1st Year Teaching: Classroom Management

This will be short.  The answer is extremely complex and extremely simple.  It can be divided into 5 Parts  My personal beliefs on the role of each of the following is controversial among many.  However , you must note that these percentages are out of about 1260 hours total in a school year—most of which is spent in the classroom.

1. Procedures(80%--roughly 1008 hours)

--You will spend 100% of your class time acting out procedures, so it only stands that you may as well take the first week or two walking through the procedures repeatedly beyond the point where students are tired of it and are complaining and griping about it to the point where they just accept it

--You will want to give class refreshers constantly after “learning moments” but also when students are doing things correctly just to let them know that you still stand by your procedures

--This must be planned out before you enter your classroom

--If your procedures fall through, your room will no longer feel like a battlefield, it will feel like war

--You need procedures for everything: Pencil Sharpening, Missing Items, Bathroom Breaks, Missing Work, Talking, Getting Out of Your Seat, Touching your Stuff, Going to the Office to use the Phone, Homework, Bellwork, Getting the Class Quiet, etc.

2. Student Relationships (10%--roughly 126 hours)

--You must take time to get to know your students and let them get to know you

--If you cannot relate to your students, they will not respect you

--Do not get too buddy-buddy however, or they still will not respect you...balance is learnable; I have witnessed it with others and myself

3. Discipline (3%--roughly 37.8 hours)

--We do not like doing it, if we are caring teachers, but it will happen

--When I say almost 38 hours, I pray that this is an extremely high overestimate, but in reality for a new teacher, this number will be higher unless they come in with procedures blazing in which case, this number can lower significantly

--Discipline must be consistent

--Do not ever dislike your students

--Instead,  keep a loving eye out for students who may get off course on a regular basis, and nip it in the bud (especially those who pull others down with them)

4. Parents (1.5%--roughly 18.9 hours)

--Here’s another toughy; we do not like to bring bad news to a table for fear of retribution or even apathy

--However, if we can make parents our allies, that is one more force working in favor of student correction

5. Administration (.5%--roughly 6.3 hours)

--Make sure that you are in line with administration; keep an eye out for administration straying from the handbook; do not correct them

--Just notice the change in the administrational attitude, and figure out how you best operate within the culture they create

--This is not always easy

Again, this is all subject to opinion and open criticism, but know this that if any of the above 5 are missing from your Classroom Management,  start praying now—which you should be doing anyway.