Angela Buscemi Classroom Management PlanPage| Philosophy of Classroom Management: As | finish my Senior | semester, | have taken some very interesting classes and have had some brilliant professors. My practicums have paired me with a variety of clinical teachers, each of whom had their own perspective on education, their own level of experience, and their ‘own thoughts on classroom management. | have read an ample range of thoughts and reflections written by education theorists. Every theorist | have studied has presented interesting and sometimes useful ideas. Harry and Rosemary Wong seemed to address the most fundamental core issues about ‘managing a classroom, especially if you are intending to teach in the lower elementary levels. They have cultivated strategies that the teacher should employ before the first student walks in the door. Leave nothing to chance. Having spent my Senior | practicum in a kindergarten classroom, I can really see the absolute necessity of teaching, in the first week of school, the “discipline, procedures, and routines” that the students must follow. | believe most students ha want to do well and they just need to know how to achieve that goal. You cannot pu student for getting up and going to the bathroom without telling the teacher if he or she didn’t know that you must let the teacher know if you need to leave the room. If you do not plan, to the minute, every procedure and routine, you can be certain that, in that one unplanned moment, a catastrophe will occur. My practicum classroom a great place to student teach and a great place to learn what to do and, sometimes, what not to do. In the beginning of the year we had a fire drill and the students were really not famil r enough with the fire drill procedures. During head count, theage (2 teacher discovered that we were one student short. That student was in the classroom bathroom, but had not informed the teacher where he was going. When the assistant found him, he was sitting on the commode, buck naked, and “was not don I” He was barefoot and had even removed his belt from his pants. Aside from teaching about the importance of fire drills, no one had explained to the students that they should not remove articles of clothing when using the bathroom. Leave nothing to Chance! The next theorist with whom | identified was Fred Jones. Aside from the fact that he totally reminded me of Mr. Rogers, he further supported the need for classroom routines as. well as ways to avoid wasting tit 1e, which is one of my pet peeves. His routines for creating habits in the classroom were to the Wongs’ ideas. You must teach the routines and procedures so that the classroom will run smoothly. Jones also offered some workable ‘methods to avoid wasting time by eliminating time-eating “busy work,” student talking, getting out of their seats, and daydreaming. He recommends a classroom agreement in wt the ‘teacher and the students place limits on their behaviors and the criteria for the “when all else fails” backup system. | really connected with the non verbal communication or body language of the teacher. He suggests that the teacher keep moving, make frequent eye contact, and practice bodily proximity to the students. The notion that teachers must keep moving reminds me that | have a real sue” with clutter, but | discuss that in my procedures and routines section. Lastly, | would just like to share my experiences with “Grandma’s Rule.” | have not had very favorable experiences h this rule, My clinical teacher used this theory, but it did notseem to work too successfully. For example, the teacher tells students that as soon as they finish their morning work they may choose a quiet learning center where there are a variety of puzzles and games. Children always want to go to centers, so they may do shoddy work to get there more quickly. This system, however, punishes slower workers or students who may be just very diligent workers. Some students hurried through their work and handed expecting the positive reinforcement of going to a center. If they handed in inferior work, they had to change their light to yellow (or red), go back to their desks, and do the work over. No center for you today. Also, just as a touch of advice regarding Grandma’s rule, too much broccoli made Grandmas dog sick because that’s who | fed the broccoli to ensuring that | got dessert Another theorist that gave me pause was C. M. Charles who presents a term called synergy in which two or more students interact to increase classroom energy. He proposes that a successful classroom must include consideration of each other, understanding of personal responsibility, spirit and energy, and how to eliminate misbehavior. He also crafted a list of “basic student needs,” which seem simple enough and made me say, “Why didn’t | think of this?” Because | did not think of t | think the list bears a look. They are: security, hope, dignity, belonging, power, enjoyment, and competence. For another class | created a couple of ideas to create synergy and interdependence in the classroom. | will describe these in my implementation plan. Charles also includes a tiny paragraph to a timeless and simple idea, ethics. This is just something that doesn’t seem to come up very often, but being ethical, or behaving in a