Classroom Management

This week we covered Classroom management, i can say without a doubt it is the most important thing a new or old teacher must conquer if he/she is to be successful. I further would like to say to me much of the chapter seemed like a no brainer. Much of it just states what should be common sense to nearly everyone. Kounin's model for a successful classroom mirrors what I would like to get if i were a student in such a classroom. Granted common sense doesn't always win out and many teachers need, if nothing else, a crash course in the finer points of classroom management. I had many teachers throughout high school who had little understanding of what made us tick. WE controlled our classroom, WE decided if anything was going to get done(usually not), and WE decided just how bad the teachers nervous breakdown was going to be.(one actually had one and took time off). I say this not because I'm proud of it, or that i now believe it was the right thing to do. It obviously hurt everyone academically at the time. I say it because I learned what not to do in those classrooms from a teachers perspective. Take charge, know the personalities in the room, and learn what makes them tick as individuals. you don't have to be their friend but you can be a trusted person of authority in their lives. Someone who leads them down the right path.
This class has helped me hone the skills and learn the methods I've described, I already had a decent grasp and understanding of what I wanted my classroom to look like but now i understand more of the how to and why it must be. I must say reading and listening to others in the class who already have some experience with subbing or student teaching really helps. It makes it more real. More inevitable, and sometimes scarier.
I think the boards this week were interesting because so many of us have practical experience in teaching. If not in the classroom than with our own kids. Those of us with kids have an upper hand I believe because we can relate many of the items in the text to rel life experiences with our own. "The look" "the stare" the "i" method. Used em all and they really work.

http://joannejacobs.com/
I chose this one because the other seemed more directly tied to early head start and head start. My wife is a supervisor for head start so I hear as much as I want about that.

* Would a blog like this one help you with your teaching?
She gives many examples of methods that are currently in favor but are failing, also many that work that have been shut down because they don't fit the accepted practice. So i think yes it would, i really think regardless of method, if it works use it. She seems to mirror that approach.


* Would you be able to get ideas for teaching from this blog? How? Why? Explain.

Yes I think so she brings such a broad base of knowledge and such a broad base of topics up that it would be hard to to be influenced by it if read regularly.

* Did you learn something new from the blogger? What and why did it strike you as memorable?

I found it extremely disturbing her %'s given on the topic of the electoral college. Another reason to stress the importance of civil responsibility in the classroom. these are issues that determine who leads the country. everyone should know it.

* Would you want to create a site like this for others? Why or why not?

I may but I'd want to be more experienced. If I found myself doing well and my classes seemed to be succeeding, I think any little help you could give another who may be struggling would only make you feel better about what you were doing. The thing to keep in mind is we are not here for money or fame, we're here because we care, not just about ourselves or our students but about the way our world looks and the way it will look. Helping others just makes sense.