Classroom Management

INTRODUCTION
I have always believed that the mark of a great teacher is not only found in the depth of knowledge
he/she possesses but also in his/her ability to pass on this wealth of knowledge effectively to others. A
teacher is like a farmer, whose responsibility is to cultivate the minds of his/her students with the fertile
seeds of knowledge and to reap the benefits of a good harvest. The beginning of this cultivation,
however, must begin within the confines of the classroom, a teachers sanctuary and a safe haven for
healthy and wholesome teaching and learning. Coupled with this fact, a teachers style of teaching, and
classroom management and organizational skills are the factors that more often than not determine
failure or success. Therefore, teachers must have a great understanding and insight into the intricacies of
their craft and the versatility and flexibility required to taylor their style of teaching to meet the learning
needs of all students in their classroom.
PREVENTIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
I. Be Prepared.
Have all materials ready and organized ahead of time. The quickest way to lose control of a class is to
spend five minutes trying to find the markers and to put your notes in the right order, or to spend time
talking to your co-teachers discussing or arguing about which order to do things in or which activity to
cut when time runs short. Students will perceive this as evidence of your lack of control and authority,
and this will open you up for challenge. (Students' regular teachers can afford to do this occasionally
because they spend more time with students and can provide structure over the long term that counters
any loss of control during these temporary down times.) All decisions and contingency plans should be
made ahead of time so that a quick look or comment between you sets alternative plans in motion.
II. Make sure activities and materials are at the appropriate level for your students.
A sure-fire way to lose control of a class is to present materials or activities that are at an inappropriate
level for the students. If materials are too difficult, students will become frustrated, and may choose to
act out rather than face failure at a task that is portrayed as being fun, interesting, and easy. If materials
are too easy, students become bored and will begin to spoof on you or make fun of the activities. You
should pay careful attention to how students respond to the level of the materials and activities
presented. After each session, spend some time discussing students' reactions among yourselves. Talk
with the teacher and ask him or her whether the level of the activities seems appropriate, and ask for
recommendations on how to create a better fit with the class members' abilities. The lessons in this
curriculum should serve as a guideline for you, but you should adapt the activities to fit your class,
making them more complex and sophisticated or simpler and more concrete, depending on the needs of
your students.
III. Identify ahead of time the activities or topics that might elicit problems.
Some of the topics and activities in the Peace by PEACE program can create feelings of discomfort
among young adolescents. The silliness and acting out seen during these activities should be recognized
as manifestations of this anxiety and discomfort. Be especially attuned to this kind of reaction, and, if it
happens, calmly acknowledge that talking about the body and sex makes us all a little nervous (be sure
not to say "Makes you nervous," or you may get a defensive reaction). Tell students that this is normal,
back off the topic, or make it a little more clinical for a moment to allow students time to re group, then
move on with the lesson.
IV. Be respectful and treat students as responsible, mature individuals.

This seems a bit clich, but it really works. Assume that your students will cooperate and treat them
according to this assumption. They will pick up on your view of them and will likely behave in
accordance with it.
V. Know the class rules and pre-specified consequences.
If students are accustomed to following class rulesand facing certain consequences if they do not
make sure you know and enforce these rules in as much the same way as the teacher as possible. If you
use a system that has already been developed, you will spend less time defining your own limits and
more time interacting with students around course content.
VI. Talk with the classroom teacher.
The students' regular teacher can provide a great deal of information about the class. At the beginning of
the semester, establish good communication with her or him. You may not have immediate questions or
problems to solve, but if you spend time establishing a good relationship, you will have a valuable
resource if and when problems do arise.
WHAT TO DO IF THINGS START TO DETERIORATE
I. Intervene early, before things get out of hand.
The most important thing to remember in addressing problem behavior in the classroom is to stop it
before it really gets stared. Once disturbances get started, they rarely go away on their own, particularly
with students of this age and with instructors other than the regular teacher (like it or not, you fall into a
category with substitute teachers). Students will test your limits and management skills in an attempt to
find out where the boundaries are. Making the limits clear and firm will help students feel more secure in
the class while you are teaching, and avoid escalation of problems.
II. Get the students who are initiating the disturbance to help you.
Students who start trouble are often leaders among their peers. While it is often tempting to speak
critically of negative behavior and appeal to the class to ignore it, the reality is that the instigator is likely
to possess more of the group's loyalty than you are. If you can get this student on your side, or at least
engaged in activities that facilitate your work, you will have better luck than if you get in a power
struggle with the student. Examples of this include asking her or him to pass out materials, to be the
recorder at the board, to be a volunteer for a demonstration, and so on.
This strategy works best if you catch things early, before they get out of control. If you wait too long,
your strategy will become transparent, and your attempts to engage the instigator will backfire. Another
disadvantage of waiting too long is that it will look as if you are rewarding students for acting out, a
perception that can coax other students into the game.
III. Proximity control can work to manage some behavior if it is used preventively or early.
The main idea behind this technique is to put a teacher in close proximity to students who are showing
signs of getting off task. If you know from prior experience that a particular group of students is likely
to disrupt class, standing or sitting close to them while you lead an activity or give directions will quell a
fair amount of the unwanted behavior.
IV. Avoid losing your temper.
Students who are trying to get you know they've got you when you lose your temper. It is a sure sign
that you have used all of your other resources and that this is a last ditch effort to maintain order. It is a
sign to students who are not yet involved in the disturbance that they can now do as they please without

