The ability to manage a classroom is the most important skill a teacher can have. The only classrooms that run smoothly are those that are managed well. In the classroom, students are expected to be given a structure, or a plan, of how the class will run. They want to know what is expected of them, and how they need to behave for a specific teacher. By high school, students understand that each teacher is different, and each may expect different things from their students. Most students want to meet these standards, because they know they need to pass your class for graduation or to get into college. I think most students are learning the material in class to achieve a high grade, rather than to learn and retain the material. However, with a good management plan in place, I believe that students will learn the material as they study, as well as learning implied concepts, such as how to work with others, and the importance of respect and courtesy. Especially with implied behaviors, I think repetition is the best way for students to learn them. As they repeat the expected procedures in your classroom, it will become second nature to them, and they will start using these procedures outside of the classroom.
When I think about management strategies, the first concept I jump to is respect. This is an all-encompassing term; I think that it can be used as a basis for all procedures, and even consequences in a classroom. When two people have respect for each other, they are open to listening to each others’ ideas and opinions. They do not interrupt each other, insult each other, or make each other feel worthless or stupid. I think this is how all relationships in a classroom should be. There is a difference between student-student respect and teacher-student respect, but only because the teacher has an authority position, so they have the final decision or can make the final call on an argument. But that does not mean that the teacher is always right. I think this is something we need to remember, and make sure that when we make decisions, we are choosing the best solution for everyone involved. Teachers should never make their students feel worthless or stupid, nor should they humiliate their students in front of their peers. Students should never insult each other, or interrupt each other when they are talking. Students should also never interrupt the teacher, nor should they make the teacher feel worthless of stupid. Respect is a cycle, and often when one party makes a mistake, the other feels that they no longer need to respect them either. It is important that we do not fall into this cycle because that is when you ability to manage a classroom falls apart.
I do not think my plan has a specific name; it is however, centered around respect, as I mentioned above. In my plan, I would respect my students and my peers and expect my students to in turn respect me and their peers. Each day:
- The students will come in to class, putting away their phones and iPods as they enter
- I will greet them at the door by name, and welcome them to the classroom
- They will sit down and complete the beginning journal assignment quietly in their seats while I take attendance
- If they were absent, they know to go to the absence binder to pick up the work from the day they missed. They will also have a lab/bench partner that they can get the notes from. If they missed a lab, they know that they can come in at lunch or after school (they must make an appointment with me) to make it up within a week of the day they missed.
- For the most part, tardiness will result in students missing the journal entry or turning in homework. Because they will not be interrupting a presentation, there will be no other penalties besides those that will occur from missing assignments. I will make a note however, and if a student is late three times I will have a conversation with them about it. If they continue to come late, I will start taking points off for participation in class (1 point per infraction). If students are tardy and come in after the journal entry is finished, they will not be able to make it up and they will need to see me after class after the first infraction to discuss why they were so late. If it continues, I will call home, and then send the student to the principal.
- After I finish, I will ask them to pass their homework to the center of the classroom, as I will be coming around to pick it up in ten seconds, after which I will count to ten, and start collecting it. People who do not get it in know that they now have to hang on to it until the next late homework collection date
- Once homework is collected and put on my desk, I greet them and maybe mention one or two students I saw in a sports competition the day before
- I introduce the day’s agenda (written on the board before class) and the objectives for the day
- Then I begin the lesson:
- Power point lesson- the students know they must take notes and listen closely. If they are talking to their neighbor, I may go stand by them and lecture, or stop and look at them, waiting for their silence. If the behavior continues, I may ask the class a thought question and go over to the students and quietly ask them if they need to be moved so they can pay attention or if they can stop talking and stay in the same seats. If the behavior still continues, I will move one student to the other side of the room, or up to the front.
- Group work- the students know that they need to stay on task. If they are not working, I will stand near them for a few minutes, and ask how things are going to see if they get back on task. If they do not, I may let them know that they will be presenting their work first, or that if they do not get to the allotted stopping point, I will ask them to stay in at lunch or after to school to catch up to the rest of the class. If there is a student who is not working, I may tell the class that I will be choosing a student at random from each group to talk about what they discovered or what they decided. If the student does not start to participate, I will pull that student aside, and ask them why they are not participating. I might ask if they would rather so the assignment on their own. Hopefully they will cooperate with one of these choices. If they do not, I may ask them to choose between one of those choices or going to spend the period in the principal’s office.
- Group presentations or guest lecturer- The students know that they need to respect their peers and guest lecturers when they are in front of the class. Students will listen attentively and respond appropriately to questions asked. If students are talking, I will go stand next to them. If they do not stop, I will, very quietly, ask one student to move to the back of the class, to sit by me.
- After the lesson, students know that I will dismiss them. They will not pack up their things until I tell them to, and they will not get up to leave until I say “Have a nice day!” or something along those lines, letting them know they can go. If students start packing up early, I will stop and ask everyone to take everything out, and wait for them to do it, and then continue. If students start to get up at the bell, I will ask everyone to return to their seats, and wait for me to dismiss them. The longer it takes them to get back to their seats, the longer I will wait to dismiss them.
- In all cases of repetitive misbehavior, the students will be asked to stay after class so I can talk to them about why they are misbehaving. Is there a specific reason they are acting that way? Is there anything I can do to make appropriate behavior easier? What would be a good motivation for them to behave? What consequences do they believe they deserve if their behavior continues? If, after one such talk, they still are misbehaving, I will call home, and alert the parents to the student’s behavior. I might take the opportunity to find out if anything is going on at home that might be affecting the student, such as their dog dying, a divorce, a new sibling or a friend/significant other issue. If the student still is not behaving, I would go to an administrator and ask for their help with the student.
This plan that I have come up with is a base for how I will earn the students respect. I want them to know that I want to teach them as much as I can because the material is so exciting and fun, but I can only do that if we all respect each other. I want them all to do well, but they hurt themselves and others around them when they misbehave in my class. Especially because I will be teaching tenth graders, I can motivate them with the WASL, or the new test being implemented. I want to help them all pass it, but I can only do that if they follow procedure and respect both me and their peers. All of the ideas I came up will hopefully work, but I do know that I will most likely have to add to this plan as the year progresses, and I discover new strategies that work better, or find alternate consequences that work better for certain students. I know that everything I have talked about will not work for every student, but it is a jumping off point that can be modified to fit student needs. Although I am very nervous for the start of the school year, I am glad that I have some articulation of a plan to keep my class running as smoothly as possible.
