middle school classroom management

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middle school classroom management
By Carolyn

When I first started teaching middle school, I found that the kids wanted to test me. I looked around me and found a variety of classroom management techniques going on.

One teacher I especially liked was the "warm and
fuzzy" eighth grade teacher who had total classroom control. She always spoke in a soft voice and all the kids loved her. She related well with the kids and talked to them personally. I had observed her a couple of times. (We were required to observe other teachers so see how their classes went.)
There was the sixth grade screamer. The kids didn't seem to respect her very much

and didn't cooperate with her as well as the "warm and fuzzy" eighth grade teacher.

There was the "mean and nasty" sixth grade science teacher. Even I was afraid of him, I decided, after being in his room for a class period. The kids respected him, sure, but I don't think they liked him very much. I would not have wanted to have been a kid in his room.

When I asked one sixth grade teacher how he managed his classroom, he told me to be really mean and nasty in the beginning, then lighten up a bit. This advice came from a teacher who bounced a kid's head on the desk and broke the kid's tooth. I guess he stayed mean and nasty.

I guess I could say that kids will respect you if you are really mean, but they might not like you very much. You want to show that you respect them and appreciate their views. You don't ever want to yell at them. If students violate your rules, be consistent in giving them consequences. Do it fairly and firmly, and in the spirit that you are guiding them towards acceptable behavior rather than punishing them.