For this blog, I dug up my classroom management plan from back in July, up from the depths of my summer-papers-drawer. It was no longer on my computer, because a virus recently forced me to wipe my computer clean. As I glance over my paper copy tonight, I notice that I have made some minor adjustments to the plan, and have fallen short of my plan's goals in some major ways, now that I am actually in a live classroom:
1.) Changes to my procedures: I have help pretty well to the no bathroom rule. Not too shabby.
2.) Late policy: I am too generous on this. I need to start enforcing 70% top credit for late work (especially with binders!) I am too gracious! No wonder being late means nothing to these students.
3.) Dismissal has become an absolute mess, probably because I am squeezing too much into the last part of class and so I miss a real closure in my lesson. The end of class is a stressful time, because I am worried students will walk off with my books, some students need passes from me, etc. Also, kids are more apt to get up out of their seat without reprimand from me at this time because I am engrossed in those aforementioned tasks. This created an even bigger problem, theft of my Promethean Board’s remote and pen, two weeks ago (which were thankfully and anonymously later returned). This is the change in my procedures as they have played out in real life that I hate the most. I really want to correct this and get back to my plan and how I did it in the first weeks: dismiss row by row. Right now, kids will leave against my directions.
4.) Changes in the consequence ladder: I no longer call home before detention; I only call home at the point of detention. Even then, my show-up rate is about 50%. It takes forever to get them to come. So this is part of my CM plan that has not worked all that well so far. It’s exhausting and everyone – both implementer and receivers – hates it.
5.) I DO NOT write troubling students’ names on the board. Boy, was that a disaster. They laughed and laughed. Now I have my own behavior chart (thanks, Cary!) that works as well as a brand-new car.
6.) Changes in rewards: student of the Month, instead of week…phew! I was out of my mind when I wrote this plan! Also, I have yet to write encouragement or thank you notes to students who are doing a superb job and I have failed to post top test scorers’ names.
The parts of my plan that have worked wonders so far have been my rewards system, tickets (“how’d he get that candy bar?!” kids will still exclaim when their classmate cashes ‘em in.), my consequence system (which effectively removes tickets from them and which I keep up with fairly well – but which I should enact more often on more students), and my parent contact. My parent contact is fairly frequent and it is going well, even though I still dread nights when I go home and have to call a list of parents…
Given all these procedural and day-today changes, the more cerebral aspects of my plan have changed as well. My philosophy of classroom management has changed. First, let me say that I stick by part of my former philosophy, that CM should be driven by rewards. Tickets work pretty well: students want them, there is an undeniable buy-in. However, I have discovered that my Candide-like hope that CM would be something that required major effort up-front that would pay off in ease later, was completely wrong. I love the profession of teaching, and the opportunities for interaction and creativity it provides, but what gets me down about teaching is the constant-ness of it all. There is no rest day when I have nothing to do. It’s either grading, plans, calling parents about behavior or tardies or detentions, or graduate school work. All these things nag at me till I get them done.
Anyway, back to the question: I have discovered that my initial philosophy was naïve. CM takes just as much energy, if not more, now than it did then. Sure, maybe the expectations are routine now, and in that way doing my job is easier, but managing behavior is the same uphill struggle that it was back then.
Another part of my philosophy that I am not so sure about (see how my skepticism has grown and my inexperience is departing?) now is that my students really know what is expected of them and how to succeed in my class. How can it be that, 10 weeks into the school year, students STILL ask for pens at the beginning of class, or stand and walk around the room and look at me like I am crazy for that rule. Ms. Nelson: “Um, rule number one in my classroom from day one. What is it, Ryan?” Ryan: “Uh…” Ms.Nelson: [growing impatient] “It says right there on the wall, ‘raise your hand to speak or stand.’”
As I reflect on this now, I imagine myself presenting my amended CM plan Power Point to the first years next summer. I wonder how my plan and philosophy will continue to change and evolve between now and then, even?
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