What I've Learned: Classroom Management

I have a very special kind of teaching style. My greatest asset in the classroom has always been my relationship with the students, goofiness, and interactive approach to education. I am very laid back and while I have expectations, they are mostly based on general life expectations that I call “being an adult.” I am not saying I am any kind of an expert on classroom management, but I do want to share some things I have learned and apply in the classroom.

Be an adult.

Like I said, my overarching rule for the classroom is “be an adult.” I have a lovely sign that defines exactly what I believe an adult to be. I make sure to model it to my students every day and when a student is not acting like an adult, that student reads the adult sign out loud to the classroom or (because some students will make sure this happens in order to stall class time), we have a conversation privately about what an adult is and in what way(s) that student was not acting like one.

Because of what I show an adult to be, my other expectations fall into place:

• Common Sense

• Be kind

• Be respectful (to yourself and others)

• Be prepared

All of these I have on signs in my classroom on brightly colored paper with additional “instructions” or what the expectation means (you can find printouts of my signs here).

One huge thing that started helping me with classroom management was consistently referencing these signs in my classroom every time ANYTHING out of line happens. If you read last week's post, you know that my biggest problem is a little too much freedom of speech. I have had classes where I have had to stop and reference the “respeto” sign every five minutes of class (I wish I were kidding). For me this method initially had a slow start, but overtime, the students caught on quickly to my subtle cues and eventually the talking was greatly limited- although there will always be that one student who just really likes to talk- not to their neighbor, to the teacher. Yes, my friends, my students do not like to talk to each other, they like to talk to me.

Electronics.

I have never been a fan of electronics in the classroom. Not because I don’t think they can be useful in education- they 100% are useful- when used correctly. I have always had a very hard stance on electronics so that students are very aware of what electronics are used for in class- learning. Unless asked to bring them out, all electronics are put away during class time. Phones are ALWAYS away. If caught with your phone, it lands in “phone jail.” My phone jail is a shoe holder that hangs on the wall. It isn’t always bad though- if a student wants to charge his or her phone, he/ she may plug the phone in and leave it in phone jail for class time. Obviously, they cannot access it, but they can have it nice and charged for the classes where the teacher doesn't care if their phone is out (which doesn’t exist by the way)! I also have students put their phones in phone jail before going to the bathroom. This keeps students from sitting on the toilet playing on their phones for the duration of class. I have had a couple of sly students bring an extra phone or put their friend’s phone in the pocket instead, but that was mostly limited to one or two students- and I caught them fairly quickly. The lack of phones and free use of electronics helps greatly with classroom management.

Not referring.

I am not saying I don’t write students up or create referrals, but rather that I try to not send students away to ISS or the principal unless necessary. If a student is being a hindrance to others, getting them out of the classroom is important, but if it can be handled between the teacher and the student without bringing in administration, DO IT. This shows students that you don’t need to run to a higher authority to have control. Does it always work? Nope. That is why the administration exists (well, they exist for many reasons, but this is one of them). I have definitely called admin just to show students that I am serious, or because a student will not listen, but I try to limit it as much as possible. If there is an issue in class, I always email parents and administration after class even if it is entirely handled within the classroom. This makes sure all bases are covered and everyone knows what has happened.

Relationships.

As I have already written extensively on this topic, I won’t go to deep, but rather refer you to read “The Key to Teaching”. I do want to say in short that I firmly believe that relationships can make or break classroom management.

These are some of the things that I have learned in the area of classroom management- short and sweet. If you have anything to add, let us know! There is never too much to learn on classroom management!