Josh's Reflections What is classroom management really? It seems like we have created this term to encompass and contain some very diverse and different ideas, strategies, and aspects of teaching. I don't know that trying to consider all that is involved in leading a class under the umbrella of classroom management is helpful or not. A few things I find myself doing at times, that I think interfere with classroom management, is:
1) Putting my Faith in an Activity: Too often I think I just need to plan better, find a better exercise, comb the web for something cool and fun... but in reality an activity is not going to set the tone for a class. When I focus too much on planning and not enough on my own preparation, I think I miss out on an important aspect of being a teacher - my own presence in the class. Part of classroom management is preparing mentally to be a teacher, thinking about your authority, anticipating questions and concerns that may arise, heading off problems before they develop. These all have much more to do with who you are and how you have been thinking about yourself in the classroom, then the lesson plans you have been slaving over. Spend some time thinking about your own authority.
2) Blaming Myself: I constantly try to remind myself and my students that their education is in part their responsibility, and that there are ways they can facilitate their education and ways they can inturrupt it. I try to really emphasize the classroom space as a place co-created, a time co-governed, and a set of goals we work toward together. This of course works at times better than other times.
3) Occupying the Space: Moving around the classroom can be one of the most vital tools in "classroom management" - just wandering over to different parts of the room, speaking from various points, making eye contact with students, getting new perspectives on what is going on. All these things help you shape and direct the attention and focus of the class. Try not to get caught standing still for too long at the front of the class, see if moving around changes the flow of discussion or the tenor of the class.
Here are some other links to look at with more info for new faculty: http://clte.asu.edu/teachingresources/teaching/planningandpolicies/classroommanagement.htm
http://www.pathguy.com/classcon.htm
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/classroom_mgt.htm
http://www.4faculty.org/includes/108r2.jsp
Linh's Reflections
I have this fear that students will, at any moment, go "Aha! she doensn't know what she's talking about! Why is she teaching me?!!!" It's a fear that springs from sometimes not being confindent enough in my abilities, my intelligence, my experiences, and my appearances. In short, I wonder if students question my credibility as an instructor on a daily basis. I wanted to start with this admission of my fear because I think that we sometimes teach from a place of fear: fear of what we don't want to be in class, or what we think students wouldn't want us to be for them. Coupled with my desire to "not be THAT teacher," I find that thinking about my classroom persona is a complicated issue, but one that is very closely tied to what classroom management means. Already, that word, "management," points to one who manages, one who would appear more like "that teacher" character; a persona to be avoided. But let's face it. The classroom isn't a free-for-all space where students all joyously link hands and beg to learn. And by no means is it always a replication of Dead Poet Society, where there is first resistance against Robin Williams, followed by inspired enlightment and growth. WE, as teachers, are managers in many ways. (If you want a different word, I have "negotiate," "mediate" or "operate" for you as well.) WE manage what students write, what they read, how we would like them to interpret texts, and how they respond to each other and us as teachers. My point is, management is treated like a four-letter word, along with authority and power. But to avoid these aspects of the classroom alltogether doesn't make teaching and learning a more productive endeavor. Rather, avoiding the management of class (and I'm not saying that we should regulate students to a tee) can cause problems. For example, I came into teaching thinking that I can treat students as fellow colleagues. Although this is true to some extent-- I try to reciprocate respect-- I became less of a teacher and more of a friend. I learned the hard way that being a friend to your students can lead to students taking advantage of this relationship. I learned the hard way that there is already power working and moving within the classroom, and refuting power causes it to manifest in places that may work against learning. So I manage, negotiate, mediate power, knowing that as long as relationships exists within the classroom, power is part of the picture. After all, there is this thing called "grades" and whether we want to dismiss it as the distracting carrot for our students, the reality is that we have to hand grades out to each of our students at the end of the semester. We know this, and students know this. It's unfortunate that students will work for the grade, and this isn't always the case, but I find that ignoring the power of grades, as well as other manifestations of power doesn't make grades go away, and doesn't make power disappear. Perhaps I'm a pragmatic, but instead of worrying so much over whether my students will hate me because I'm acting in ways which signal I'm "that teacher," I try to think about the multiple acts and personas I can perform in order to get students to think and learn. So maybe I do come down hard when students talk over other students; saying nothing to that student is a signal to other students that it's ok to disrespect their classmates. I do try to set boundaries at the beginning of class; I tell students I'm not comfortable with them sleeping at the back of the class, checking email when we are having a discussion, or text-messaging their friends during class time. It's not because I'm this terrible authoritarian, but because I have responsibilities as an instructor to this class to manage it ways that promotes learning for all students, not just for the one who acts out because s/he is bored with the content. On that note, I find that setting borders and negotiating power in class is a context-based ACTIVITY. There is no way to assume how students will reposnd to my multiple personas, so I start from a place of listening and learning-- in effect, READING my students as a way to tailor my performance to what they need. This is a day-to-day, minute-by-minute activity that can't always be plotted out. Sometimes, this requires talking to students about what is not acceptable in the classroom. After all, what is wrong with "that teacher" if you treat that teacher as a fleeting mask, invoking a desired outcome? So what if you want to tell that student to be on time... it doesn't mean that you are "that teacher." Maybe your student will read that action as an action from a teacher who cares about her class and respects other students' use of time. There is this fear that students will dislike me, even hate me... but then again, the fear that they leave my class without any inquiry into their world is one that allows me to say, "Screw it, they can hate me all they want; I'd rather they learn how to think."
