Working through my student teaching, I have learned that classroom management is essential in any classroom. I’ve been teaching since October so I feel like I have some classroom management routines set in place but I am always looking for new ways to add to my classroom management.
In the article, “What I Do When Things Go Awry”, the author talks about her classroom plan. The first thing she talks about is getting to know the students. I think this is incredibly important. During my student teaching, I was able to observe my classroom and build a relationship with students right away. This was incredibly helpful because when I started teaching I was put at an advantage of already knowing what works for my students.
In the article, “Classroom Management… Or Should It Be Mismanagement?”, the author has a classroom management plan that revolves around no posted rules. This interests me because as teachers, we are so dependent on what our students do and learn that we sometimes feel like we need that control. The whole purpose of the classroom with no rules is playing off of the morals of the students and ensuring that they know right from wrong. I could see this working in an older classroom because at that age, the students should know the difference between right and wrong but with younger students, they are still learning exactly what is appropriate and what is not.
In the article, “A Kinder, Slower, More Receptive Approach to the Start of School.” Ripp talks about some non-traditional ways to connect with students. I wanted to add this to my classroom management post because I believe that forming positive relationships are essential to successful classroom management. First off, it is important to be yourself. When students see that you are an actual human, they are more receptive to talk to you and be comfortable. It is also important to decorate your room and enjoy the time you have with your class. These are our students but they are also our friends. We spend almost every day together!
The final article I am going to include in this post is “Three Strategies to Jumpstart Classroom Relationships”. Like I said above, relationships with students are incredibly important for the classroom. In this article, the technique McComb is using is writing letters to students. This allows for that first contact to be positive. It can be something that is individualized to the student and it allows the teacher to step out of the “teacher” position and become just another friend.
Overall, there are 101 ways to classroom management. In my opinion, the first step is building relationships with students. This is the first stepping stone to a successful classroom. When relationships are built, then we can determine what ways to do about more classroom management.
Resources:
https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2015/10/02/classroom-relationships/
http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com/2013/08/classroom-management-or-should-it-be_30.html
http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-i-do-when-things-go-awry.html
Rachel's Mind 