1) Every teacher has their own style of teaching. They are also going to have their own procedures in the classroom. As students mature, they know the procedures in a school and understand why we have them. Also it is part of the maturation process to go into classrooms and learn how to respond to each teacher’s personal style. Our administration has five expectations for every student. This is what is posted in our rooms. My partner and I don’t dwell on rules, the kids just know. We use to do exactly what the book gave as an example. The students would list all the rules they had in elementary. We would take that list and narrow it down to five. Now we don’t even do that because if you know the school’s expectations for learning you are following the rules.
2&3) The whole school atmosphere is built on procedures. However, I also think it is equally important to be flexible. Not every lesson is going to be so cut and dry. I also think we as educators can’t get stuck in a rut and do the same thing over and over. I will admit I like the classroom to run smoothly, but I also need to take risks. For example, the students I have this year love to act out skits or plays. There is a part of me that thought all the practice time was chaotic. However, when you look at the outcome I know the objective was accomplished. So this year I try to arrange group work in a variety of ways with different procedures for each task.
1) I am a firm believer of following routines. It is often the only way I get through my day. I also feel children strive in structure and predictability. They are happiest when they know what to expect and what is expected of them. Children are most comfortable with what is familiar to them. It has been my experience that the “best” teachers follow these standards. They never have problems in their class and don’t complain about their students because their students know how to act in their classroom. I have also witnessed other classrooms in which the teacher was not organized and everyday brought something new and different. The children never knew what to expect when they walked through the door and neither did I! I think all teachers should establish standards of behaviors. I agree with the author’s idea that some children like to break rules. By providing positive behaviors to role model and follow, students will begin to learn about respect and other common courtesies that many aren’t learning at home any more. I am so surprised and the simple courtesies so many children have not been exposed to.
2/3) I have a group of classroom standards that I re-wrote this year. It was very difficult to write everything in the positive. People are so used to hearing and saying, “Don’t do this” and “ No no!” that it is often a challenge to do it any other way. This year I printed out a new list of classroom standards for my class and hung it on my white board. Having my list of room standards is a nice visual reminder for my students. I simply ask them to check our classroom behavior chart when they start to get a little out of hand. Then I usually get, “Oh yeah, use a quiet inside voice”. This makes my job less stressful and has decreased the amount of time I usually had to use reinforcing and policing. I would like to try writing out the steps for the procedures I have in my classroom to make sure I am not combining two or more procedures. I also like the idea of keeping it simple and only having 5 or six steps. I think the children will respond better to steps that art short and precise.
2 comments:
1) Every teacher has their own style of teaching. They are also going to have their own procedures in the classroom. As students mature, they know the procedures in a school and understand why we have them. Also it is part of the maturation process to go into classrooms and learn how to respond to each teacher’s personal style. Our administration has five expectations for every student. This is what is posted in our rooms. My partner and I don’t dwell on rules, the kids just know. We use to do exactly what the book gave as an example. The students would list all the rules they had in elementary. We would take that list and narrow it down to five. Now we don’t even do that because if you know the school’s expectations for learning you are following the rules.
2&3) The whole school atmosphere is built on procedures. However, I also think it is equally important to be flexible. Not every lesson is going to be so cut and dry. I also think we as educators can’t get stuck in a rut and do the same thing over and over. I will admit I like the classroom to run smoothly, but I also need to take risks. For example, the students I have this year love to act out skits or plays. There is a part of me that thought all the practice time was chaotic. However, when you look at the outcome I know the objective was accomplished. So this year I try to arrange group work in a variety of ways with different procedures for each task.
1) I am a firm believer of following routines. It is often the only way I get through my day. I also feel children strive in structure and predictability. They are happiest when they know what to expect and what is expected of them. Children are most comfortable with what is familiar to them. It has been my experience that the “best” teachers follow these standards. They never have problems in their class and don’t complain about their students because their students know how to act in their classroom. I have also witnessed other classrooms in which the teacher was not organized and everyday brought something new and different. The children never knew what to expect when they walked through the door and neither did I! I think all teachers should establish standards of behaviors. I agree with the author’s idea that some children like to break rules. By providing positive behaviors to role model and follow, students will begin to learn about respect and other common courtesies that many aren’t learning at home any more. I am so surprised and the simple courtesies so many children have not been exposed to.
2/3) I have a group of classroom standards that I re-wrote this year. It was very difficult to write everything in the positive. People are so used to hearing and saying, “Don’t do this” and “ No no!” that it is often a challenge to do it any other way. This year I printed out a new list of classroom standards for my class and hung it on my white board. Having my list of room standards is a nice visual reminder for my students. I simply ask them to check our classroom behavior chart when they start to get a little out of hand. Then I usually get, “Oh yeah, use a quiet inside voice”. This makes my job less stressful and has decreased the amount of time I usually had to use reinforcing and policing. I would like to try writing out the steps for the procedures I have in my classroom to make sure I am not combining two or more procedures. I also like the idea of keeping it simple and only having 5 or six steps. I think the children will respond better to steps that art short and precise.
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