,Managing a Classroom/Environment

Managing a classroom is the best way to ensure success. I see it is as a partnership between myself as the educator and the students; with an extension of myself as the educator being administration while an extension for the students would be the parents. It all starts in the classroom with respect and communication. I want to be transparent with my students right away on the ways to succeed academically as well as the ways to act while in my classroom. That starts day one with laying out the rules and resources of the classroom. It also means giving them options and figuring out what encourages them to be motivated for participation. Students need to be active and engaged in learning and I will strive to produce many ways for them to do that. According to the text, "a well-managed classroom is one in which students are consistently engaged in productive learning activities.(Ormrad 461)" Motivation and management go hand in hand, so it is imperative that I find out what my students are motivated by early and often. I believe that my honesty and transparency will translate into a positive and proactive learning environment. I believe that if I am the same person with them and always as genuine as I can be then when it is time to quiet down or straighten up the students will understand the seriousness that I request. It is important to always be the same and to always follow through and follow up.

Case Study:

In my case study there is a group of seniors who are cutting up in class. They are disruptive, disrespectful, and even roughhousing in class; after they do that, they do not comply when they are asked to follow the rules that were established at the beginning of the year.

The first thing I would do is address the disruptiveness because it impacts the people around them. I would first do this by engaging the entire class in an activity or with a question. If the problem continues I would move to their area to have proximity control on the boys and cue to them (non-verbally) that I am aware of their actions. If that was ineffective I would then address the class as a whole and remind them that they are here to learn and that they should all be respectful of others. I would stress that even though it is the end of the year, this information is important and will help them not only succeed on the final (and keep their grades up for graduation) but will also help them in their afterschool endeavors (whether it be college or the work force).

Next, I would meet up with the students afterword. This would be done regardless of the outcome of my attempt to keep the students from distracting others. If they had continued, the conversation would be focused on the rules that were stated earlier in the year and how they are made to ensure efficiency and respectfulness in the classroom. I would explain to them that while it is the end of the year everything still matters; I would take time to address the roughhousing issue and tell them that it is inexcusable to have a physical altercation with other people. It is simply too dangerous and reckless to other people's well being.

Finally, my biggest step would be to realize what is going on in my classroom. The seniors are obviously anxious for the end of the school year and are acting up. To counter this I plan on using authentic activities that are focused on real world and post-secondary tasks. This should not only help them in the transition but also help them calm down their internal anxiety. I remember being a senior and just not knowing what college was going to be like; I was excited and nervous, it was at the back of my mind for the better half of my second semester of senior year.

In the end I hope that these steps would help control the classroom and allow for a good learning environment. I know that if those steps did not work I can reach out the extensions I mentioned earlier. That is, I can contact the parents or the administrators for advise and guidance as well as to open the lines of communication and bring in a new perspective.