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I will admit I am an old school teacher when it comes to classroom management. I have high expectations in my class when it comes to behavior and respect. I expect that you come into my class to meet the following expectations:
- Have fun
- Make someone's day
- Come on time and prepared
- Choose a positive attitude
These are borrowed and adapted from the Fish! Philosophy out of the fish market as Pike Place Market. In a nutshell to help with workplace management the pike place fish mongers came up with a philosophy I really like. When you come to work you should be focused having fun (first and foremost), to help with that you need to choose a positive attitude, You also need to make someone's day, Along with these three you need to be there for people (what I call on-time and prepared). Following these 4 simple practices help make the day go by faster and more enjoyably and also cuts down on issues and negative behavior.
I believe strongly in respect and building respect with students and parents. I prefer when students and I have an issue with behavior we talk and work it out together as there is usually an underlying reason for why they are not meeting the above expectations. That is the respectful thing to do. I tell my students that they are with me 5 days a week not their parents so we need to work it out but that I will involve their parents if I need to. This works pretty well on most things. I tell students that the best way to build respect with me is to take responsibility for your actions. For example if you break a tool or Lego piece tell me, if you do something wrong and get caught tell me why so we can work it out. I do the same with my students. If I do something wrong or make a mistake and apologize and offer to make it right. A lot of times students just brush this off but sometimes they are amazed that a teacher does this. Don't get me wrong it is hard for me to do but I am seeing the benefits the more i do. Another thing I do to build respect is if I am going to call home I try to have a conversation with the student before I do so they know what I am going to say. This is hard for some but I think they appreciate it so that when they get home they know how to frame the conversation. I also am trying harder to call home with good news on kids. I have found this shocks most parents but helps when one needs to have harder conversations later on. Before I do call home with good news I ask for permission from my students. This takes them aback at first but more often than not they appreciate it.
I have also found over the years that humor/sarcasm (contrary to my management classes and books) helps to disrupt behavior and give students an out. For example instead of yelling at the kids for talking while I am talking I simply wait for them to talk and then ask if I can continue or kicking backpacks out of class for not meeting the expectations, or judging the pencil for not being out for the student to take notes. I also find that sometimes students need an out/break when it comes to their behavior, such as a moment out of the classroom or a moment to run some stairs. With the later 2 though I am finding I am at odds with the state on this. According to what I have been told if I ask a kid to leave the room I need to notify parents that I made that decision and why. In some cases I agree I need to let parents know but if I sense the kids needs a break or needs to run off some nervous energy I don't think parents need to know. Maybe I am wrong what are your thoughts?
I am wondering your thoughts on my management strategies and how they fit in with PBIS and Restorative Justice. We are learning about PBIS this year in small chunks but I would like to know more. I would also like to know more about how to practice more Restorative Justice in my classes as I feel it might be a better fit with my teaching style.
As always I welcome and encourage your thoughts and ideas.
Go Forth and Do Great Things!
John, I really appreciate reading your blog. Your approach sounds similar to mine in a middle school/junior high classroom. Classroom management is nuanced and personal, and talking about it is complicated, because we all use terms and statements that may be overly generalized. In working with our teacher candidates, they struggle with nuance. There is a difference between giving a student a break outside of class and sending a student out as a disciplinary step. But, IMHO, the difference is subtle and may not be portrayed well by well-meaning instructors. I think the important piece of any system like this is to empower the student to take charge in developmentally appropriate ways to repair the wrong (restorative justice), and interpret the situation. One of my favorite books in this regard is Help For Billy by Forbes. When you address an infraction...the infractions are ones of *relationship*...not of *rules.* I know what the books say about sarcasm, and I think this is another example of something that is nuanced. I worked with a new teacher who thought she was using sarcasm, but in reality, she was humiliating kids. It takes proper interpretation to use well (and I used it a great deal in my classroom) :-)
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