Classroom Management (week 13)

*Chapter Summary*

This week, we are learning about classroom management. We discussed authoritarian, permissive and authoritative approaches to managing a classroom. One of the main focuses of this chapter was problem prevention. We discussed the ripple effect, which is a group response to a reprimand directed at an individual. Here is where my *personal experience* comes into play this week.

When I was in the third grade, my cousin was in my class. He was always misbehaving, and for the most part, our teacher was kind of lenient when it came to discipline. I would imagine this contributed the behavior of a lot of students in the class. Anyway, at one point in the year, she had enough. My cousin was the ring leader usually- and this day he was definitely acting as the class clown. My teacher was out in the hall getting on to one student that kept throwing things at the back of her head while she was writing on the board. Zack, my cousin, entertained the class while she was out, and once class resumed, guess who threw an eraser at the teacher? Yep- Zack. Well, when she turned around, the class could tell she was furious. Everyone was silent - even Zack. He turned bright red and it was obvious he was guilty. She asked him if he did it and he said "NO!" Then Mrs. James threatened to keep us all after school for detention. Wouldn't you know it- she had 21 other students letting her know that Zack threw the eraser.

At this point, Mrs. James escorted Zach to the principals office and had our assistant principal come watch our classroom. The principal called Zach's mom. When it was time for lunch, we left the classroom. On our way past the office, we could hear Zach's mom yelling at him and saw that he was crying. We could see the paddle laying on the desk. (We later found out he was not paddled- it was just used as an intimidation technique.) This quickly became the buzz of the school yard at recess. Needless to say; no one threw anything else inside a classroom that year!

In the chapter we also learned how effective teachers manage a classroom. The book suggests being able to continually manage overlapping activities, not interrupting activities, maintaining the students attention and keeping them involved. Another technique is to make clear rules and procedures and continue to reinforce them daily.

To handle behavior problems the text suggests using supportive situations to help the students maintain self-control, criticize in private and then immediately offer encouragement, and the use of the "I feel" method. Other suggestions include being prompt, consistent and reasonable when dealing with the misbehavior.

The chapter finishes up by discussing the correlation between effective classroom management and the proper handling of conflicts between students and violence in the school system.


*Personal Impact*

This class has allowed me insight into various classroom situations. I think that we have been given a history of methods, the facts and information about individuals that made a profound impact on education. I have enjoyed the class and look forward to implementing these techniques in my own classroom.


*This Week in the Discussion Boards*

I think one of the most interesting things from the discussion boards so far this week is how one of my classmates made an observation that the techniques used to manage a classroom can also be beneficial to controlling your own child's behavior. I think this is very true. It made me wish that parent were required to take this class!


* Question of the Week*

The question for this week is: Choose one of the following general education blogs to read for the week http://joannejacobs.com/ or http://mspappas.preknow.org/.

I chose http://joannejacobs.com/

Would a blog like this one help you with your teaching?
Possibly? I think that the information is wonderful- but I'm not sure how this can help me being a kindergarten teacher.

Would you be able to get ideas for teaching from this blog? How? Why? Explain.
I'm not sure. I think that there are lessons to be told from this blog. For instance, the girl that plays football for a University. Nowadays, women can do anything!

Did you learn something new from the blogger? What and why did it strike you as memorable?
I learned about Cal State U having to turn away eligible freshman due to the lack of funding. I also learned about the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome being different in males and females.

Would you want to create a site like this for others? Why or why not?
Possibly. If I had time and a lot of information to share, I think that it could be beneficial. My husband keeps one like this. It is full of random bits of information, although he offers much of his personal opinions in his.

I chose this blog because I though it was easier to read. The topics were brief and varied. I liked it. The other blog, although full of information, was longer and seemed to be less interesting to me.