One of our very first assignments of the semester was to create our own classroom expectations and a list of consequences. I have learned that these need to presented on the very first day and each student needs to completely understand what each one means. You can easily refer back to those expectations when a behavior arises. Simply telling students "Let's look back at our classroom expectations, are you being respectful of everyone right now?" This is a good way to remind them and all students of what everyone is expected to do in your classroom. The second part is consequences. Usually a warning or referral back to the expectations would be a good first consequence but after that they will need to line up with school rules unless your school gives you the freedom to have your own consequences in your room. Either way, an important thing to remember is that consequences are not meant to show how harsh of punishment you as a teacher can give. With both expectations and consequences presented very clear and right at the beginning will help the rest of year run much more smooth.
Another great way to keep a class under control is to have exciting and engaging lessons. If the students are so interested in what they are learning, then there should not be many issues with students acting out. We all know that if we our attention is focused on something really fun and interesting, we are less likely to think about things such as how can I act out in class.
When my students are too engaged to misbehave!
Finally, we as teachers need to make sure that we are completely consistent when we do enforce our consequences. Students will never respect you if you let one person off for a behavior that someone else did earlier and go in trouble for. We have all seen this happen at one point in our lives. Where the "bad kid" of the class will do something and get sent to the office for it but if a "good student" did the exact same thing, they just get a warning. The first time that you let this happen as a teacher, your students immediately realize that the expectations and consequences mean nothing. Set your rules and stick to them!
Macy, is there any particular classroom situation that you are afraid to deal with? Has your cooperating teacher warned you or made you aware of anything?
ReplyDeleteMacy! I love your last sentence, "Set your rules and stick to them." This is something that I incorporated in my blog so that I am being fair to all my students. Some other items I talked about are making sure I NEVER embarrass a student and knowing when it is time to make a call home. Are you worried that as a student-teacher you will not be given the same respect as the actual teacher and more behavioral problems will occur?
ReplyDeleteThe best administrators are consistent when it comes to discipline. So are the best teachers. Students will respect you when you follow through. Your post demonstrates that you are wise beyond your years! What are the expectations that you plan to implement?
ReplyDeleteMacy, I really like how you plan to continuously refer back to classroom expectations with students to help them take ownership of their behavior. What classroom management challenge are you most worried about? Your strong and positive commitment to your rules and expectations will help you in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteOh my! I love the memes in your blog post this week. Also, I really like how you emphasized the importance of being firm with your expectations at the beginning, and reminding them throughout the year. It is important to build respect with the students so they understand and participate in your expectations.
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