved to see that I already did many of the "effective teacher" techniques in my past teaching experiences. I'm a huge believer that follow-through is one key in changing student's behavior. I've seen parents and teachers make empty threats that they would never follow through on and after a while, children begin to see that their adult won't follow through and they completely ignore instruction. For example, I remember at one point hearing a parent say, "If you don't come here right now, you will not have lunch today." Ok seriously, no parent (at least I hope) is actually going to deny their child lunch as a punishment. I also learned that if you choose to make heavy punishments, you had better follow through on them no matter how hard it is to do so. For example, we had a loft in my classroom and the rules were that it was only a place for resting quietly and reading. Toys were not allowed and standing was not allowed. My afternoon class continually chose to ignore my instructions and reminders and so I finally told them, "If you choose to take toys in the loft one more time, I will close the loft for the next two weeks." They did not follow my instruction and therefore they lost two weeks in the loft. For two weeks I listened to them whine and complain about not being able to go into the loft, but I had to be willing to follow through regardless. I always try to think of the possible consequences before I let students know how I'm going to respond if they choose to misbehave.

I especially liked the section about empathetic listening. It's easy to get frustrated with students when you are teaching because there are so many things going on at once and you are responsible for managing them all. I know how easy it is to react to students rather than listening and trying to seek the real reason for the problem. The example in the book about the boy who said he hated the book was a great one. That teacher could have done any of the wrong things listed on page 468, and I know I've done some of those things from time to time. In this example, however, the teacher asked questions and sought the reason behind the students response. Not only was she then able to help the student, their relationship was improved as the teacher showed respect for the student. I need to remind myself daily to slow down and listen and seek understanding so I'm not just reacting.