I just read a blog post I thought may be useful for us PS I students to read and think about. It has to do with classroom management, something I'm sure we're all a little bit worried about. In the blog, the writer identifies 3 main concepts to think about as we start our life-long commitment to the teaching profession.
1. We have to deal with even the smallest behaviour issues or possible behaviour issues in the first week of class. What do you think might happen if you allow little things like running in the hallway, whispering in class while the teacher is talking, and such things like that go? Hmm....it could become a nightmare!
2. Addressing a problem doesn't mean you're being a big meanie, and it doesn't mean you're punishing anyone. Like we learned in our "Teacher as a Performer" workshop (which was super awesome, by the way!!) there are many steps, or bumps, we take to deal with classroom issues. The important thing is to remain calm and in control. While enforcing the behaviours you want in your classroom, just make sure you are being respectful and fair. As long as the students understand why certain rules are put into place, hopefully they will be more willing to comply!
3. We must be confident!
The students can probably sense our fear and nervousness but we can do our best to pretend we're confident! After awhile, hopefully we'll be confident for real once we get to know the routines, the students, the school, and the subject matter we're teaching.
Anyway, I better get back to working on the ever-growing pile of assignments!
Here is a link to the blog, though. When I have some more time I'll explore the page a little more because I think there's a lot of interesting information there!
Teach 4 the Heart
1. We have to deal with even the smallest behaviour issues or possible behaviour issues in the first week of class. What do you think might happen if you allow little things like running in the hallway, whispering in class while the teacher is talking, and such things like that go? Hmm....it could become a nightmare!
2. Addressing a problem doesn't mean you're being a big meanie, and it doesn't mean you're punishing anyone. Like we learned in our "Teacher as a Performer" workshop (which was super awesome, by the way!!) there are many steps, or bumps, we take to deal with classroom issues. The important thing is to remain calm and in control. While enforcing the behaviours you want in your classroom, just make sure you are being respectful and fair. As long as the students understand why certain rules are put into place, hopefully they will be more willing to comply!
3. We must be confident!
The students can probably sense our fear and nervousness but we can do our best to pretend we're confident! After awhile, hopefully we'll be confident for real once we get to know the routines, the students, the school, and the subject matter we're teaching.
Anyway, I better get back to working on the ever-growing pile of assignments!
Here is a link to the blog, though. When I have some more time I'll explore the page a little more because I think there's a lot of interesting information there!
Teach 4 the Heart