Firm & Fair
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Teachers just starting out think that gaining control of the classroom is as easy as being tough and mean towards their students. The opposite is actually true! The best way to gain control of a classroom is to be firm and fair. This means unwavering in decisions and always fair in judgement. Negativity has to be avoided at all costs also, as putting students down could cause them to lose interest in learning and the teacher. Being positive throughout shows the student that the teacher actually cares about their well-being and eventual outcome.
Classroom Management & Discipline
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Teachers will find that establishing a classroom environment in which you can teach and students learn free from the distraction of disruptive behavior is as easy as classroom management (Canter, 2010). Being a classroom manager means one will be able to claim authority in the classroom and effectively manage students in a positive manner.
According to Canter, author of Assertive Discipline: some attributes of an effective classroom manager include:
1) A strong teacher voice- A person with a strong teacher voice will "say what they mean and mean what they say" (Canter, 2010) as to keep respect and authority needed to take charge of their classroom.
2)High Expectations for Student Behavior: An effective teacher will demonstrate through words and actions what behavior is appropriate, and will do whatever it takes to ensure this happens.
3) An Effective Classroom Discipline Plan: Effective managers will have a systematic plan complete with rules, positive support, and discipline that will help guide them through classroom management for the full year starting on day one.
4) Policies and Procedures Taught at the Beginning of the Year: Canter states that teaching students the appropriate behaviors needed to be successful in classroom activities in the beginning of the year is the most successful of managing behavior in a classroom.
5) Ability to Motivate All Students to Quickly Follow Directions and to Get and Stay On Task: Great teachers have mastered research-validated strategies that enable them to motivate all students to get them to stay on task
6)The Ability to Build Trusting Relationships With Their Students: Successful classroom managers know the old adage, "Students don't care what you know until they know you care," so they work to build positive relationships with students to reinforce this.
7) The Ability to Gain Support From Parents and Administrators: Successful classroom managers know that they can't handle difficult students on their own so they gain the skills necessary to get the support they need from parents and administrators.
According to Canter, author of Assertive Discipline: some attributes of an effective classroom manager include:
1) A strong teacher voice- A person with a strong teacher voice will "say what they mean and mean what they say" (Canter, 2010) as to keep respect and authority needed to take charge of their classroom.
2)High Expectations for Student Behavior: An effective teacher will demonstrate through words and actions what behavior is appropriate, and will do whatever it takes to ensure this happens.
3) An Effective Classroom Discipline Plan: Effective managers will have a systematic plan complete with rules, positive support, and discipline that will help guide them through classroom management for the full year starting on day one.
4) Policies and Procedures Taught at the Beginning of the Year: Canter states that teaching students the appropriate behaviors needed to be successful in classroom activities in the beginning of the year is the most successful of managing behavior in a classroom.
5) Ability to Motivate All Students to Quickly Follow Directions and to Get and Stay On Task: Great teachers have mastered research-validated strategies that enable them to motivate all students to get them to stay on task
6)The Ability to Build Trusting Relationships With Their Students: Successful classroom managers know the old adage, "Students don't care what you know until they know you care," so they work to build positive relationships with students to reinforce this.
7) The Ability to Gain Support From Parents and Administrators: Successful classroom managers know that they can't handle difficult students on their own so they gain the skills necessary to get the support they need from parents and administrators.
Classroom Meetings
Choosing a discipline for breaking rules or disrupting class can be a daunting task for any teacher, new or old, though no doubt it gets easier as one progresses through their years of experience. However, having students choose in a democratic fashion what a fair discipline should be for certain behaviors that disrupt class could be a fair way to find a consequence to an action.
Let's take the example of sleeping in class:
A student, we will call him Joe, constantly falls asleep in class while doing his classwork. All students are required to get classwork done and showing up to class represents a larger part of the grade then classwork, so awake students are getting distracted and stressed that Joe is getting away with sleeping in class with almost no consequences! So, what do we do? Call a class meeting!
First in the meeting students are required to compliment a classmate on something they have done well, or something nice they have noticed about them, in order to start the meeting in a good point.
Next, students express their concerns about the situation to their classmates and teachers. They say, "it is not fair that he can sleep while we work all day and get basically the same grade." A fair point!
Then they decide what should happen should they find Joe or any other classmate has fallen asleep to help them wake up and participate more. The students decide that doing jumping jacks would be a fair discipline because not only will it help Joe (or any other student) wake up with the rush of blood, but it might be embarrassing enough to encourage him to stop.
Because this is a democratic process, it is important to ask the student in question, Joe, if he considers it a fair solution. If they all agree then the new rule is put into place.
It is IMPORTANT to consider that this is not a fix all solution. It is only for minor disruptions in the classroom
It is better 100% of the time to set rules and consequences at the beginning of the year to set the tone as classroom manager and teacher.
Set rules and STICK TO THEM.
Let's take the example of sleeping in class:
A student, we will call him Joe, constantly falls asleep in class while doing his classwork. All students are required to get classwork done and showing up to class represents a larger part of the grade then classwork, so awake students are getting distracted and stressed that Joe is getting away with sleeping in class with almost no consequences! So, what do we do? Call a class meeting!
First in the meeting students are required to compliment a classmate on something they have done well, or something nice they have noticed about them, in order to start the meeting in a good point.
Next, students express their concerns about the situation to their classmates and teachers. They say, "it is not fair that he can sleep while we work all day and get basically the same grade." A fair point!
Then they decide what should happen should they find Joe or any other classmate has fallen asleep to help them wake up and participate more. The students decide that doing jumping jacks would be a fair discipline because not only will it help Joe (or any other student) wake up with the rush of blood, but it might be embarrassing enough to encourage him to stop.
Because this is a democratic process, it is important to ask the student in question, Joe, if he considers it a fair solution. If they all agree then the new rule is put into place.
It is IMPORTANT to consider that this is not a fix all solution. It is only for minor disruptions in the classroom
It is better 100% of the time to set rules and consequences at the beginning of the year to set the tone as classroom manager and teacher.
Set rules and STICK TO THEM.
Spiritual Relevance
Hebrews 12:11 states "for a moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it".
Proverbs 13:24 reads "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him".
Discipline done right shows the student that you care about them. In the long run it helps the student to focus their energy on the positive of learning. It helps them to feel welcome and safe in the classroom.
Proverbs 13:24 reads "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him".
Discipline done right shows the student that you care about them. In the long run it helps the student to focus their energy on the positive of learning. It helps them to feel welcome and safe in the classroom.