#TeachAgChat Reflection

Once upon a time... (Oh wait, that was back when I grew up reading books with paper covers)...

Now... (#21stcenturycommunication)... More to come later...

Classroom Management... A note to new and struggling teachers...

First, I feel very unqualified to write this letter as I have had very little experience in this area; however, I'm am going to share what I have, and hope it will be a help to someone who is struggling with classroom management. If nothing else, maybe I can use it to remind myself of the tools I have at my disposal!

Dear Teacher,

First I'd like to congratulate you for making it this far in your journey... it's not easy! It definitely takes courage and dedication! Every day I learn new things that I can incorporate into teaching my students, whether it is a neat experiment/project, lab, or a classroom management technique my mind is continually churning with ideas - some I write down and save, and others I forget or toss.

Classroom management is certainly a very important component in teaching and maximizing student learning. One tactic that I have found to be very helpful is proximal control. Even without speaking a word of reprimand, students tend to hush their chatter when you move near them or stand behind them. Unfortunately, the days of students respecting their teachers simply because they are your teacher and they are also older, seems to be a thing of days-gone-by. This poses many questions in my mind as to what is responsible for these changes in our society. I could probably write a whole research paper on this, but I will sum it up into a few categories - a change in family dynamics, television/gaming systems/social media, and the moral decline of our great nation. If you don't think TV has something to do with the reading challenges and behavioral problems we have to deal with on a daily basis, here are some alarming statistics... 
   1.) [Children] are less likely to be able to read at all (34% of children ages 4-6 from heavy TV    households can read, compared to 56% of others the same age)...
   2.) The majority of parents (59%) say their 4-to 6-year-old boys imitate aggressive behavior seen on TV.
            Resource: http://realtruth.org/articles/233-tta.html 

Since individually we are very limited as to what we can change about these problems in our society, we are left to come up with other methods for managing and directing our students' behaviors.
You need to have specific rules and consequences for your classroom. In a world and life of uncertainty, students need solid guides and boundaries to give them stability in their life. By being firm and re-enforcing rules and following through with consequences from the beginning of the year, students will learn to respect you and classroom management problems will occur less often. Additionally, many youth “act out” because they are seeking acceptance; therefore it is important to get to know your students personally and show that you care! You just might be the one they will credit with “because of you I kept trying and didn’t give up!” Providing hands-on experiences and labs also helps to get students engaged and actively learning, which will give them less time to be disruptive.

In summary, we are faced with many classroom management issues that stem from a variety of issues within our society and culture; however, we as teachers have the responsibility to help nurture and train these students to become successful citizens. To help us achieve our goals we need to be firm but caring, which will provide our students with stability and the knowledge that “they matter”. This allows us to teach more effectively because we will waste less time dealing with classroom management issues. Incorporating activities and hands-on labs will help to maintain a high level of student engagement and involvement which will also reduce classroom disruptions and can be particularly beneficial for busy students and/or students with IEP’s who may struggle with general education classes, but may excel in in a class with “hands-on” real-life, applicable projects.

Keep up the great work! Remember students have bad days too. Every day is a chance to start over and try new tactics, and most importantly, look for little “gems” – signs of improvement or deeds of kindness by your students. Always strive to do your best, and seek to be an exemplary role model in your student’s lives!