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New Website for Classroom Management Tips

Jennifer Wagaman — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:17:48 +0000

Looking for a site devoted just to helping you improve your classroom management? The My Classroom Management website has free information and ideas for how to create that perfect classroom.

Find new ideas, ask questions and share things that worked in your classroom!

Visit: myclassroommanagement.com

Teach Proper Vocabulary to Minimize Discipline Problems

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:37:37 +0000

Everyone gets frustrated and upset. Students are no exception to that rule. How children are taught to handle their frustration and anger will make a huge difference in the classroom behavior and overall atmosphere for learning. Unfortunately many parents are not teaching their children how to handle their anger and the job is left to teachers. Here is an idea for helping students learn to manage themselves while keeping problems to a minimum in the classroom:

Teach Proper Vocabulary: Instead of simply chastising a student for swearing, encourage the class to learn the meaning of words and to find words that better describe their emotions. In addition to helping students talk about their emotions and thus working through those emotions, you will also help students expand their vocabulary and prevent fights and other behavior problems in the classroom.

Teaching proper vocabulary will also help students clearly communicate with you and others. If they are frustrated, they can explain their angry outburst with words that tell you and others what is frustrating them and why. While it may be awkward at first, with consistency, using proper vocabulary in the classroom will help to minimize discipline problems.

How to Respond to Angry Parents

Jennifer Wagaman — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:37:37 +0000

During your teaching career, you are likely to encounter at least one parent who is upset with you regarding one thing or another. How you handle this encounter not only says volumes about your professionalism, but will set the stage for future encounters with the same parent. Here are some tips on how to handle the situation.

1. Let the parent say his/her piece.

A college professor of mine once said that if a parent comes loaded for bear, let him unload. When a parent calls or visits the classroom and begins yelling or complaining or otherwise wants to “unload”, wait and listen.

2. Do not become defensive.

While it is natural instinct to defend yourself when you are attacked, you need to remember that the issue is likely deeper than you the teacher. Remaining calm will help diffuse the parent’s anger and allow you to be able to get to the root of the issue and solve the problem.

3. Do not bend the rules, but be willing to bend the rules.

If the parent is upset because of a rule, you need to evaluate the rule. Some rules need to not be bent – behavior for example, and some can be bent for the sake of peace – allowing a student a second chance at a test or homework assignment for example.

Here are some more tips on how to handle angry parents in the classroom.

Motivating Positive Student Behavior

Jennifer Wagaman — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:19:19 +0000

It is important to come up with rewards for students that will motivate their good behavior. There are many methods for coming up with behavior plans and class rules and consequences, but a reward system may in fact work more effectively than a list of consequences.

Some ideas for rewards include:

Lunch with the teacher
Earning tickets to spend in a “store”
Extra recess
Computer time

Involving the students in the process of thinking up the rewards will ensure that the options are indeed motivating to the students. While some things, such as lunch with the teacher, will always be a motivator, other things such as computer time, may not be what helps a student choose good behavior.

For more information on classroom management, read these articles. You may also be interested in purchasing an eBook on classroom management with tips and suggestions for teachers on a variety of management issues.

Classroom Discipline Issues

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:06:20 +0000

Dealing with disruptive students is often one of the top issues facing teachers each day. If you walk into 10 different classrooms, you will see 10 different methods of classroom management. So what method of managing disruptive students is the best? The one that works for the individual teacher.

Classes in general respond better to rewards for good behavior than they do to punishments for bad behavior. Here are additional tips for classroom management:

Remain calm and in charge
Be consistent!
Praise students frequently for good behavior
If something doesn’t work, try something else

For more articles and ideas on classroom management, visit Classroom Management Tips.