Comments for My Classroom Management

Comment on Sarcastic Non-verbal Reactions from Students by Classroom Teacher Resources

Classroom Teacher Resources — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:53:56 +0000

Sarcasm is indeed a difficult thing to pull off, depending on the grade level. Many teachers really can’t manage it well, as you point out.

In the lower grades (K-3), most simply don’t get it…they are used to nothing but the (perceived) truth coming from the mouths of adults. A little sarcasm is not a bad thing for these kids, as it is a tiny bit of preparation for the reality of life…where sarcasm certainly exists.

I do use mild sarcasm with my 4th graders. At that age, they are able to “get it”…although it can take several applications. I sometimes couch my sarcasm in a dramatic, over-the-top presentation (but not a hurtful one) so that it is quite obvious what I am doing.

So why do I use it at all? Because done right it can really help students learn to laugh at themselves, and we can all use some lessons in taking ourselves less seriously.

But, as you point out…tread lightly until you know if you have the right group of kids and whether you have the knack for pulling it off successfully.

Betsy Weigle

Comment on Common Behavior Problems and Solutions by jenniferw

jenniferw — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:11:29 +0000

Great questions! Here are some thoughts for you: Sarcastic Non-Verbal Reactions from Students Cursing in the classroom Verbal wisecracks at the teacher. I'll add more as I get them written, stay tuned to the Hot Topics Section!

Comment on Common Behavior Problems and Solutions by Saniya Hafiz

Saniya Hafiz — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:17:20 +0000

I need solutions for the following:

Sarcastic non verbal reactions from students.
Cursing by the students.
Verbal wisecracks at the teacher.
Confrontational students.

Comment on Free Classroom Management Ebook by Stewart McCallum

Stewart McCallum — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:02:15 +0000

I am to try the methods in the e-book on classroom management, next year when I start teaching at primary school in Johannesburg, South Africa. A student teacher at the Universtry of Johannesburg.

Kind Regards

Stewart McCallum
ps need information on dealing with large classes! (between 35-70 learners in a class)

Comment on Don’t Lock the kid in the closet by Bill Alexander

Bill Alexander — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:39:16 +0000

Hi Jennifer,
I guess we’ve all been guilty of doing something similar – asking a student to step outside or go somewhere and then forgetting about them . Like the teacher in the story usually these things don’t lead to any permanent damage to the relationship between teacher and student.
What does damage the relationship between teacher and student, however, is when a teacher doesn’t follow through with the consequences that are threatened. If you don’t do what you say you are going to do, as a consequence of specific student behaviour, very soon you’ll lose all credibility with your students who will come to the conclusion that you don’t mean what you say and soon you’ll lose their respect.
Of course, the consequences have to be reasonable and fair. The whole purpose of consequences is to make it clear to students that they have overstepped the mark. And the power of the consequence is not really to punish, it’s to inconvenience the student.
The final point to make about consequences is that it’s not how severe they are that makes them effective, it’s the certainty that they will be imposed.

Good post, Jennifer.

Bill Alexander

Comment on Classroom Management for Specials by Teaching specials | Jlaura

Teaching specials | Jlaura — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:22:38 +0000

[...] Classroom Management for Specials | My Classroom ManagementMusic, art, PE and other specials teachers have the unique challenge of managing the behavior of the entire school over the course of a week. These teachers … [...]

Comment on Maintain Classroom Management Without a Voice by Bill Alexander

Bill Alexander — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:31:18 +0000

Hi,
Interesting post, Jennifer.
Losing our voice is a major problem for us teachers, whose stock-in-trade is talking. We get to be pretty good at talking a lot in lessons and it’s often only when we have a really sore throat or lose our voice we are reminded how much we actually do talk in lessons.
And maybe that’s the problem. A lot of students certainly think that teachers tend to talk far too much in class and they may be right.
It’s a useful exercise for us all to examine how much talking we actually need to do in class for a lesson to be successful. Often when I’ve reflected on a lesson, particularly a lesson that wasn’t as successful I’d intended, I’ve realised that I’ve talked far more than I needed to. Instead I could have been listening to and observing students, giving them more responsibilty for the learning .

Of course, we need to be sure our students don’t take advantage and think less teacher talk means they don’t need to do as much work.

Bill Alexander

Comment on Maintain Classroom Management Without a Voice by Classroom Teacher Resources

Classroom Teacher Resources — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:52:14 +0000

Interesting point that you make about kids wanting to help…that is the same thing I noticed from being a sub: when a teacher is a bit adrift without a clear indication of what to do next, there will always be children who are willing to help. It’s our natural human empathy.

Of course, one must guard against the few who would misdirect, but the overall student input is almost certain to be positive.

Betsy Weigle

Comment on Common Behavior Problems and Solutions by Cathy Rohrbach

Cathy Rohrbach — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:57:40 +0000

I co-teach in a mainstream math class for Freshman.
We have several students that talk excessively, laugh at each other’s mis-conduct in the classroom, make snide remarks, and are disrespectful.
They’ve received central detentions and teacher detentions and the behavior continues. Any ideas?

Comment on Homework Assignment: Student Reflection by Classroom Teacher Resources

Classroom Teacher Resources — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 02:10:59 +0000

This is such a great point. On the URL that I have provided above, I point out how my mentor teacher (when I was a student teacher) kept a check-off list to ensure that she gave each kid 0ne-on-one time during those first weeks of school.

It is such a critical time and the kids need to know that they are valued and acknowledged as part of the a teacher’s classroom community.

Thanks for highlighting this!

Betsy Weigle