Personal Classroom Management Beliefs
A lively classroom of adorable kindergartners in Osaka, Japan. A rambunctious tenth grade math classroom in a run-down inner-city Houston school. A tiny room of seventh grade English students at a Christian high school in central New Mexico. Classrooms and students around the world come in all kinds of different varieties, with all kinds of different backgrounds and needs. Research shows, however, that these differences do not have to determine the achievement of students. According to well-known management theorists, the “single most important factor” in determining student success is not student demographics or culture but the teacher (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003, p.1), and his/her role in classroom management (Wong & Wong, 2009). Harry and Rosemary Wong go on to define classroom management as everything a teacher does to “organize students, space, time, and materials” so students can learn (2009, p. 83).
An important underlying characteristic of teachers with good classroom management is courage. According to Curwin and Mendler, teachers should be fearless when interacting with their students, and should possess a moral courage on which they can firmly base each decision they make (2008). Similarly, educator and theorist Dave F. Brown quotes L. Weiner’s 1999 book Urban Teaching: The Essentials in a warning to classroom teachers about showing fear: “‘Children know when teachers fear them and resent it because the fear is demeaning…’” (2004, p. 283). A solid classroom manager must interact with his/her class with dignity.
An effective classroom manager is also prepared. This preparedness creates the difference between actually managing a classroom and simply disciplining a classroom (Wong & Wong, 2009). Teachers need to make expectations clear from the beginning, and begin establishing consistent procedures from the very first day in order to create a consistent environment where students know what is expected from them. Curwin and Mendler refer to this concept as the “prevention dimension” (2008, p. 46). By setting up clear and positive expectations for behavior before problems arise, teachers can prevent negative behavior and encourage student responsibility. Unlike simple discipline intervention techniques, the prevention method also communicates positive expectations from the teacher to the students (Curwin & Mendler, 2008).
Quality classroom management is especially vital in inner-city classroom environments, which often present a great many challenges for teachers. Wong and Wong stress the increased necessity of developing a structured classroom environment in classes with at-risk students, many of whom come from very unstructured homes (2009). Based on evidence from urban teachers, Dave F. Brown suggests three most important qualities for effectively managing an inner-city classroom: a caring attitude, assertiveness and authority, and good communication between teacher and students (2004). The concepts of a caring attitude and good communication coincide with Marzano’s recognition that developing positive teacher-student relationships is directly tied to effective classroom management (2003). Demonstrating assertive authority is also especially important because many inner-city students come from environments where authority is not automatically granted and a person is respected as an authority figure by proving his/her assertiveness (Brown, 2004).
Students and classrooms come in many different varieties, but the common factor is the teacher. Having a caring attitude, being assertive, and communicating with mutual respect, teachers can maintain positive relationships with their students. These positive relationships, combined with impeccable preparation and organization, can create a positive learning environment in any classroom and with any set of students. Teachers have the potential and the responsibility to be the determining factor in the classroom. Through their positive guidance and use of research-based management skills, any student has the potential to learn and to grow.
An important underlying characteristic of teachers with good classroom management is courage. According to Curwin and Mendler, teachers should be fearless when interacting with their students, and should possess a moral courage on which they can firmly base each decision they make (2008). Similarly, educator and theorist Dave F. Brown quotes L. Weiner’s 1999 book Urban Teaching: The Essentials in a warning to classroom teachers about showing fear: “‘Children know when teachers fear them and resent it because the fear is demeaning…’” (2004, p. 283). A solid classroom manager must interact with his/her class with dignity.
An effective classroom manager is also prepared. This preparedness creates the difference between actually managing a classroom and simply disciplining a classroom (Wong & Wong, 2009). Teachers need to make expectations clear from the beginning, and begin establishing consistent procedures from the very first day in order to create a consistent environment where students know what is expected from them. Curwin and Mendler refer to this concept as the “prevention dimension” (2008, p. 46). By setting up clear and positive expectations for behavior before problems arise, teachers can prevent negative behavior and encourage student responsibility. Unlike simple discipline intervention techniques, the prevention method also communicates positive expectations from the teacher to the students (Curwin & Mendler, 2008).
Quality classroom management is especially vital in inner-city classroom environments, which often present a great many challenges for teachers. Wong and Wong stress the increased necessity of developing a structured classroom environment in classes with at-risk students, many of whom come from very unstructured homes (2009). Based on evidence from urban teachers, Dave F. Brown suggests three most important qualities for effectively managing an inner-city classroom: a caring attitude, assertiveness and authority, and good communication between teacher and students (2004). The concepts of a caring attitude and good communication coincide with Marzano’s recognition that developing positive teacher-student relationships is directly tied to effective classroom management (2003). Demonstrating assertive authority is also especially important because many inner-city students come from environments where authority is not automatically granted and a person is respected as an authority figure by proving his/her assertiveness (Brown, 2004).
Students and classrooms come in many different varieties, but the common factor is the teacher. Having a caring attitude, being assertive, and communicating with mutual respect, teachers can maintain positive relationships with their students. These positive relationships, combined with impeccable preparation and organization, can create a positive learning environment in any classroom and with any set of students. Teachers have the potential and the responsibility to be the determining factor in the classroom. Through their positive guidance and use of research-based management skills, any student has the potential to learn and to grow.