I'm in and ready to roll!!!! Bring on Class Management!

Okay - I got a little carried away when I realized my blog was finally up and running! Who hoo! Classroom management - what ever classes they have at the college level do not prepare you for the actual classroom. When we student teach we are going into a classroom that has already had a seasoned teacher show them the ropes. The biggest tool I learned was to talk to other teachers - take what you like and leave the rest. When you open yourself up and ask what works for them - you might find what you need. I like resources like Middle Ground, Edutopia, Instructor, and The First Six Weeks of School. I like to keep learning about what I can do differently and hopefully better than what I was doing before. There's always room for improvement! One of the classroom management tools that I use is actually during study hall. Several (sometimes up to 8) math students come in - we sit around my table that I use as a desk - and go over our math homework and discuss questions we may have. Now, this is not a quiet study hall - if students need that they know this is not the place. Work is getting done, candy dish may come out, questions are being answered, students are being supported, and sometimes a little life lesson comes out. All of these things happen and these students are finding success - learning to come in for help - asking questions - me being available. Now, to be honest, the other 8th grade teachers are not supportive of this and want to limit students that come in to see me at 2 at a time. Their study halls are extremely quiet. What I'm saying is this - this management style works for me and most importantly for my students. Isn't that what I'm here for? When I read the article about the school in Belfast (ah! my back yard!) I thought - you go! What a great idea! What exactly do we want the students to learn about detentions and suspensions? Wouldn't we want to turn this incident into a learning opportunity? Not only as a teacher do I see this but as a parent of two not so perfect teenagers. This is part of school management as well. And the article on barbed wire - quite an analogy - especially since I grew up on a farm with that! It's all in knowing - and knowing what could work - to get the best out of the situation.