way that is right and honorable is one of the best trust building blocks in aPage |4 classroom. He proposed that without ethics, there can be no trust; without trust, there can be no synergy; and without synergy, the list of seven basic needs cannot exist.Page |S Classroom Rules/Expectations/Code of Conduct: Thave read a lot of classroom rules. | have been in practicum classrooms or, as a student, in my own classrooms and every single class had rules. Some were good rules, some, not so much. Some rules were posted in a very conspicuous manner; some were stuck in a dark corner. Some classes had over a dozen rules for every permutation of behavior; some classrooms had one or two all encompassing rules. Some teachers and students made a list of rules using the democratic process others were made solely by the teacher. As the majority of my experience has been in kindergarten and first grade, | will rely on that experience to write my rules. | intend to have my classroom rules prewritten and posted in the front of the room. The Wongs suggest very clear and concise rules that are in place on the first day of school. For this particular age group, the rules need to be written in ‘a manner that will be understood by young students. Some of these rules will be more general than specific and others will be more practical than idealistic. For example, one of my rules will state, “Use good manners.” Thi is a broad rule that will necessitate teacher and student dialogue. Almost every student has some idea of behavioral expectations. Examples that | expect to be brought up are: please and thank you, indoor voices, waiting for your turn, and holding the door. When | prepare my rules for the first day of school, | hope that they will encompass Charles’ basic student needs. It is important that my rules reflect my desire to provide my students with an awareness of security in which they feel a sense of belonging and safety.Page 16 When we discuss the rules, | will give the children the right to question the rules and voice opinions on the rules. Once we agree that the rules are fair, | will ask the students to ialing, or by mal exercise their power to accept our list of rules by signing them, or some identifiable mark. Classroom Rules 1. Be nice to our friends. 2. Us good manners. 3. Bea good listener. 4, Put away our things to keep our room neat. 5. Keep our hands and feet to ourselves. Rule number four is in place because | think Fred Jones is spot on about the teacher's need to work the room. In order for me to walk freely around the classroom, it must be neat and without clutter. The last thing that | would want to happen would be to trip over something and fall down. | also would like to avoid unnecessary time wasting by struggling to get around the classroom. Plus, | am just a compulsively neat person and | believe that students learn better in an en ment that is orderly and clean.Routines and Procedures: Jam a very organized person and I think that children thrive in an environment that is orderly. Albert, Jones, Wong and Charles all make reference to the need for routines and procedures which will make the classroom and, consequently, the students, feel secure, feel safe, and feel a sense of belonging. All students need the parameters and guidance that routines and procedures provide. Lower elementary aged students need their routines explained in minutia. Charles writes that a student needs an awareness of fitting in, so my first routine will be the meet and greet at the door. During the window in which students are arriving at the classroom, | will be standing in the doorway. | will call each child by name (this will be done especially in the first couple of days of school as | don’t tend to remember names), and tell him or her “Good Morning!” My clinical teacher this semester places her hands on each student before they enter the room. Some students get the “teacher hug,” and some get a pat on the shoulder, but she makes physical contact with each child. Albert writes that each child needs to me made to feel welcome and accepted while Charles believes that a child needs to feel belonging and hope. Some routines speak to the physical, but some routines speak to the heart. 1. Arrival time: After the child is greeted, he or she must hang up their jackets, take out last night’s homework, hang up their book bags, place their homework in the basket, and do quiet morning work. Sometimes, | will have a sheet to color, sometimes there will be magazines to peruse, and other times they will have anPage 18 opportunity to look at a book. After the meet and greet, the students will need to be quiet. Bathroom time: There is usually a bathroom in the room in lower elementary classrooms. While | want to preserve the students’ dignity and avoid any “accidents,” it is equally important to know where a student is at any given time. Students will raise their hand and ask to use the bathroom. After using the bathroom, they need to flush, wash their hands, sanitize their hands, and turn out the light. The classroom will use the larger hall bathrooms as a group several times a day: after breakfast, after “specials,” after lunch, and before going outside. As the bathroom is in the hallway, students need to stand quietly on line until their turn. ‘When