Classroom Management Main Page - EDEL 414 - EDSE 415
Maria C. Rodado
EDEL 414
Wednesday Class
Spring Quarter-2002
A.
Theoretical Introduction
My philosophy on classroom management
is a very simple one, first and most important, each teacher creates the
weather in the classroom. Haim
Ginott’s most famous and powerful quote describes exactly how I feel about this
topic. It has touched my heart because I feel that if teachers around the world
could read and reflect on this powerful words,
the word “education” would have
a more positive meaning in student’s lives.
I
have come to a frightening conclusion.
I
am the decisive element in the classroom.
It
is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It
is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As
a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or
joyous.
I
can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I
can humiliate or humor, hurt, or heal.
In
all situations, it is my response that decides a crisis
will
be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized.
I strongly believe
that teachers can make or brake a student.
As a student I remember a teacher humiliating me, which in turn, it
scard me for life. Did she know what she was doing? Did she know her words would effect me for life? Did she mean to
hurt me? Most likely the answer is “no” to all those questions. I will never
know; but what I do know, is that most of us remember the negative things said
to us, not the positive ones.
That is why I
strongly emphasize that the teacher’s mood is the number one source of a
positive or negative classroom management.
Assumptions
the nature of young people and learning
I believe that each
child has the right to an education no matter what economic situation he/she
may have. I also believe that teachers
should not be biased based on a family’s history, country of origin, where the
neighborhood is, and siblings. We are all unique individuals and we all deserve
unique treatment. Each child if given
the opportunity will learn because a very important tool that we all possess is
curiosity. All a child needs is a
little motivation and a sense of love and belonging in their classroom,
respect, and understanding from both parents and teachers. I strongly believe that education begins at
home. Parents need to model good behavior,
they need to be strict, yet fair, be involved in their child’s
education/activities, and work with their child’s teacher to achieve goals
faster.
Theorists
that clarify my perspective
After reading and
learning from different theorists, I found myself taking bits and pieces from
all, which I’ve found very helpful in my teaching technique. But I want to focus on Jacob Kounin, Lee and
Marlene Canter, and Haim Ginott, which are the three theorists that I agree the
most with.
I agree with Kounin
because according to his theory, the focus of classroom management should
entail the following: 1) well-organized and well-presented lessons, 2)
classroom arrangement should provide for movement in the room, 3) teacher
providing attention to all students simultaneously, and 4) having smooth
transition from one lesson to another.
In my classroom, I will always need to have a well-organized and
presented lesson. If I don’t, I’ve lost my student’s interest which in turn it
will create behavior problems. Besides behavior problems, most seriously, I
have just cheated my student from learning.
Also having smooth transitions from one lesson to another is very
important. I will be very aware of not jumping from one subject to another. There has to be a time for the students to
absorb all the material that they just learned. What I plan to do is to have
the students talk about what they just learned and what is the purpose of that
lesson. Once the students have had time to talk about that particular lesson
and subject then I’ll proceed to the next lesson. I always believed that teachers needed to have eyes in the back
of their heads. I find that Kounin
refers to this as Withitness. As soon as my students knew that I possessed this
trait, they stayed on task and rarely gave me problems.
I agree with the
Canter’s central focus: showing educators how to establish a classroom climate
were students’ needs are met, behavior is humanely managed, and the classroom
learning occurs as planned. I agree
with their central focus because in my classrooms I’ve always created a very
homey atmosphere. Students always felt a sense of belonging and this created a
safe-learning environment. Again, the
Canter’s as well as Kounin agree on having well planned and organized lessons.
The Canter’s agree
on giving positive (rewards) and negative (penalties) consequences. In my classroom, I always make sure that
students know the consequences before they brake a rule. The rewards I like to give are usually
verbal, facial expressions. I might
surprise them with a sticker or pencil but I don’t accept if they expect a gift
for good behavior. Students should
behave properly because it’s their responsibility, it’s a human value that they
must practice for the rest of their lives. One good fact to remember is that an
effective teacher remains in control of the classroom environment and remembers
their principle duty is to help students learn and behave. I always remember
this when students are at their worst behavior.
Haim Ginott’s
fundamental principle is one that I agree with the most. He emphasized that
when teachers speak to children they must always address the situation, not the
character of the child. He argued that
discipline problems diminish when teachers show concern for students’ feelings
and teachers are aware that their comments greatly affect the students’ self
image. I plan to use Ginott’s principle
because I believe that respect is the number one key to success. My students always knew that I cared for
them and they knew I would never hurt them.
