Classroom Management for Dummies

All you need for classroom management is right here.



So, I went to the Ole Miss vs. Louisiana State basketball game the other night, and things got a little out of hand. I got a little too rowdy, yelled a little too much, (Man, do I hate LSU...freakin' corndogs!!) and had to walk a little too far in the cold weather to get back to my car afterwards...these conditions combined led to the awkward circumstance of not being able to speak on Thursday morning. So I get to school and tried to do the normal thing; I tried to speak in my normal "man-teacher" voice...not happening. So, on to Plan B, which incorporated speaking the best I could despite the fact that my voice was barely more than a gravelly whisper.

Apparently, I need to scream my lungs out at basketball games more often...either that or use my "quiet voice" a little more often because even in the post-Valentine's Day chocolate and sugar induced frenzy that the kids were in today, their behavior was drastically modified by my sudden loss of volume. I don’t know if it was just the change, or if they actually wanted to pay attention today (Yeah…right!) but today was just one of those days that make you think that you are actually making a difference, more than just one child at a time. Other than the three office referrals that I had to write today, it just seemed like everything was clicking.

One of the phrases I hear my kids say all the time is, “Chill out, Cuz!” Maybe I need to take that advice, and just chill out. I get so keyed up because I have this desire to instill in my kids the love of learning, not just Spanish, but all their classes that sometimes I do it with reckless abandon. I sometimes forget where a lot of these kids are coming from and I hold it against them when they don’t show the desire to learn.

When I say that I need to "chill out," I don't mean that I need to relax my standards or expectations, but I need to not freak out on some of these kids. I had a phenomenal professor in college who constantly said that if we, as students, were not understanding or meeting his ultra-high expectations, that it was his fault for not properly motivating us to do well. I don't know if I agree with that 100% of the time in 100% of the circumstances, but I do believe that there is some truth to it...inasmuch as the child is capable of having the desire to succeed.

While you ponder the issues behind motivation, go ahead...have a corndog!