Classroom Management

My first week of school my students behaved very well. I feel they were just testing me to see how nice I was. One of the teachers at the school told me, don't smile, you don't want them to see you smiling at least until the end of the first quarter. I didn't listen to her advice right away, but after a couple months you realize you have to do it, because you are there to teach academics, and behavior. Now, I feel I forgot how to smile. As a new teacher you have to let your students know that they are there to work, learn, and you are going to make sure everybody learns.
The school has a behavior management system in place, most of the teachers use this behavior clip chart. Students get three warnings, if they don't correct the behavior by the fourth time, they need to go to the principal's office. For positive reinforcement we have star postal cards sent to the parents for good behavior, they are also announced in the school news network. Additionally, students get a prize after the T.V. announcement. The star cards are a school wide positive reinforcement system. For positive reinforcement within my classroom we have table points, the table with more points by the end of the week gets fun Friday. Sometimes this system works, but I think I need to implement something more customized per student.

Some important components of classroom management are: Clear instructions, students need to know the directions for doing the next activity. Schedule, it helps students know what’s coming up. Patterns, review homework, warm up, guided instruction, independent practice, and homework. I feel that has been a success in my classroom. Positive reinforcement is something I am working on but I want it to be effective.

Today, we had a PBIS training, which is a positive reinforcement system to teach new skills to students. It is a wonderful tool and I will implement it in my classroom as soon as possible. Positive reinforcement needs to be given individually, immediately, consistently, and only given for good behavior. Giving someone your attention is reinforcement, as teachers we need to focus on those students who are behaving as it is expected, more than in those students who are distracting the entire class. For implementing this I will have a treasure box, and tickets. Students who get 5 tickets or more by the end of the week, can get an item from the treasure box. Tickets will be given only when students has applied a positive skill, I will mention it verbally in front of the entire class, and I will specify the good action.
In my classroom I have 14-16 students who can stay on task, listen to instructions, and behave. I have two students, who can disrupt the entire classroom in one second.
www.educationworld.com is a good website to learn what's going on in the education world. Still, I feel the lessons learned in the classroom by teaching, you can't learn anywhere else. Classroom management is one of those areas that you can only learn in the field with children with all sorts of backgrounds. As teachers in residence, we are fortunate to get more hands on experience than any other teacher preparation program.