The basics of classroom management
The task and responsibility of a teacher is to enrich the knowledge of the young, preparing the students for their future endeavors. In the midst of doing all these, the teacher is actually shaping the future of the whole nation. If you have chosen to become one of them, you should be proud of yourself. Being a teacher can be a very challenging and enriching career if you are able to possess effective classroom management skills.
There are many ways in which you can control the class and I would love to share some of the basic tips for the inexperienced teachers or those who have just graduated from their teaching program.
Firstly, you may wish to understand your students better by gathering more information about them. You should try to memorise all of their names by the end of the first week as this will leave a good impression of you. The students will feel appreciated if you know them by their names and will feel that you are part of them. In addition, you can also find out their interests or family details by handing them a personal questionnaire on the first week of school. In the questionnaire, you can ask them about siblings, hobbies, likes, dislikes, favorite teachers, problems with teachers. They can also list down their own interesting experiences and give them the opportunity to share it with the class.The more you know about them the easier they are to control. This is a great way to break the ice and build rapport with the class. Another basic tip is to treat your students the way you want them to treat you. After all, how many people like you, but you don’t like them? Not many. Teenagers are the same, if someone likes them; they are far more likely to treat the person in a similar fashion. Work every day on finding the good in each, and praising it. Smiling solves many problems. Maintain a positive attitude towards them and allow them to share their difficulties with you. Mention their new shirts and shoes and haircuts and any other successes they have had. This will make them feel good and motivated to listen to your lectures.
If your class happen to consist of some mis-behaving students who are always giving you headaches during lesson time, you can consider using a whistle to shut them up. If you blow on the whistle for five seconds, you will have the quietest class on the planet. You can also choose to use the indirect method. When someone is fooling around, walk up to him from behind and tap him on the shoulder. This will send the message that you are aware of everything and have the presence to do something about it. . If you humiliate a kid, that kid may shut up for that day, but there are two problems. First, you now have an enemy and teachers do not need more enemies; and second, you have sent a message that the class is not a team that you are not on their side and the mutiny is only one misstep away.
However, it should be noted that you refrain from using any harsh punishment or humiliating words on the students. This might have a adverse effect on them and cause them to detest you even further. All you require is for the students to be kind and polite. Once they are kind and polite, it is not necessary to impose more punishment. It is not necessary to hold grudges against them and escalate the case to the discipline master. This will just poison the class and you will have a harder time to convince the students to obey your instructions.
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Skyjoe is a well-known author, website publisher and owner of http://teaching.mygeneralknowledge.com. ©Skyjoe. All rights reserved. This article may be freely distributed as long as it remains unaltered and the copyright notice is intact. No alteration is allowed without express written permission from the author.
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