I'm nine weeks away from completing my 11th year of teaching. The question I often I hear is "don't you get tired of the classroom discipline issues?" My response is that I rarely have discipline issues in my classes any more. My first year was a disaster as I was too lax. My second year was quite a bit better although I was a bit too strict. The third year was leaps and bound better...but it all came together in my fourth year.
Seriously...I average sending one to three students to the office a year. That's it. The classroom is the least stressful part of my job. Sure, some are more naturally adapted to classroom management than others. But a lot can be learned. It took me years to get to this place. Good classroom management requires experience and proactivity. You have to anticipate issues before they arise. You must be the one in control of the initiative...not the students.
There are many components to good classroom management. But I'll discuss one in detail today.
You must establish your turf.
Before the first day of school I number each one of my desks. Then on the first day of school I stand at my classroom door with a class roster which is already conveniently numbered by the office. I simply ask the student what their name is and send them to the desk that corresponds with their number.
This demonstrates immediately that you're in charge. Most students will go straight to their assigned desks and sit there until the bell rings because that's all they know to do. This keeps students from wandering around and getting into trouble before your first class of the year begins. When the bell rings there is no mad dash for desks and you can get started much more expediently.
By assigning desks on the first day you've already established your turf and the hierarchial structure. Yes, the chart is often alphabetical and you might have to make adjustments within a few class days. But usually my seating chart stays fairly intact for the entire school year.
The small effort of creating a seating chart reaps big dividends in terms of healthy classroom management. Psychologically you have already shown the initiative before the school year has begun and demonstrated to the students that the rule of law exists in this particular classroom.
Seriously...I average sending one to three students to the office a year. That's it. The classroom is the least stressful part of my job. Sure, some are more naturally adapted to classroom management than others. But a lot can be learned. It took me years to get to this place. Good classroom management requires experience and proactivity. You have to anticipate issues before they arise. You must be the one in control of the initiative...not the students.
There are many components to good classroom management. But I'll discuss one in detail today.
You must establish your turf.
Before the first day of school I number each one of my desks. Then on the first day of school I stand at my classroom door with a class roster which is already conveniently numbered by the office. I simply ask the student what their name is and send them to the desk that corresponds with their number.
This demonstrates immediately that you're in charge. Most students will go straight to their assigned desks and sit there until the bell rings because that's all they know to do. This keeps students from wandering around and getting into trouble before your first class of the year begins. When the bell rings there is no mad dash for desks and you can get started much more expediently.
By assigning desks on the first day you've already established your turf and the hierarchial structure. Yes, the chart is often alphabetical and you might have to make adjustments within a few class days. But usually my seating chart stays fairly intact for the entire school year.
The small effort of creating a seating chart reaps big dividends in terms of healthy classroom management. Psychologically you have already shown the initiative before the school year has begun and demonstrated to the students that the rule of law exists in this particular classroom.
