Washington state teacher of the year 2016, Nathan Gibbes-Bowling was described in one write up as part drill sergeant, part cheerleader. This description resonated with me, and I hope I can bring some of that balance to my classroom. The sergeant part means to me that I have high expectation for everyone in my class, and I expect most of them to rise to them. Cheerleaders to me are always sunny and cheerful, often unbearably so, yet keeping a positive mental attitude on the daily in teaching seems crucial for my self-care and sanity. Space creation Is crucial to good classroom management! Thus, it informs my both in subtle and explicit ways. Explicit in that students know where things are, what is happening for the day, how they are expected to conduct themselves for the most part (though empathy is important, so bad days are always taken into consideration). The subtle things will be how the classroom is arranged and decorated. In my ideal classroom I have floor chairs for circle discussion time, work tables (not kidney shaped desks), a couch for chilling and hang out with a tea station in the corner. There are lots of plants. Students can decorate or bring things to hang up on one of the walls. There is a handmade shelf as an altar where students can bring in objects that are important to them. I plan to create a beautiful, colorful, warm space where students can feel at home in. I want to make school as enjoyable and fun for them as possible! I want them to be in a space where they are reminded of beauty and creation. There is a shelf filled with many different types of books from all types of writers.
I tend to fall most on the behaviorist side of things as well. I am always wanting to know the root of things. I have found the work of Marshall Rosenberg and Non-Violent Communication to be very helpful. NVC states that most humans have very similar needs, and we act out when our needs are unmet. So often a behavior that many judge as “challenging” is because of an unmet need. I can keep snacks and other basic life supplies in my class and make them readily accessible to students, i.e. a “needs” box. Co-creation/Co-constructed I would like the students to have some say in our classroom community; they would have to fall under the school rules, my own classroom rules: norms around love, integrity, intellectual rigor, creation, failure, and my own commitment to my discipline of English Language Arts. I see the student voice being key to motivation as well. I want my students to develop the habit of self-reflecting, but also noticing those around them, in terms of thinking how is their behavior affecting the whole? However I can break up the Western norm of self creative expression above all else, and bring in a little bit more understanding of our interdependence with one another (and the non-human world), is part of my management style. My students will have the agency to push back or question an assignment. I plan to teach my students to be reflective practitioners through the craft of writing, and value creators through production of writing, where they understand that the role of my classroom is to equip to understand their citizenship and there obligation to contribute good to their community, however or whoever that community is. Assessment
Relationship-oriented
.......................................................................................................................................................................... A note on Management The word management comes from the word manage (v.) 1560s, probably from Italian maneggiare "to handle," especially "to control a horse," ultimately from Latin noun manus "hand" (from PIE root *man- (2) "hand"). Influenced by French manège "horsemanship" (earliest English sense was of handling horses), which also was from Italian. Extended to other objects or business from 1570s. Sense of "get by" first recorded 1650s. Related: Managed; managing. Managed economy was used by 1933. When we look at the root of the word manage, we have man, a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "man," and "hand." Tracing those words back even further we have man meaning: being, male, servant, vessel and hand meaning: order, commit to one's charge," literally "to give into one's hand;" Old Norse mund "hand," Old English mund "hand, protection, guardian," German Vormund "guardian;" Old Irish muin "protection, patronage." No being, whether horse, human, or plant needs to be controlled or handle. For both of these words imply the use of force and coercion. I am dedicated above all else to respect, courtesy, freedom and personal sovereignty within my teaching spaces.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
June 2018
Categories |