Observation Assignment #3

            I have to say that the classroom management in this building as a whole is nothing like I have ever seen before.  The students at East Greenwich High School, as a whole, are very driven and they are well behaved.  The students were all in the classroom and had their stuff at their seats before the bell rang for the end of the passing period.  When the bell rang they made their way back to their seats.  Unless they were asking the teacher about something. The class would begin right after the teacher asked about who was absent. 

            As the class begins, I notice that the students have the procedure of leaving the room one at a time and they had to sign out on the chart, and finally take the pass.  This procedure does not hold when people have to go to the nurse or when the students are called out of class.  I did not get a chance to see an example of how the teacher collects paperwork except when the students were placing their homework into the designated bin.  The paperwork that the students needed for the class was passed out by the teacher as he was explaining the next activity.

            At one point a student came into the classroom late and as soon as they got to their set the teacher made sure to quickly summarize what they had been doing.  A different student at one point had their cell phone out and was texting and all the teacher had to do was make a serious, but at the same time joking remark that let the student know that the way they were behaving was not how they were supposed to be, and the student put the phone away.  When I asked the teacher about this later he said that he feels setting the expectations early on makes all the difference.  He says that he spends the first three days to set expectations and to get to know the students.

            In his classroom help enforces the expectation of 24-hour mutual respect and he expects his students to have a positive attitude whenever they come to class.  I really appreciate the idea to 24-hour mutual respect and I will make sure to bring this into my classroom, but as far as the positive attitude goes, I think that sometimes it cannot be avoided.  We can do everything in our power to make them happy, but sometimes they are going to have a bad day, and we should make them feel ashamed of that.

            I feel that the way that the classroom management was handled added a sense of safety that is needed in order to learn at the optimal level.  The students are able to concentrate on their studies rather than worrying about what the other students think of them because they know that the teacher will make sure that sure that any behavior that is negative s corrected.  Because the students aren’t afraid of being too smart the students aren’t afraid of having or sharing the right answers.  The students may even be competing to have the correct answer, but that could also lead to bad things if not managed.  However the teacher is very aware of what is going on between his students, in and out of the classroom, so he is able to maintain balance in the classroom.  Before the students arrived in his classroom he gave me a rundown of all the students and how they would interact with him and with the other students.  This demonstrated a great understanding and awareness of his classroom which is beneficial in so many ways because then he can figure out how to handle situations that is truly the best for the students.  I believe that the way that the classroom is managed is intertwined with the amount of success in the classrooms.