Classroom Management

Hello Instructors,
I wanted to introduce you to the Urban Harvest After School Blog, and write a few words about classroom management.

1. Get off to a good start.The first "honeymoon" encounter between the teacher and the students is when they formulate their impressions of the teacher. Students sit quietly, raise their hands to respond and are generally well behaved. The teacher is easily misled into thinking that this is an ideal class and may relax their vigilance. It is during this period that the effective teacher will establish the expected ground-rules for classroom behavior.

2. Learning School Policies.Prior to meeting the class for the first time, the teacher should become familiar with school policies concerning acceptable student behavior and disciplinary procedures. The teacher should definitely know what the school expects from both student and teacher in regard to discipline.

3. Establishing Rules.Establish a set of classroom rules to guide the behavior of students at once. Discuss the rationale of these rules with the students to ensure they understand and see the need for each rule. Keep the list of rules short. (Establish an clear reward and punishment process. This will keep disruptive behavior from taking too much time away from your lesson.)

4. Overplaning Lessons."Overplan" the lessons for the first week or two. It is important for the teacher to impress on the students from the outset that he or she is organized. (If you don't provide clear direction and activities for your students, they will come up with their own activities- and you probably won't be happy with the results.)

5. Learning Names. Calling a student by his or her name early in the year gives the student an increased sense of well being. It also gives a teacher greater control of situations. "JOHN, stop talking and finish your work" is more effective than "Let us stop talking and finish our work". (Becky Blanton lent me a book entitled The Morning Meeting Book that bases its practices on the early childhood model of beginning each day with circle time. During this time students greet each other by name and share an idea, like "what would it be like if you went through a metamorphosis?" or "what do you think a decomposers does?" This practice focuses the class, establishes procedure, helps the teacher learn names, and acknowledges the social and emotional needs of the student).

6. Be Firm and Consistent.A teacher can be firm yet still be supportive and friendly with students. A firm teacher can provide an environment where the students feel safe and secure. Many teachers report that it is easier to begin the year in a firm manner and relax later, than to begin in a lax manner and then try to become firm.