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Thinking about managing a classroom can be very daunting. There are lots of questions that come up when we think as teachers about our classrooms. What do I do when students act out? What do I do when a student is bullying another student? And so on, and so forth. We play a lot of what if games with our students before we even get into the classroom. But is important that we recognize who we are as people and draw from our strengths while acknowledging our weaknesses as we attempt to craft our strategy. The first point that I will bring up which is vitally important for classroom management is developing a rapport with your students. My experience comes from working in an American high school where we all shared a common language, however several of these principles I believe to be universal. The first piece I would suggest is to learn about your students. Learn about where they come from, what they do outside of class, who their favorite musicians/actors are, etc. By knowing who your students are you have a gateway to individual conversation where students are more willing to open up with you both in and outside of class. If students trust you, they are more likely to participate in their class. Some other aspects of creating a welcoming classroom include, standing at the door as your students enter the room and saying hello, playing games to mix up instruction, poking fun at yourself to show that yes, you too are human and you also make mistakes. The better your relationship with your students, the higher the likelihood that they will do what you ask of them. A word of warning to this point however, be sure to separate yourself enough from the students so that they do not see you as their “buddy.” You are the teacher, which means that you have the ultimate authority in the classroom. If you are able to balance being respected and liked, with maintaining control in the classroom- you will do well. The second point I would like to make with respect to classroom management is to come up with a common set of expectations for the class. You might call these class rules or norms, whatever suits your situation the best. There are several benefits to sharing common set of expectations for behavior in the classroom. When these expectations are class dictated the class shares a sense of autonomy over their own behavior that will likely encourage more positive behavior among the students. A common set of expectations also allows you as the teacher a reliable method to correct student behavior, by referring to the list you made as a class. Creating this shared set of expectations allows for the class to create common definitions of terms like “loud,” “quiet,” or “silent” that may have varying cultural definitions based on backgrounds of students and teachers. In an English Learning context- these definitions may help to create a lesson or short unit for you should you be working with beginning level learners. A couple of other points that are more practical in nature. Be sure to be very prepared before you come into the classroom. If you know your content and the structure of your lesson down to the time you would like each section to take you will be better suited to keep students on task and minimize any potential disruptions. Being prepared also allows you more flexibility should students need more or less time on a particular assignment or skill. Another point I would make- if you have threatened a particular outcome (moving a seat, sending to a hallway, etc.) be sure to follow up. Be consistent in how you deal with students so that students do not feel as though there are favorites or that some are more consistently admonished. Essentially, do your best to be fair and evenhanded with students. If you make a mistake or lose your cool in class be sure to address it the next class with something along the lines of “I wasn’t at my best last class and I apologize, let’s try to work together to be the best that I know we can be.” Finally, try your hardest for each class, knowing that you will never be perfect and recognizing that the students won’t be either. You are trying and so are they, assume the best of both yourself and your students.
