Classroom Management
Amy Stewart
Classroom management is about the most important part of teaching. Setting your expectations, and sticking to them, was not only important in my classroom, but is also a school wide program in Marengo Elementary. This system is taught, practiced, and reinforced. Students learn this system in kindergarten.
The expectations of students are to be safe, be responsible, be respectful, and to do their best. Assemblies are held twice monthly where these expectations are explained in a number of ways. For example, sometimes faculty probe students for ways to show or explain what Tiger Pride means to them. Other times, classes plan activities that show that they understand what Tiger Pride means. Through this extensive program, students understand what the expectations are and know what showing Tiger Pride looks like.
The motivation for students is increased by their ability to earn Tiger Paws. These are pieces of paper the staff has available with tiger paws printed on them. When students are caught following the Tiger Pride expectations, they earn Tiger paws for their class. These are kept in a designated area of the classroom and used as a reminder at times. Then, at the assemblies these paws (with the room number on them) are put into a box. Paws are drawn and those rooms chosen receive special privileges like a potato chip party or an extra recess, for example.
To aid in management, another aspect of this system is school wide signals. "Gimme Five" is an example of this. A staff member says "Gimme Five," putting all five fingers up. Students return the signal. Slowly the staff member counts down to a close fist or zero, and students have learned that this means "zero voices." In other words, students know when the open hand goes up, they have a couple of seconds to finish their sentence and pay attention. This works well for large assemblies as well as in the classroom setting. The universality of it is what is so great.
All around the school, are posters displaying the Tiger Pride Pledge. Also, there are posters reminding students of the different voice levels, to be referred to, or for a reminder. Four is an outdoor voice, three is a speaker voice, two is a Quiet voice, one is a whisper, and zero is voices off.
Lastly, the system is periodically discussed by the staff. Meetings are held. School wide behaviors are graphed, compared, and discussed. This is not the only program used, however it is an important part. As a student teacher, I gained valuable information at these meetings. New or personal strategies were discussed by faculty members, giving others new strategies.
I must admit, this system is all I needed in the classroom. I was fortunate in my student teaching to have a classroom where students were cooperative with me and each other. However, reminders of expectations and the tiger paws were important parts of my classroom. It was great to have this system already in place walking in.
I find it very important for me to be consistent with my expectations. I also believe that keeping an interesting environment for learning is foremost. Diversity in learning and teaching styles is an integral part of teaching. At the same time, I also believe having a safe, nurturing learning environment is a very important part. My relationships with children also promote learning and cooperation. I believe that there are so many parts that add up to a successful classroom. This is a system that has worked for me.