Last
class we talked about classroom management strategies. We were able to hear
from a panel of teachers who gave us their opinions on strategies that should
be utilized in the classroom. It was nice to have the opportunity to hear the
many diverse techniques that can be used to manage classrooms. One thing that
stood out to me from the panel, was the advice to create non-negotiable rules and
to stick to them. I think this is something that I need to remember in my
future classroom. In other experiences that I have had such as babysitting, or
educating the new members in my sorority, I have found that I sometimes feel
bad and let the rules slide in certain scenarios. I know I need to work on this
because if I were to do this in my class students would notice and possibly
take advantage.
Another thing that stuck with me
from the panel was explaining the purpose behind non-negotiable rules in the
classroom. One teacher mentioned that she does not tolerate profanity in her
classroom. What impressed me was that she went on to explain that she enlightens
her students on the reasons why she has this rule in place. She explains to her
students that swearing is not a good habit to get into because you never know
who is sitting in front of you. This allows students to see the purpose behind
the rule within a real life context. This made me think back to the rules in
high school that I never agreed with during my four years there, such as the
tardy policy, dress code, hat/ hood rules, etc. Specifically, I never
understood why I was penalized for being only 5-10 minutes late to school. Looking
back, I think if my teachers would have taken a moment to relate these rules to
a real life context, I may have better understood the reasoning for them. If
they explained to me that it is not acceptable to be late in the working world
or even in college classrooms, and that teachers are seriously affected by late
comers, I probably would have realized the importance of being punctual.
My impression of classroom
management techniques are that they are something that varies from teacher to
teacher, and even from each teacher’s own multiple classrooms. I have been
making note of all the different management techniques that have been described
to me, and that I have seen in practice from observations. I believe that once
I teach my first lesson I will have a better idea on what strategies I prefer to
use to manage my classroom.
http://www.honorlevel.com/x47.xmlAnother
I really like that you put an emphasis on the purpose of rules. I was not late to school often, but I was late for karate class and I was often penalized... but the reality of it was that my mother would be doing other things and she would cause me to be late. I was told over and over that this was an excuse, but I couldn't drive and I was often late. I'm sure that some students have trouble getting rides to school, or have other things that cause them to be late. I understand the importance of being late, but I also think as a teacher I would want to know why the student is late. If their situation is out of their control, I feel that they should not be penalized for it. Just like in the real world if your car breaks down or you get stuck in traffic, you explain that to your boss or professor and they understand. Our rules should teach our students responsibility, keep all students safe and reflect the "real world" or college life as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteHi Carina,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed listening to the teachers talk about their non-negotiables during the panel. I was even staring some of their examples to maybe implement in my future classroom. And, I completely agree that the non-negotiables need to be explained and spelled out for the students so that there is no confusion or rule bending behind the non-negotiables. I’m like you in the sense that if I establish rules for something I may bend them a little to be nice or make it easier on me, but now I have learned that if I spell out the non-negotiables and enforce them once, I need to enforce them all the time.