suggestions

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Home : 2002 : October : 29

suggestions
By Cathy-Dee

First of all, you need to find a way to deal with your classes. Yes the Administration should be supportive, but they cannot and will not solve all the problems. If they have not offered any advice then you can always argue
an unsatisfactory evaluation with them and just not sign it when they show it to you.
However it sounds like you want to stay in teaching and the best way for that to happen is to figure out what to do with these students.
Are they out of control for every teacher in your school? If not then what is it those teachers are doing that you are not.
I know over the last 10 years

I've been teaching I have learned tons about classroom management. And I know I did not much when I first started teaching.

Some of the things that helped me were....

- to make a list of the main behaviours and students who were disrupting the class.

- made a list of what my expectations were

- through the two lists I would then come up with the main 5 behaviours I wanted to work on for the upcoming month.

- I would then talk to colleagues, research on the web and read books to find ideas on how to deal with those 5 issues. This helped me to narrow down my focus.

Pick a day - Monday to start the week and when the students enter, call the class to order. If they are not listening start writing their names on the board. They'll notice and they will get quiet. Then be blunt - tell them that their behaviour is not acceptable and that you and they will be working together to make it acceptable.

Figure out how you will do this - do you prefer goal setting techniques, punishment, reward systems, etc., Once you know what you prefer to use then that is the system you'll tell them about. You could even use a combination.

- Write the 5 main behaviours that need to change on the board.
- Have the class discuss these and what they think about them? Do they agree with you?
- Ask them how they think changes can occur
- Ask them what they think would be a reasonable goal, a reasonable punishment, etc.,

Then tell them that if they meet these goals during the next month - set a date - the class will get a class reward - movie, field trip, pizza party, game day (whatever you feel you can handle and your adminstration won't have a problem with).

I truly feel that if your administration sees that you are really making an effort - not just making excuses and not just waiting for someone else to solve your problems - they will begin to view your teaching in a completely different manner.

And although it would be so much easier if your administration would punish the kids, step in when it gets out of control, that wouldn't solve anything. Classroom management is probably one of the hardest areas for any teacher to deal with regardless of how many years you have taught or what grade you are teaching.

And as well you don't have a choice on the observation so all you can do is decide to step up to the plate and make some change.

Or not change and then find yourself without a position. Right now they are not firing you, but if things don't improve they may take steps to do that. If that happens you will find it difficult to get hired on again in other schools in the district.

And I know right now it sounds impossible to get things under control but it's not. Once you take time to step back and re-evaluate what you are doing or not doing you may notice things that are easy to change that will make the world of difference in your class.

Good luck!