Classroom Management- Kate Martin

This chapter is going to be very useful when setting up my own classroom. It pointed out a lot of classroom management techniques that make teachers more effective and I can’t wait to apply them in my own classroom. I really liked how the chapter pointed out the difference between procedures and rules. I’ve been able to recognize the difference throughout my educational career, but I didn’t have a simple way to differentiate between the two. I really like their clear distinction, stating that rules should have consequences but procedures do not. I’ve seen teachers lose their composure in classrooms, and often times it was due to an extreme emotional reaction to student misbehavior. With the rules and consequences set, it takes the pressure off of thinking up justifiable punishments. Since procedures do not require punishment, it doesn’t take much effort to correct the behavior through demonstrations and practice sessions. In Titusville, they have the retraining of procedures as a school wide plan. When students fail to come prepared to class, are off task, or act out in other ways, they stay after class and practice the behavior they were having trouble with. However, some students are held after for retraining almost every day, and I was wondering if there was anything that could be done for those students. The reading offered a great solution: keep them busy. I’m glad that this was included because I’ve noticed it, too. If students are actively participating in some activity for the entire class period, there is less time to misbehave. If you do have a student who has difficulty focusing through class you could let him run the pointer for the PowerPoint, ask him to hand back papers, ask him to write on the board, and other tasks around the room to keep him moving. If the student is left to entertain himself, it will result in him misbehaving or distracting other students in the class.