they are in the bathroom, there is no talking either. A helper will remind students to flush and wash hands. The helper will give students a paper towel and be sur disposed of properly. Other bathroom rules will include: no splashing water and respect each others’ privacy. Moving the students: The students need to have routines on how to leave the room as a group with a minimum of muss and fuss. The class moves around in mass several times a day and in order to avoid time wasting, they need to follow simple procedures. | will call tables or rows to line up based on preparedness. When students are on line, they must be quiet and keep their hands and feet to ‘themselves. | will remind them that when we are walking in the hall, other peoplePare |9 see them as a group, not as individuals. This will reaffirm that they are connected to each other and responsible for each other. Lunch: | think that my students will line up based on their lunch choices. This makes the cafeteria line go so much more smoothly. For example, on Monday the lunchroom is serving either spaghetti or a turkey sandwich. | will ask all the students who will order spaghetti to line up first, turkey sandwiches are next, and lunch boxes are last. Students will be reminded to use good table manners, talk quietly, chew your mouth closed, definitely do not throw food, use a napkin, and keep your body and your food in your own space. “Get a Job!” People in a community have jobs and the classroom is a small, but important community. Jobs that are important are: ‘= Messenger: two students will be chosen each week to leave the room to pick up and deliver items to other places in the school. Students must NEVER leave the room alone. "Trash pick-up: when the class finishes an art project or snack, two students will carry the trash cans to each desk and collect the papers, wrappers, and so on. "Bathroom helpers: a boy and a girl will be chosen each week to help with bathroom duty. = The Collector: this student passes out and collects materials for the teacher,> [10 6. Time to go hom: Preparing to go home is very intricate. You want to insure that each student has all possessions that need to go home. Students will be called by group to get their coats and book bags. Students will make sure that they have packed their homework and any school correspondence into their homework folder. Students will line up by thei destinations. The bus riders will line up first and will separate themselves by bus. For example, students in bus #1 line up first, bus #2 are next and so forth. Car riders line up together. After school care lines up together. Day care students stay together. Walkers line up in the final group. This routine is super difficult, but is also the most important safety procedure of the day.fan Motivation Strategi Sources of motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is frequently used in classrooms. An example is the use of reinforcers which are an external motivator used to increase desir :d behavior by using some system of reward. In the lower elementary grades this, is the easiest path for teachers to take. At my clinical school there is a system of “high fives.” Any time a clas: “caught” by behaving in an exemplary fashion the class is given a “high five.” After receiving ten “high fives,” the class gets a treat. The students were thrilled by this system in September, wowed by it in October, were pleased by it in November, and by December they really seemed to be oblivious and it has begun to lack any relevance at all for them. The treat system of reward works great with training my dog, but eventually even he gets sick of Pupperoni! Another system of external motivation is the “Punisher.” This is an anti- motivational strategy that purports, “if you do that again, you will be in trouble.” Punishment is not very motivational and does not give a student hope nor does it encourage their competence. Coloroso states that punishment “results in fear, fighting back, or fleeing.” These are not things you want to see in a classroom. That being said, there is nothing wrong with giving a class the occasional reward such as, “We've has such a great week, | made popcorn and brought in a movie.” This is a reward, not a bribe. | would like to build my students’ intrinsic motivation, giving them motivation from the inside. One way to do this is by building their curiosity. The students will do this activity because they truly want to know the outcome. We did a series of lessons before Halloween with the classroom pumpkins. The lesson started with the question, “Do pumpkins float?” “Doonly the little pumpkins float and the big ones sink?” “How many seeds are in a pumpkin?” “How can we count our seeds quicker?” These students were fascinated by the properties of pumpkins because the teacher peaked their curiosity. | want to know about pumpkins because pumpkins are interesting. These lessons did not result in candy, but the project was really enjoyable and everyone had fun and learning was acl ved. Curwin and Mendler recommend motivating students by providing interesting and relevant learning goals. Are pumpkins relevant? From my experience, kids love pumpkins and what you love, you will want to learn more about.Page [33 Preventive Behavior Management Strategie: The