Go to educationworld.com and read one article about classroom management. Reflect on that article and how it relates to your classroom management. What are your struggles? What are your successes?
I found a very interesting article with 20 tips for classroom management based on rewards and consequences. Some of the ideas I would really like to try include: using a stopwatch to record the time it takes that students are out of hand, you give them a certain amount of time at the beginning of class, if they exceed that time, they spend that much time in class for lunch. Another idea is a reward idea: you give them say 30 min at the start of the semester. Every time they get out of line you start timing and subtract that many minutes for the 30 min. At the end of the semester what time they have left they get to choose a fun activity for them for that amount of time. I also really like the idea of handing out a set number of bathroom/break passes at the start of the semester. The kids can only use the bathroom when they have a pass to give you. If they use them all they are out of chances. You could also include some reward incentive for kids that do good work. You could give them more passes as a reward.
Honestly, my classroom management needs a lot of work. It is at the point where I am quite frankly wondering if teaching (at least at this level) is the right choice for me. I do well in my classes that are "good". The students in these classrooms seem to have at least a basic understanding what it means to be a student and a human being haha. They are respectful and will do the work assigned them. If they do get chatty, a simple reminder is enough. For my block class though, and now somewhat for my 4th period (which is a very full classroom and is right after lunch), I have much more severe problems. There are kids in there that will simply not follow any direction or do any work unless I am personally standing right over them. Both these classes get so loud that sometimes I am unable to hear questions from students that genuinely need and want help. This tends to infuriate me. I know I should not lose my temper, and believe me I try to varying success, but sometimes I just blow up. I hate it when I do. I regret it immediately because bottom line it is my fault. I am not consistent enough with my consequences. Mostly, I dont want to have to babysit. I want to teach. I am coming to realize that, at this level at least, they might be the same thing.
My three strike rule seems to work ok, when I can enforce it consistently. I start to lose control because I do not want to make a scene every single time a kid talks. Unfortunately, then it starts to snowball, until I have no choice but to start yelling. They can't hear me otherwise! I really want to work on that consistency. Without it, I cannot control the class and therefore cannot teach effectively.