They knew I was very strict and demanded discipline but at the same time
they knew that no matter what they did, I always wanted the best for them and
would never disrespect them. I used congruent and sane messages. I always treated my students how I wanted to
be treated. Honestly, I never had
serious behavior problems. I gained my
student’s respect by continuously modeling behavior and respect toward them. People will always pay you with the same
token! Another excellent principal that
Ginott mentions is that “WHY” questions do not initiate inquiry, but instead
cause a feeling of guilt in students. I will always remember Ginott for this, I
will definitely not use “why” questions.
There’s a better and smarter way to get the same information from a
student if you just paraphrase words. I agree when Ginott as he states that
students’ self-discipline does not occur overnight, but is a process that grows
as teachers treat students humanely and with respect.
B. Expectations/Policies/Rules/Boundaries
Expectation of students/Rules
·
All my students are to use and keep in
mind one word: respect.
·
Students are to treat others as they want
to be treated.
·
I expect nothing short of their best
effort.
·
Never use this words, “I cant.”
·
Believe in themselves and their dreams, I
want them to know that anything is possible with imagination.
·
Raise their hand
·
Be neat and organized
Expectations of classroom climate/Boundaries
My classroom climate
I expect to be very homey. All students will feel in a safe-learning environment. Everyone in the classroom will feel a sense
of belonging and will know that their teacher and peers loves them very
much. Students will be in groups of
four to six children. The will raise their hands whenever they want to
talk. They are not to get up from their
seat to wonder around. There will not be any pencil sharpening, if they need to
sharpen their pencil they are to go and trade their pencil for a new one. Each student will have a job for the entire
week, this will give them a sense of responsibility. As I mentioned before, students will respect each other which
means there will be no name calling, no making fun of anything that would hurt
people, and always help their peers in any way they can.
There will not be
any tattle tell in the classroom. If they need to express an opinion or tell me
something that happened, they can write it down on a piece of paper and put it
in the “chisme” box. I will read them at the end of the day (or during lunch).
C. Instructional
and Assessment Strategies that Promote your Management Goals
What do you do as an instructor that meets student’s
academic needs?
I believe that in
order to have a good classroom management, we need to implement the five basic
human needs: power, love, competence, freedom, and fun. Once this basic needs are in progress then I
will meet the student’s academic needs by following the district’s curriculum.
I will follow the appropriate grade standards.
I’ll describe the five basic needs we will use throughout the year. Power: we need to feel that we have some
control over our destiny. As teachers
we can give students choices, responsibility for aspects of the class, student
rights. Love: every one of us wants to
feel loved, we want to feel that we belong and are wanted. As teachers we can
show love by truly showing each student that we care. Teachers can give a word
of praise, recognize unique qualities and talents, and create an emotionally
safe and homey environment. Competence:
we need to feel a sense of self-efficacy. Teachers can give students a greater
sense of competence by focussing on progress not on products, recognize
incremental achievement, and help students achieve their goals. Freedom: we
need to feel that we have freedom of choice. Teachers can help students through
supporting autonomy and creativity. And last but not least, fun: we need to
have fun and express ourselves. Teachers can provide opportunities to play, to
create, and to let the student engage in a fun activity of choice.
What do you do as an instructor to prevent students’ need to
act out?
To prevent students
from acting out, I intend to have well, interesting and fun planned
lessons. My students will feel in a
very homey environment where they will feel comfortable to express themselves.
They’ll know that I care for them and I want only their best. I will be very
strict, yet loving. They will know the consequences for good and bad
behavior.
How does your assessment promote your management goals?
My assessment promotes my management goals in that student
behavior will show me if I need to change or modify goals. If lessons are at
fault, then I need to improve the quality of lessons in order to improve
classroom management. I will be on top
of things. I will use Kounin’s withitness (eyes in the back of my head),
momentum (activities will get started promptly), and if I need to re-teach a
lesson, so be it. Students become tired
and bored with anything given too much of it. I will keep students alert and
eager by showing enthusiasm, and a variety of activities and materials. I will
observe student’s reactions and this will tell me how well I’m doing as a
teacher.
How do you allow for variable styles, cultures and circumstances in meeting the diverse needs of your students?
I
will keep in mind that we are all unique and we all learn differently. Some of
us are visual learners while others are not. I will use manipulatives to make
math more interesting for some. My
students will be aware of the multi-cultural richness that we have here in
Southern California. I want to make them aware of different cultures and they
will learn and respect each one. I’m Colombian married to a Korean, what better
example of a multi-cultural couple? Respect and appreciation are the key
words. I will be very aware of
different cultural discipline strategies. For example, I want children to look
at me in the eyes when I speak, but keeping in mind that I wouldn’t reprimand
someone from Mexico because that means disrespect in their culture. Students
are never to look directly at the teacher. I will keep in mind that we all have
our needs, our beliefs, and our unique style of learning.