primary method of prevention is a good offense. If, as Wong suggests, you spend plenty of time on learning the routines, procedures, and expectations, good behavior will follow. So, what can | do as a teacher to prevent misbehavior before it occurs? It has been my experience that if the students believe that the teacher has eyes in the back of her head, they will be more likely to behave themselves. Obviously, | cannot grow these eyes, but | can create a room environment that allows me to be accessible to each student. When setting up the desks, have {arranged them to allow me room to move about? Is the room suitably free from unnecessary clutter that may distract or overwhelm students? Do all students face me allowing me to make eye contact? Also, according to Charles, misbehaviors can occur at the teacher level. if the students cannot trust the teacher to model expected behaviors, than all the preventive management in the world will be unable to create a well managed learning environment that motivates students. Charles provides a list of ten “Teacher Misbehaviors” that are pitfalls that a good teacher must avoid at all costs. At some point every teacher will suffer from at least one of these misbehaviors, but being aware of them will deter them from occurring too often. They are: 1. Poor habits 2. Unfamiliar with techniques 3. Poor behavior model 4. No interest or appreciationPage [16 5. Succumb to frustration 6. Succumb to provocation 7. Ineffective guidance/feedback 8. Ineffective communication 9. Failure to plan proactively 10. Use of coercion, threat, punishment. Although I do not think that | will be the perfect teacher, | plan to arrive at school prepared and ready to teach. | intend to have my materials organized and will be a model of what you can be when you plan proactively. | will learn breathing or counting skills when | am provoked beyond measure. | will adjust my lessons and practice flexibility when students do not understand what | am teaching; | will not become frustrated. | repeat, “I will not become frustrated.”Intervention vels of Consequences: | am designing a frog and lily pad; actually my father and | will design the lily pad whi he will make of wood. Each student will have a clothes pin with a laminated frog with their name on it. Each student will start the day on the start pad which says, “I can do it!” and, if all goes well, will end on the pad which says, “Outstanding Day!” In the middle will be the lily pads that children will want to leap over. The first pad says, “I see you.” The student and! ill refer back to the classroom rules and discern with which rule he or she is having trouble. The student will then move his frog to that pad. If the student continues to disregard the classroom rules he or she will have to move their frog to the next pad with states, “STOP and THINK.” The third pad assigns a physical consequence which in my clinical classroom is to remove a pleasurable activity and substitute it with something else. Every day the students have outdoor activity time at which time they can play on the playground equipment, play ball, jump rope, etc. During inclement weather, we go to the gym to work off some energy there. If a student is on the t pad, he or she must walk ‘two laps; this does not take away their need for physical activity, but the amount of fun gleaned from it. The next two pads are “Contact,” which means that | will speak to the child’s caregiver and “Office,” which means that the principle will have to step in so that | can get the rest of the classroom back on the learning track. At the end of the day, students will bring home a paper lily pad, which, with any luck will say, “Outstanding Day!” It may say “I see you” or “STOP and THINK” or “2 Laps.” Caregivers are informed of the routines at the beginning of the year that students will bring home a lily pad every day and | wouldPage 116 greatly appreciate it if they would check the pad daily and talk to their child. If the student has no lily pad, it is because | have made contact by phone or because the student has a note. | think that Coloroso’s theory of discipline and not punishment is a helpful classroom management strategy. It is my hope that the use of the lily pad system will allow the student an opportunity to see what they have done wrong, take ownership of the problem, and be given an opportunity to solve the problem with my help while keeping their dignity intact. | choose to avoid losing my temper and allowing the situation to escalate. Curwin and Mendler suggest four ways to guide me; they are: 1. Listen to the student 2. Take some time to cool off 3. Keep it private 4, Incur the insubordination rule as a last resort. Thave also seen a system of red, yellow, and green lights. Everyone starts the day with their name on the green circle of a traffic light. That is, obviously, where the student hopes to remain for the entire day. If the student breaks one of the classroom rules, such as not listening or sho 1g poor manners, he or she will be asked to move their name to the yellow light. The student is then given the opportunity to change his or her behavior. If this does not work, the student will be asked to move his or her name to the red light. At theend of the day, the students will bring home their