Rodney Colley 1
November 18, 2014
EDUC-370
Classroom Management Model
In any school you go into it is important that there is a relationship between the staff that
allows everyone to work together in order to successfully educate the students. It is the teachers'
job to enforce both the school’s rules and their own. Within the school system itself, it is
imperative to have an appropriate behavior management system in place for students to know
exactly what is expected of them in school and in the community. Appropriate classroom
behavior is easy to monitor by looking at two categories: Students involvement in learning
activities, and student compliance with classroom rules and procedures. (Evertson & Emmer,
2013) The whole idea behind this model is to ensure that students know the manner in which
they are expected to act in school and the consistency in procedures given by the teachers.
Classroom management is delicate and requires a lot of moving parts in order for it to
work smoothly. First let's take a look at the student's home life. I feel that it is the teacher’s job
to reach out to the parents in the opening weeks of the school year and touch base often to make
sure everyone is on the same page in terms of how to approach the child’s education. Teacher
should let the student's caregivers know that they are in this together and start to devise a plan in
order to help the students be as successful as possible.
During the school day the child needs to be in the least restrictive environment and given
the proper accommodations to strive in the classroom. Teachers should assess each student
individually so that they will be able to create an individualized plan for them to succeed. I think
that when you are going over what you want out of a classroom you have to take a step back and
think about what the students are going though and what they have gone through. Everyone has
a story and there is no such thing as a “bad child” but a bad situation or environment in which
they have come from. As the teacher it is your job to provide a safe/comfortable environment for
your students.
There are multiple articles written about “dealing” with problems in the classrooms, well
shouldn’t you just sit the “problem” down? It seems like today people just want to contain the
students who cause problems or just ignore them until they act out again. I feel like it is way
more effective to talk to the student and build a relationship with them even using the 2x10
strategy that we talked about in class. When in an unfamiliar situation with people I know who
are on my side, I am much more likely to succeed. That’s what a lot of the students with
behavioral issues need, someone on their side to push them and guide them along in their
education.
Like Harry Wong said, “The most important day of a person's education is the first day of
school, not Graduation Day.” (Wong, 2001) I am all about building relationships and giving
students the proper tools to become successful in the classroom. There needs to be structure and
classroom rules agreed upon by the students so that they have a sense of ownership of what goes
on in the class. I could even see myself using a social contract similar to the one Curwin and
Mendler used in their book Discipline with Dignity. Even though it seemed like their book was
geared more toward older grades and I am going to be an elementary school teacher, it is still
crucial to protect the younger student’s dignity as well. In my classroom we will have clear cut
rules and procedures that we will discuss as a class so that students know exactly what is
expected of them.
Aside from establishing classroom rules and guidelines, I would want the class to come
together and help distinguish what would be appropriate classroom goals for that year. And
because I would have younger students in my classroom, I would have posters up around the
room showing the rules and procedures to help my students remember what is expected of them.
The poster would have things like:
•
What to do when first coming into classroom
•
What signal will be given to get their attention
•
What to do if they need pencil sharpened
•
What to do when they want to speak
•
What to do when they need to go to the restroom
•
How we would enter/leave the classroom
•
Classroom jobs etc.
The posters can change as the school year goes on to form to our class to help us be successful,
but there will also be consequences for the child if rules are broken. For example, the first time
offenders will be reminded of the rules, the second time the student will have to write down the
rule they broke and why, third will be missing 5 minutes of recess to complete unfinished work,
then the fourth rule violation will be a call home. In addition if a student misbehaves, we will
write on the board “HOMEWORK” where they will get a letter for every missed assignment as a
class. If the whole class completes the eight-letter word by Friday then they will have homework
to do over the weekend, in hopes to get everyone to hold each other accountable to do their work.
The point system will reset daily and if the class earns enough points by doing their work and not
violating rules then at the end of the month we would have a “Fun Friday," which would suggest
having recess in the classroom with an educational video, board games and snacks. If a student
was to lose their Fun Friday they would be able to earn it back by not violating rules and making
sure all of their work is completed. The purpose of all this is to get students excited to do their
assignments knowing that they have something to work towards and if they do have a day where
their behavior was subpar they would be able to turn it around to be able to take part in "Fun
Friday's."
To prevent misbehavior in my classroom I would talk directly to the parents to try and
create consistency between home and school. I read that, “Students with more serious behavior
problems benefit from the consistent use of reinforcement and mild consequences across home
and school settings.” (Warger & Associates, 1999) Building off of this idea inside the class I
would make sure to reward the actions not the students after talking with the guardians for an
appropriate plan of action. Also I think that it is important to have engaging lessons so that
students are more willing to stay focused in the classroom. In addition to building relationships
with the students and not damaging their dignity, I will do my best to make sure they feel
comfortable and are given the best opportunity to learn.
References
Everson, C. M., & Emmer, E. T. (2013). Classroom management for elementary
teachers.(9th ed.).
New Jersey:
Pearson.
Warger, E., & Associates. (1999). Prevention strategies that work: what
to promote positive student behavior. U.S. Department
administrators can do
of Education , 1-20.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001). How to be an effective teacher on the first day of
Harry K. Wong Publications.
school.