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| Originally published in the August 2008 issue of Middle Ground magazine. By Paul Barnwell No gum chewing. The Golden Rule. No leaving the classroom without a signed note. No late work accepted. Be nice. Listen. Perhaps some of the aforementioned rules govern classrooms you lead or are familiar with, or, at the least, similar rules are posted in a visible spot on the wall (if not always followed!) It is more than halfway through the school year, and I have yet to send a student to the office for unruly classroom behavior or write up a discipline referral. Nor have I had to deal with any major student disruptions (knock on wood). I’m proud of this fact, especially because I teach at the middle school level—always an adventure due to adolescents who are prone to pass notes, display irrational outbursts of emotion, and potentially wreak havoc when you give ‘em an inch. My lack of discipline issues isn’t because I’m the perfect teacher—far from it—or because I rule with an unyielding prison-guard mentality. Nor is it because I am lenient, displaying a penchant for ignoring wrongdoings. In fact, I don’t have classroom rules posted anywhere in the classroom, at least not in the traditional sense. Scan the four walls in room 215 and you will find a plethora of student work, whimsical posters representing personal interests of both me and my students, and bookshelves stacked full of independent reading material. A rededication to practicing creative, positive classroom routines at the beginning of the year helped me establish an engaging, orderly learning climate. Many teachers might say you’re preaching to the choir about the importance of opening year classroom routines, procedures, and goal setting. I’ve learned over the past four years that it takes patience and practice. Don’t worry about launching into curriculum demands until the classroom is running smoothly. After all, those curriculum demands aren’t going to be met if you’re dealing with crowd control. It’s one thing to pay lip service to setting up classroom routines, it’s another thing to do, and do well. I’ll offer up my own strategies: I spend ample time on the following procedures and routines at the beginning of the year: how students enter the classroom, bellringer, assigning seats, strategies for asking questions and solving problems on their own, stretch break, classroom clean up, turning in work, student jobs, getting the class attention. With all the listed protocols, I explain the procedures, garner student support, and then we begin implementing the routines until I am satisfied that we are on the path towards a safe, orderly, and fun classroom climate. Over the past several years, students have given me classroom management feedback for what works and doesn’t work, helping instill a sense of their ownership. I’ve found that even simple dialogue with students helps justify the procedures in their minds. That is to say, even though I might demand certain procedures they don't necessarily enjoy, like quiet, straight lines in the hallway when we travel as a class, there is little student resistance after talking about the reasons for doing so. Musical cues tell my students when it’s time to take a stretch break and clean up the room. During the opening weeks, I explain to students that when they hear a specific three-minute song, say “Sloop John B.” by the Beach Boys, they can get up, move around the room and release some energy. If they aren’t in their assigned seats when the song ends, they lose break privileges for five school days. There is rarely a violation. Another musical transition occurs when I play a certain song with a few minutes remaining in class. Students know it is time to clean up, turn in work, and return to stand at their assigned seats to wait for the bell (I have a pet peeve of students crowding a doorway, skittishly tormenting each other as seconds wane). As far as getting the attention of the class during group work or other social situations, I’ll explain to the students that I don’t like raising my voice. To practice the attention signal, I tell them to get up and go talk to a friend. Milling about ensues. Clap once if you hear me, I’ll say. Clap twice if you hear me, I’ll say even more quietly. Students respond by clapping and they listen, knowing it’s time for direction. We’ll practice this a few times, and it has worked great this year. I’m careful not to overuse this tactic. I’ll following a deliberate approach with all of these routines, then blend in community building activities and curriculum as the weeks pass. There is no rules poster in my classroom, but there is hardly any confusion over expectations for behavior. Devote your opening of the year energy to demonstrating to your students what you want them to do, rather than the seemingly accepted paradigm—or, at least, practice—of hounding students about what they shouldn’t be doing in your classroom. |
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