respective lights. On the red and yellow lights, the teacher will write why a particular child has a warning light or a red light. ‘As students occasionally forget to bring home daily papers, the lights will be stapled into their “end of the week” work folder. A paper is added containing that week's dates written on it. Each day of the week has a circle that the teacher colors in with that student's appropriate light color. There is room to write a few words about something that happened toa student each day. If the student got a green light, but had an extraordinary day, there is aline to write “super student,” or “WOWII!” Something is always written by yellow or red lights to explain why the student received those lights. Folders are sent home on Friday and the children’s caregiver can review the students’ work and discuss the students’ behavior.Implementation Strategies: Before | meet my students | will prepare myself and my classroom and | will, hopefully, leave nothing to chance. In order to implement my classroom management plan: 1 1 will seek advice from my mentor and school administrator and learn the codes and expectations of the school district. I will attempt to make physical contact with each child’s caregiver either by phone, letter, or face to face. This will be done so that I can get a feel for the background of each of my students and their caregivers will get an opportunity to meet me and learn about my hopes for each of their children and for our classroom community. | will greet each student, every morning to make them feel that they are welcome and to impart a feeling of security and belonging. We will spend plenty of time during the first weeks of school learning about each other, learning about the classroom routines, and learning the classroom rules. We will behave as a family whose members are interdependent on each other. We will do cooperation exercises: = The teacher pairs her students into pairs of similar sized students. Each pair finds a mat on the gym floor. The students sit with their backs against each other and their legs straight out in front of them. Instruct them to link their arms and to try to stand. TheyPage [19 ‘may not use their hands to push up off of the floor. The task is complete when the pair of students is standing. = The teacher forms groups of three students. Each group is given two ribbons in which they are instructed to tie one leg to one leg of another in their group. It is sort of like a three legged race but with more legs. Have a variety of stations for the students to attend, such as “Walk to the swing while holding an egg on a spoon!” or “Dribble the soccer ball to the goal and kick it in the goall” * Arrange for the class to watch “The March of the Penguins.” Pair your students and give each pair a bean bag. Tell the pairs that they are penguins and that they are caring for their only egg. That ‘means that the beanbag must remain on the feet of one partner at all times. They must figure out how to pass the beanbag to. their partner without touching it. 6. I will come to school prepared for the day ahead and will avoid wasting time. 7. 1 will be flexible and open to spur of the moment teaching moments. 8. Iwill try to plan exciting lesson plans that the students enjoy and that promote an atmosphere of competence and quality learrPage [20 Works Cited Charles C. (2008). Building Classroom Discipline. 9" Ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. Churchward, Budd. (2009). 11 Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline. Retrieved Dec. 1, 2009 from http://www.honorlevel.com/x47.xml ‘Snyder, Angela L. and Sutherland, Kevin S. Effective Strategies for Classroom Management. Retrieved Dec. 4, 2009 from www.soe veu edu! Stipek, Deborah. Intrinsic Motivation. From Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective (5 Ed.) in Pearson Custom Education's Education 4400: Foundations of School. ‘Learning, Motivation, & Assessment (pp. 67-88). New York, NY: Pearson Custom Publishing. Stipek, Deborah. Defining and Assessing Achievement Motivation. From Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective (5” Ed.) in Pearson Custom Education’s Education 4400: Foundations of School Learning, Motivation, & Assessment (pp. 57-66). New York, NY: Pearson Custom Publishing.1, How have you managed your class time, classroom space, and learning activities to insure that you students are actively engaged in learning? ‘+ Class time: | leave plenty of time for the students to clean up and get settled on the carpet. | will ask the students to begin cleaning up when | am almost done working with an individual student or small group. | will also ask them to get settled when | am getting my materials ready for the next subject. Math rotations can sometimes be time consuming to get set up. | always ask for a few student to help me by putting the tubs at the tables and making sure all of the materials are ready (scissors, glue, crayons etc.). * Space: All of the students’ tables have multiple uses. The table in the back is not only Keshaun, Chloe, and David's table, itis also the science and art centers. | also encourage the students to use the carpet for the math center, puzzles, games and blocks. + Learning Activities: One of my biggest pet peeves is students coming to ask me what they are supposed to do after | clearly explained the instructions and got them started, Worse than that are when students interrupt and tell me that they have finished listening to the tape and want to know what they should do now. The year is almost over and for the entire year the students have moved from the listening center to the writing center! To attempt to keep the interruptions at a minimum, | explain the directions and expectations in depth every day. | may even go overboard by adding specific steps, such as, “Put your name at the top of your paper.” Or, for the listening center, | will give explicit directions because | do not want them t ferrupt my group. 