TED 570/575 Fall 2019

Classroom Management Journal Reflection

Final Reflections Due Class 4

Based off of your field experience, describe and reflection on the following:

Area of Focus #1: Handling Side-Chatter

Describe the challenges you have faced in this area of classroom. Why do you think this is an
area of challenge? What are some things you plan on trying in the future to help remedy the
challenge? Describe at least two concrete strategies you are going to try based on the feedback
you received from colleagues, supervisor(s), and/or your cooperating teacher(s).

I have noticed that the students in my class often engage in side-chatter both during direct
instruction (while the teacher is speaking) and during activity time (when they should be
focusing on the activity). It is an issue that every student engages in at some point or another,
which tells me that it is very tempting to talk to neighboring classmates. I can remember when
I was in elementary school and doing the same thing. It wasn’t because I wanted to “be bad”
and it wasn’t even because I wasn’t interested in the lesson. I just thought I could do both.
Maybe that is the same feeling that my students have: that they can get their work done while
also chatting about other things on the side.

I think this is an area of challenge because it is so rampant and it is difficult to monitor at all
times. If your back is turned to the class, you may not hear or notice side-chatter, which may
contribute to students’ thinking they can get away with it. I have even noticed that students
will use “silent talk” with one another in order to continue side-chatter. My cooperating
teacher began the year by saying that this kind of behavior would not be tolerated. He then
enacted a weekly point system which would reward 6 of the 9 tables at the end of the week with
a fun game while the remaining 3 tables would do worksheets. He doesn’t take points away
for bad behavior. Instead, he awards points to every other table when one table or tablemate
is misbehaving. This strategy seems to have its strengths and weaknesses. Its strengths
include students encouraging tablemates to stay on task and it is a visual reminder of how
each table is doing that week. Its weaknesses include students/tables giving up mid-week
because they think they are too far behind in points and frustration that builds up when one
student habitually “brings down” the whole group.

Something I plan on trying in the future is called “Secret Table” and “Secret Student”. I read
a blog by another elementary school teacher which described this simultaneous technique for
managing behavior. It includes anonymously choosing one table per week and one student
per day to monitor. Nobody knows which table is being monitored and which student is being
monitored, but they do know that it could be them so the hope is that everyone will behave in
case it’s their turn. At the end of the day (for the student of the day) or week (for the table of
the week), students either receive a reward or are pulled aside privately for a conversation
about what was observed and what can be improved upon for next time. The reward is getting
 to pick one thing from the classroom treasure box, which the teacher keeps filled with small
goodies. I like the anonymity of this practice and that students who misbehave are not being
publicly shamed. I haven’t seen it in practice, though, so I am curious about real-world
application.

Two concrete strategies I plan on trying based on feedback I have received are building
relationships and holding students accountable. My cooperating teacher said he never comes
down hard on his students in the first few weeks because his focus is gaining their trust and
building the relationship. He said this helps him curb side-chatter and other unwelcome
behaviors. Once the relationship is built, he continues to be kind and firm. According to him,
without accountability, his requests are simply suggestions.

Area of Focus #2 : Defiance

Describe the challenges you have faced in this area. Why do you think this is an area of
challenge? What are some things you plan on trying in the future to help remedy the challenge?
Describe at least two concrete strategies you are going to try based on the feedback you
received from colleagues, supervisor(s), and/or your cooperating teacher(s).

There are several students in my class who are defiant and will often refuse to listen,
cooperate, or even participate in schoolwork. This happens with the same students over and
over, despite consequences ranging from warnings to detention and even withholding them
after school. In some cases, parents have been involved in sitting with students at the end of
the day while they finish work (or continue to refuse to).

I struggle to understand why this happens. I can only imagine that it has something to do with
life outside of school. Maybe they are distracted and thinking of problems at home. Maybe
they aren’t focused on schoolwork because they are hungry. Sometimes students are willing to
share information and sometimes they just shut down. For those that shut down and refuse to
work, it is hard to break through to them. If it’s not a matter of life outside of school, then it
could be stemming from disinterest in the subject or teaching methodology. Differentiating
instruction and keeping lessons relevant to students’ lives may be a way to avoid this behavior.

Something I would like to try in the future is having a break table where students can go to
journal about their feelings. It won’t be a journal which I ever see but can be a secret journal
that students use to vent their feelings and use as a safe space. I think it would be neat to
provide headphones so that the student can listen to soft music while focusing on journaling.
There would have to be parameters around this activity, though, so that students don’t take
advantage. I spoke to one teacher who uses a break table and she said it works well for those
who need it. One of the students’ parents in my class suggested the journaling as a way to
calm her daughter down. She said it worked in the past and we are now trying it for her.

