Assignment #3

Assignment #3:  Go to educationworld.com and read one a  article on some aspect of Classroom Management       (type Classroom Management into the search box in the upper left hand corner).  Post a reflection to your blog based on your practice as it      relates to what you learn from the article. How effectively is your well classroom management system working at this point in the year?   What are your struggles?  What are your successes? 

Educationworld.com's article ""Five Essentials for Basic Classroom Management" gives some tips on how to bring your own personality into your classroom management style.  It can be really overwhelming when reading about classroom management, but this articles gives some strong advice and ideas to focus on.  The first tip is to connect with the parents of your students to establish a platform for communication and determine their needs and wants.  I think this is the strongest piece of advice in the article. Talking to parents can give you great insight into your students' lives and help you understand what level of support they have at home.  You can find out whether your students have homework support, emotional support, and access to technology. Talking to parents has by far been the most important and informative thing I've done.

The rest of the article gives strong tips as well- not engaging in confrontation, having strong lesson plans to preempt any behavioral problems, finding your voice, and getting to know your students.  Other than cot engaging in confrontation, the rest of these tips are things you get better with in time.  So communicating with parents and avoiding confrontation are the two things new teachers can do immediately.  

I think the hardest aspect of classroom management is creating lessons that are consistently engaging and level- appropriate so that kids stay on task, but other than that I think I'm doing well.