1 always state, “Do not tell me when the tape is done. | will know that the tape is done when | see you get up and move to the writing table!”2. What guidelines and resources were used in the development of your classroom management plan? lused Ms. Fellows’ rules. These rules are short and simple but they are also very clear. These rules are very broad to make sure that all types of misbehavior fit into a category. For example, the first rule “Use Good Manners.” This covers a wide variety of behaviors such as: do not \terrupt the teacher, do not interrupt another student, say please and thank you, | am. sorry, and excuse me. When | set up my classroom, the rules | plan to implement are similar to Ms. Fellows’ rules. | agree with the Wongs who suggest that the rules be clear, concise and in place on the first day of school. | do plan to discuss the rules with the class. I want them to understand that these rules are set up to make the class feel like a family. When | am satisfied that the students comprehend the rules, they will sign the rules poster. At the end of my classroom management plan, | have a list of the resources that | used to develop my plan. 3. How have you implemented your classroom management plan? At the beginning of the semester, | did not agree with the red light system. Now, three ‘months later, | understand and utilize this system better. | realized that after two or three verbal warnings, | needed to change my strategy. The students seemed to know that | did not like the traffic light and rarely used it. My threats were empty and no action was being taken. 1 wanted Ms. Fellows to get the class ready so that I could teach my lesson. Ms. Fellows seemed to think | should get control of the class myself! When | finally did tell a child to move her name to yellow, the whole class was shocked into silence. Chloe cried and did not want to move her light. You can bet that class straightened up and improved their behavior. lalso need other criteria for a well managed classroom. Fred Jones recommended that teachers keep moving, make eye contact, and practice bodily proximity. In order for this to be successful, the classroom cannot be cluttered. The first thing that | did when | started Senior Iage 13 was to teach the children to keep their areas clean. | find it very important to constantly circulate the room and | do not want to risk tripping over someone's book or coat etc. 4. How effective has your classroom management plan been? Has it assisted you sufficiently in managing off-task student behavior so that learning could occur in your classroom? Is the plan manageable or cumbersome? Does it help you accomplish the behavior goals you have set for your students? In order for my classroom management plan to be fully effective, | think | will need to be in my own classroom. It was very difficult for me, an outsider, to come in and try all new things on a classroom full of five year olds. These children thrive on routine and Ms. Fellows is an excellent and experienced teacher who maintains excellent control of her class. That said, | tried to implement as many of my plan ideas as possible. For example, when students are off-task, | found eye contact and physical proximity to be the quickest and most efficient way to get the student back on track without any further disruption. It works more effectively than yelling or calling out someone's name and | still have my voice at the end of the day. Currently, my management plan still seems a bit cumbersome, as my entire plan has just not been applied to the day's routine. | still need to think about different aspects of my management plan as they just do not yet come naturally. 5. What kind of adjustments/changes have you made in your management plan over time to insure that students were more engaged in learning than inappropriate behavior? Provide 1-2 examples to illustrate. What changes do you anticipate making to you classroom management plan in the future? Why? One of the rules on my “Classroom Rules,” list is, “Be a good listener.” | am hoping to somehow adjust this rule so that the children understand that they must listen carefully when | speak so as to avoid asking multiple questions during learning time. When we weregela making clouds for the independent portion of my “Clever Clouds” lesson, | encountered a child who did not follow this rule. | went over the directions, | modeled the work, and | allowed time for some questions. As the students began to do their cloud paper, one girl called me over to ask a question. | answered the question succinctly and moved on. However, | thought