Another concrete strategy I would like to use is walking the neighborhood where students live,
asking about their lives, and being involved in the community so that I can design lessons that
make sense to students and are of interest to them. I think it is important to meet students
 where they are at and consider how their perspectives impact their education. Another way to
accomplish this would be to spend time in the beginning of the year doing activities and
assignments that focus on their interests. This way, I can gather insight into who they are and
what motivates them.

For continuing education, I’d like to become more informed about how to discover and tap
into motivation. I’d like to find some books that cover this topic so I can be a better leader to
my future students.

Area of Focus #3 : Kindness and Respect

Describe the challenges you have faced in this area. Why do you think this is an area of
challenge? What are some things you plan on trying in the future to help remedy the challenge?
Describe at least two concrete strategies you are going to try based on the feedback you
received from colleagues, supervisor(s), and/or your cooperating teacher(s).

One of our class rules is “be respectful” and I have noticed that students often struggle with
what it means to be respectful. When I talk about respect with students, they often reply with
statements which focus on themselves such as, “well he is annoying me” or “she did _____
first”. I try to explain to them that respect is something we give to others even if we are not
receiving it, because that is the right thing to do. I also explain that, sometimes, our peers are
going through something that we do not know about and we should always be sensitive about
that. It all boils down to empathy, which seems like a hard concept to teach. I think it is
challenging to teach empathy to young children because they are still developing a sense of
self and a sense of who they are in a group setting.

I have been thinking about doing some read-alouds using books that focus on empathy and
following the read-aloud with activities that involve critical thinking questions like answering
the question “why is it important to treat others the way you want to be treated?”.

One strategy I plan on using based on feedback from a fellow teacher is to openly engage
students in grand conversations about empathy and scenarios that are lacking empathy. I
think it is important to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations when appropriate. I
know I am not a licensed therapist and should not be eliciting examples of trauma, but I do
think there are careful ways to approach uncomfortable topics which can improve the
understanding and practice of empathy. Another strategy I plan on using is always to emulate
empathy. I think children learn well through real-life examples. I plan on practicing empathy
out loud and drawing attention to empathic decisions.

Area of Focus #4: Being Perceived as the “Nice Teacher”

Describe the challenges you have faced in this area. Why do you think this is an area of
challenge? What are some things you plan on trying in the future to help remedy the challenge?
Describe at least two concrete strategies you are going to try based on the feedback you
received from colleagues, supervisor(s), and/or your cooperating teacher(s).

The first day that I substitute taught for my cooperating teacher was the day that I discovered
that I was the “nice teacher”. In fact, one student told me “this is happening because
everyone knows you are the nice teacher” when she saw how out of control the class had
gotten. It was then that I realized that “being the nice teacher” had its pitfalls. I don’t just
mean being perceived as nice. I mean being perceived as nice and weak on behavior
management. As soon as my cooperating teacher left the room, students took the opportunity
to test me by acting wildly and my initial response wasn’t strong enough to get their attention.
I realized that I had a perception problem.

I think this has been an area of challenge for me because it is in my nature to be very gentle
and I am not the main disciplinarian in the classroom. I’m more like the “fun aunt” than the
“strict mom”. I am not in the classroom all day and I’m sure the students view me as more of
a helper than a teacher. This perception has served me well when both my cooperating
teacher and I are in the classroom because students gravitate to me and share a lot about their
personal lives with me. I have gotten to know each student well. On the other hand, when I
am the only teacher in the room, students have tended to misbehave and disobey rules because
they do not think I will be harsh on them. It’s true that I do not want to be harsh, but I do need
to find a way to hold students accountable in a loving way. I hope I will always be perceived
as the “nice teacher” and that I can also be perceived as a teacher who has high standards
and holds students accountable to those standards.

Some things I plan on trying in my future classroom are setting clear rules and expectations
and reiterating them often. I want to include students in the process of making and posting
rules and expectations, so they have a vested interest in them. I also want them posted in a
central location so we can refer to them often. I’d also like to have a reward system for
positive behavior, instead of a consequential system for negative behavior. I think this aligns
more closely to my personal style and goal of having a positive and nurturing learning
environment. Lastly, I plan on being consistent with my reactions and consequences when
applicable. I think children flourish in safe and predictable environments and tend to behave
as expected when they are very clear about what expectations are and how they will be
impacted if they do not meet expectations.

Several colleagues have told me that I should not be “too nice” to students, but I have a hard
time believing that I could ever be “too nice”. I think what they mean is “don’t let students
walk all over you”. My hope is that the strategies listed above will solve this problem of
perception for me and give me the middle ground I am looking for.