Madison Riley

California State University, Chico

EDTE 265

Professor Lemnah

April 16, 2024

 It is extremely important to have good classroom management skills as a teacher but

how? I personally think that it is important to have set expectations, positive reinforcement,

exceptional organization, being flexible, and relationships with the students. Having these traits

in the classroom will allow the job to get done with ease.

Having set expectations is imperative for many reasons. You want the students to have

the opportunity to have a positive learning environment while also preparing them for the future.

Something that I used to see in classrooms was making a set of rules together. On the first day of

school, we would talk about rules and make a poster for the classroom. I want to do this with my

future classrooms because when the students are a part of making the rules, it means more to

them. When a teacher has set rules that were made without the students, it is not something that

they feel a part of. I feel that when the class makes the rules together, the chances of students

respecting the rules are quite a bit higher. Students often know the types of rules that apply to the

classroom: respect each other, follow instructions, stay on task, keep the classroom clean, etc. As

the teacher, you can also make suggestions and guide the rules in the right direction. It is also

important to only have up to five rules for the year. If there are more, it is likely that they will not

all be followed.

Something else that I want to have in my future classroom is a system for positive

reinforcement. Obviously, I will give the students words of encouragement such as “Thank you

for sharing” or “Great work”. I would also like to have a system that the students know about to

encourage them to behave beyond expectations. Some sort of event or prize would be ideal so

they can have something to work towards.

 I have talked to a few teachers and something that they have highlighted about having

good classroom management skills is to being very organized. This does not just apply to the file

cabinets in your classroom. This also means having lesson plans that have been prepared and

looked over many times to ensure that they will flow smoothly. I know that this will not always

happen but it is important to strive for this. When things start to get disorganized, the classroom

management goes south. This is something that I plan to avoid. Another part of being organized

is having a good structure and routine so that way the students know what to expect. How can

you have expectations for them and not have standards for yourself? Having a routine in the

classroom is imperative so students and yourself know what is expected and what is going on.

Building relationships with the students will also lead to good classroom management. I

feel that teachers who build relationships with their students gain more respect from them. When

students feel valued and there is mutual respect between the student and teacher it is likely that

there will be more positive behavior. One way that I would like to build relationships in a

professional manner is by getting to know each student individually. This will also give you the

opportunity to provide support to whatever their needs may be. Building relationships will also

lead you to have a positive and healthy classroom environment.

Flexibility is something that all teachers should have as well. There are going to be

constant speed bumps and obstacles that you will face. It is going to be rare for a whole day to go

as you planned. Having backup ideas and plans is something that all teachers should have just in
case they need to use them. This is something that a very influential teacher has told me and I

plan to take her advice.

In conclusion, having set expectations, positive reinforcement, organization, flexibility,

and relationships with the students will allow the classroom to feel like a safe space and will also

allow the school years to go by with ease. I look forward to applying this information to my

future classrooms and seeing how effective they really are.