to myself, | know | covered that question in the directions. Oh well, maybe she missed that particular direction. After three questions, | came to the conclusion that she either did not listen to me during the directions or she was just enjoying interrupting me. Either way, | had had enough and refused to answer any more questions. I told her to just do the best that she could. She handed in her paper on the various types of clouds with cotton balls pasted randomly all over the sheet. | refused to hang the paper up and she went home and told her mother that | wouldn’t tell her how to do the work. When her mother came to school, she saw all of the cloud papers on display and they were all mostly correct. Remember, | am not looking for artistic perfection, When I showed the mom her daughter's paper, she was surprised. She actually wanted to know if her child was in the classroom when the directions were given because her paper was such a disaster! The moral of this story is, “Be a good listener.” Good listeners tend to avoid inappropriate behavior. 'have not made my final decision on the intervention strategy portion of my ‘management plan. | am not sure if my lily pad approach to consequences will really work. | have reviewed it over and over in my head and | may have come to the conclusion that it ‘may be too complicated and time consuming for young children. As the plan stands now, there are a wide variety of pads that children may be told to move their names onto. For example, “Stop and Think,” requires me to stop what | am doing and interrupt the classroom flow to have a discussion with a student about interrupting the classroom flow. It is beginning to look like a counterproductive circular argument. A quick, “move your name to yellow,” is a more immediate and more understandable consequence for young children to grasp.6. Describe one student whose behavior has been a particular discipline challenge for you. What actions did you take to correct the behavior? Which actions were effective? Which were not? Provide rationale to support your response. ‘When reading this question, one student immediately comes to my mind. He always outs if | ask him to do anything. He is constantly roaming around the room and disrupting the other students. He often makes comments such as, “You can’t make me,” or “Why do | have to?” If the situation gets out of hand he will cry very loudly, throw things and kick the desks. When he is having a tantrum, he cries, “Nobody likes me,” or “I don’t car Although he is very smart is work is often sloppy and incomplete. Other times he will hide in the classroom so that | have to stop what | am doing and look for him. One time he actually left the room. He is constantly trying to get my attention, even if the attention is negative. He is defiant and disobedient to me because | think he believes that | do not know what to. do. In the beginning, he was probably right. | have had a great deal of trouble with this child. Ihave found that the most effective solution is to do nothing. if am sitting, | make sure that I can see the door, in case he tries to leave, but | ith my back to him. | always make sure that the other students are working or playing some distance away for him. | do this because he is prone to throw blocks at other students. He will cry and stomp around the room, but when he is ignored, he quickly stops the behavior. | previously tried to get him to behave by saying, “Jesento, stop crying,” or “When you get up off of the floor and stop kicking, you can play with the rest of the class.” This proved to be an ineffective strategy. | think he was feeding off of my reactions and responses. Last time he had a ‘temper tantrum, I put my back to him and continued to work with my group. His fit was much briefer than it had been. Now they are infrequent and last only a couple of minutes. They had been an almost daily occurrence and they lasted in excess of thirty minutes.age l6é 7. How have you changed over time as a classroom manager? How will you continue to grow in this area? I know that I have become a stricter teacher, but also a more confident teacher. In the beginning, | was nervous and | wanted my children to love me. | took unnecessary nonsense because | was not sure of my competence. One of my college professors counseled me by telling me that every teacher has fears and doubts and that with practice and experience these fears will begin to dissipate. | also had to come to grips with the knowledge that | was not there to be their friend; | was there to be their teacher. A strict teacher was not a mean teacher. | could be stern without being harsh. Ihave also learned the difference between good noise and a din. Kindergarten students do not work in silence and | had to learn to live with a modicum of sound, however, | do not put up with a loud racket. It took some experience to differentiate between the two. Finally, | am sure that | will grow in my role as a classroom manager. When | have my own class, | will have to put my plan into action by myself. | will not be walking into a class that is already managed by a great teacher. | may try, but | do not think Ms. Fellows will be willing to work for me for the first month of school. Setting up rules, procedures, and routines will be my job.