D. Motivation
What motivates students in the Short-term and Long-term?
In
my opinion rewards and punishment are used to motivate students in the short term.
It’s human instinct to behave good or bad depending of the pros and cons.
Students become concerned only with getting rewards, not with learning or
behaving desirably. What motivates students in the long-term is responsibility
and choice. When students are not given
power, the common internal reaction is to be withdrawn. The power to choose
their actions and consequences motivates students to be themselves and feel a
sense of freedom.
How do I plan to motivate my students?
I believe that what motivates my
students is the enthusiasm that I put as I introduce a lesson or activity. The teacher creates the weather in the
classroom. If I’m positive, my children will be positive, if I’m sad, bored or
uninterested, my students will feel those feelings as well. I plan to surprise
my students with stickers, table points, and snacks to help motivation stand at
its best. Students will feel in a safe environment, meaning they won’t be
afraid to express their opinions. They will care for each other because we are
all one big family. They will know that we treat each other with respect and
admiration. I will show positive
recognition to students who are on task and behave appropriately with regards
to class expectations. If I see that
they are on task and doing their best, I will use a verbal praise or give good
behavior/effort awards. Students will be motivated to always do their best. I
know they’ll be motivated because they will pick up my positive energy through
body language and smiley face. When you smile, it changes the whole mood of a
place.
How
do you characterize your approach?
I characterize my approach as following
Lee and Marlene Canter’s Assertive Discipline and Haim Ginott’s Congruent
Communication. The Canter’s method
involves strategies that help teachers interact with students in a calm,
helpful, and consistent matter.
Ginott’s method directs attention to the student’s effort instead of
describing the student.
E.
Vision
It is a beautiful morning, the sun is
shining through the four big and tall classroom windows. From outside we can see that the walls are filled with
student work. There’s one particular wall with their picture and a little story
about who they are, what they believe and what their goals are. The second
grade children are lined up, eager to get into the classroom. I approach them and we all say “good
morning” with lots of hugs. I wait for them to line up and quiet down, I open
the door to our classroom and the day begins. We wave good-bye to the parents
that have accompanied their children. As we come in the classroom there’s a
wonderful fragrance and there’s classical music playing softly. The music’s in the background as the
children are putting their bagpacks away and settling into their chair with
homework on top of their desk. They quietly sit until all students have sat
down. I turn off the music and greet all of them again. We talk about anything
they would like to share, any event that happened the night before, or we talk
about the homework. Each student has a job for the week and we express our
thanks for a job well done. I give them any school news, or remind them of
different activities that the school might have for the day. We do the flag salute
and proceed to do the calendar, and for this I have a volunteer that would like
to be the reporter (weather person) for the day. He/she announces what day it
is, and the climate for the day. Every
child knows the exact schedule of the day. They have a little schedule posted
on their desk. It reads as follows:
8:15- 8:30 Welcome/News
8:30-8:50 Journal Writing
8:50-9:45 Reading/Comprehension
9:45-10:00 Recess
10:00-10:45 Math
10:45-11:25 Science/Social Studies
11:25-11:30 Wash hands
11:30-12:10 Lunch
12:10-1:10 English
1:10-1:40 Computers/Library (depending
on the day of the week)
1:40-2:10 Music/P.E
2:10-2:40 Go over homework last night’s
homework/Questions?
2:40-2:45 Clean up
2:45 Dismissal
My students know exactly what the day
looks like. They know that on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays they need to wear
sneakers because we have P.E.
My students enjoy being organized, and
they love to stay on task. The curriculum is very rich because it includes a
variety of subjects, including music and P.E.
All students take care of each other; we
are all a big family. We help the ones that need us, we respect each
individual, and we never hurt each other in any way. My students are goal achievers, and very positive because they
believe in themselves. They respect me
because they have manners but most importantly, because they have high human
values and morals. The parents are
involved in their child’s education and from time to time, they volunteer in
the classroom.
As it gets closer to dismissal, we go
over our homework. Students learn from
their mistakes, they correct their own paper.
Each student has a job as the time gets closer to clean up. Some jobs include: fixing the library,
cleaning the living/reading room, erasing the board, watering the plants,
passing out papers, etc. The table leaders make sure that there’s no trash around
the floor and that all chairs are up. Line-leaders line up and the rest of
students follow. The room looks sparkling clean and very organized. I give my students a hug for good bye and I’ll
tell them that I can’t wait to see them tomorrow. The day has been a successful
one because there was no time wasting. The lessons ran smoothly. If there’s
something that they didn’t understand, I’ll re-teach the lesson again. I love
my students and I want the best for them. That is what a typical day will look
like very soon.