Mischief Managed

I have been hopping around to different classrooms for the past three weeks that I have been at CBS, so I've observed a variety of classroom management styles and strategies used. Most of the classrooms I've been in are the 5th and 6th classes which are the equivalent of 6th and 7th grade.

In regards to classroom size, most classrooms are between 15-25 students with the older classes having more students per class.  The rules and expectations are different for each class, but most include a rule about respecting the teacher, students, and classroom, raising your hands to speak, and following directions.  I haven't seen any classrooms that classroom rules that the students made and then signed like a contract, even with the older classes.  I also don't see any teachers refer back to the rules during class, so I'm not sure how effective they are.  

I've noticed a school-wide expectation is that before entering a classroom or even just to pass through the classroom because many rooms are connected to each other, students are expected to knock on the door and ask.  One classroom I observed used Class Dojo to earn participation points which then allowed the students to have one homework pass when they reach 30 points.  This particular teacher also had a point system for tidying up tables at the end of the day.  The first table to tidy up their tables and put up their chairs at dismissal gets a point and after a certain number of points, the whole table gets a treat.

In terms of discipline, I mentioned in a previous blog post that this school seems to implement more traditional ways of discipline.  For example, in one classroom if the students misbehave, they have to copy lines , stand at the wall, or get extra homework.  I have seen teachers yell at students from across the room if they are not doing their work quietly and quickly.  Sometimes students are sent out of the room or down to the principal's office.

Overall, I think classroom management at this placement is something that needs improvement.  Right now, students are just expected to sit, listen, and obey, and I don't think this is really an effective way of teaching because there are no conversations.  Even though I have been here for three weeks now, I haven't seen any SEL teaching or lessons other than some anti-bullying posters that are hung in some classrooms.  I've found it difficult not to want to step in when I see the teachers doing something that seems to be shaming the students and not really solving the problem.  They seem to be scaring the students into doing what they should be doing rather than trying to meet them in their needs.  Again, I'm not speaking for all the teachers, but for many of the classrooms that I've observed.