the fear of consequences: all classroom order has been suspended. This description is a little extreme,
but use yelling more than once and its shock value wears offchaos will follow. It actually may work
better to lower your voice and continue tallying. The students closest to you will hear you and begin to
listen. As other students recognize that you are speaking and they are missing something, they will stop
what they are doing to try to hear you. Make sure that you are saying something interesting that the rest
of the class will want to hear, embellish it to draw it out, repeat points if necessary to inform students
who "didn't hear" the first time, and enlist the help of your fellow instructors to deal with the few
students who may still be acting out.
V. If things get really out of hand, ask for help.
Although it may feel like you will lose the confidence of students if you ask for help, it may actually have
the opposite effect. Even if you are not able to bring an extreme situation under control by yourself,
letting students know that you will ask for help from school personnel tells them that you know how to
handle the situation. Letting things go to the point at which someone from the school steps in on their
own tells the students that you don't know your own limits. This will lower students' confidence in you.
After an extreme situation has been resolved, discuss it with students (with school personnel present).
Make sure they know that the behavior displayed is not acceptable and that you don't want to see it
again. Problem solve with them to find a solution to your positive goal to cover the material and
complete the activities without disruption.

MLA Citation
"Classroom Managements". Anti Essays. 14 Jan. 2012
<http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/65387.html>

MANAGEMENTUL CLASEI -rezumat

Analiza colii n perspectiv socio-organizaional ar putea fi considerat, la o prim vedere, un demers

mai puin obinuit, avnd n vedere specificul instituiei colare, dimensiunea ei uman fundamental. Dar
nu exist activitate uman, individual i mai ales desfurat n timp, care s nu presupun actul
conducerii, al managementului.
Dezvoltarea economic i social nu se poate realiza independent de actul managerului, avnd n vedere
c nvmntul este unul din instrumentele prin care societatea stimuleaz, dirijeaz i controleaz
procesele dezvoltrii.
Pentru educator, cunoaterea i stpnirea artei manageriale este esenial,deoarece cunoaterea
managementului ca pe un proces complex nu nseamn ,,dirijism, iar managerii nu asigur imediat
succesul unei aciuni.
Activitatea de management ( conducere ) este definit n literatura de specialitate ca ,, un ansamblu de
aciuni de planificare, organizare, ndrumare, control, decizie cu privire la un sistem ( organizaie,
instituie, grup de oameni, proces, tehnologie ) aciuni susceptibile de a asigura atingerea scopului fixat,
n condiiile n respectrii legitilor obiective generale i speciale, ale satisfacerii nevoilor sociale
concrete i ale promovorii dezvoltrii sociale.
Din punct de vedere al educaiei, managementul este un sistem de concepte, metode, instrumente de
orientare i conducere, coordonare, utilizat n realizarea obiectivelor educaiei, la nivelul performanelor
ateptate.

Balasa Ana-Adelina
Engleza-Spaniola Anul III