The good Earth has given us just 24 hours in a day. About six of those hours are spent in a typical grammar or high school classroom. And about 40 minutes are so are given to each class. That may seem like an eternity to a 12 year old, but the truth of the matter is, between taking attendance, getting kids to quiet down and the occasional fire drill, those 40 minutes are a drop in the bucket. Therefore, time management is essential…no…critical, if you’re going to run an efficient classroom. This article will give you some tips to manage YOUR time effectively.
At the top of the list is to have each day’s lesson plan done in advance. I’m not just talking about having it written on paper. I’m talking about “acting” it out at home to make sure that everything you want to accomplish can actually be done in the allotted time given to you. Sometimes, what looks good on paper turns out to be a whole different animal once you actually begin to go over the material. And naturally, you want to leave room for student questions.
Next thing you want to do is make sure that any aids that you need, such as projectors, computers, and so on, are in the classroom, ready to be used, and in working order. A typical teacher’s nightmare is walking into their classroom expecting to find an overhead projector only to find a space where the projector was supposed to be. This wastes much valuable time trying to track one down, if one can even be found at all. And then if not, a whole class is wasted or plans have to be changed midstream. This is NOT effective time management.
If you’re a traveling teacher, meaning you move from classroom to classroom, there are a couple of things that you should do. First, make sure that the classrooms you’re going to have the necessary items to conduct your class. If they’re not equipped, either arrange for them to be or bring the necessary items with you. Also, make sure that you keep all your books with you at all time. This gets a little tough if you don’t have your own classroom and have many different subjects, but if you’re teaching the same thing all day, it does become a lot easier.
In my link below I think you’ll find a great classroom management resource that I think you’ll find most helpful in keeping your classroom organized.
Classroom Management Guide
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
3 Solid Classroom Management Tips
You get to meet a lot of teachers when you’ve lived long enough. And many of them have the same old story to tell…their classroom is a nightmare to manage. Between kids that don’t want to learn and state regulations, it is sometimes easier to manage the national debt. These days, nothing comes easy. Well, hopefully, this article WILL make your life just a little bit less stressful once you step back into your classroom. I’m going to share three solid classroom management tips that I am sure will help a great deal.
One of the biggest problems facing teachers today is the disruptive student, especially the one who always has a smart answer and likes to talk back. A very wise man once said, “It takes a fool to talk back. It takes two of them to make a conversation out of it.” In other words, when dealing with a disruptive student, an effective technique is to simply ignore the student and go on with your lesson. Seeing that he or she is not getting the attention that they are looking for, they will soon stop. If not, simply write up the student, send a letter home, and let the administration and parents deal with the problem. Do NOT let it affect your classroom.
One way to keep an organized classroom is with consistency. In other words, whatever policy you lay down, enforce it consistently throughout the classroom no matter who the student is and no matter what day of the week it is. Many teachers ease up on students on a Friday because the weekend is coming. This leads to students expecting this all the time. And that’s fine, if that’s your policy. But understand that easy Fridays mean easy Fridays. If you’re going to take the privilege away, there needs to be a good reason for doing so. Consistency is very important in a classroom.
Finally, the tone of the classroom needs to be set right from the opening bell. If students are expected to have their books open ready to work when that bell rings, then that’s what needs to be stressed on a daily basis. Don’t wait for the students to comply. Go right into your lesson. Eventually, they’ll realize that they better get those books open or they’re going to be left behind. Too much time is wasted at the beginning of class waiting for students to “settle in.” This can’t be allowed to go on.
These few tips only scratch the surface. In my signature is a review of a great classroom management resource that I think you’ll find quite helpful.
One of the biggest problems facing teachers today is the disruptive student, especially the one who always has a smart answer and likes to talk back. A very wise man once said, “It takes a fool to talk back. It takes two of them to make a conversation out of it.” In other words, when dealing with a disruptive student, an effective technique is to simply ignore the student and go on with your lesson. Seeing that he or she is not getting the attention that they are looking for, they will soon stop. If not, simply write up the student, send a letter home, and let the administration and parents deal with the problem. Do NOT let it affect your classroom.
One way to keep an organized classroom is with consistency. In other words, whatever policy you lay down, enforce it consistently throughout the classroom no matter who the student is and no matter what day of the week it is. Many teachers ease up on students on a Friday because the weekend is coming. This leads to students expecting this all the time. And that’s fine, if that’s your policy. But understand that easy Fridays mean easy Fridays. If you’re going to take the privilege away, there needs to be a good reason for doing so. Consistency is very important in a classroom.
Finally, the tone of the classroom needs to be set right from the opening bell. If students are expected to have their books open ready to work when that bell rings, then that’s what needs to be stressed on a daily basis. Don’t wait for the students to comply. Go right into your lesson. Eventually, they’ll realize that they better get those books open or they’re going to be left behind. Too much time is wasted at the beginning of class waiting for students to “settle in.” This can’t be allowed to go on.
These few tips only scratch the surface. In my signature is a review of a great classroom management resource that I think you’ll find quite helpful.
Is Your Classroom A Nightmare To Manage?
Educating our youth is becoming more and more challenging each day. Depending on where you live, you may or may not have state testing regulations to deal with as well. These only throw an additional monkey wrench into the process. Throw inner city kids with little home supervision into the mix and you end up with more than a handful of problems.
As a result of these and other factors, managing a classroom becomes quite a challenge to even the most experienced teacher. And those who are just starting out without tenure have more their work cut out for them. It’s a roller coaster ride that’s almost impossible to get off and nowhere near as pleasant as the one at your nearest amusement park.
So where do you begin? How do you begin to make sense out of all the chaos? Well, for starters, you need to sit down and go over the class curriculum and whatever state requirements there are for your particular subject. Many times, these two things by themselves will pretty much box you in to what you have to do, let alone what you’d like to do.
For example, if you’re teaching high school math in the state of New Jersey, students have to be prepared to take their HESPA, which pretty much dictates gearing your instruction to the test itself and not so much to what the student “needs” to learn. It’s a sad but true state of education system today.
Then of course each school district has its own regulations and requirements for just about every little thing you can think of, from what “items” need to go up on your bulletin board to how your plan book needs to be kept. Some schools require them to be entered into a computer system while others are still working off of paper. How difficult each is depends on what you’re used to.
If classroom management is stressful to you, there is a review of a great resource in my signature that will make managing your classroom a lot easier and a whole less stressful. I think you’ll find it most helpful.
Don’t let your classroom get to you. Not when there is no need to.
As a result of these and other factors, managing a classroom becomes quite a challenge to even the most experienced teacher. And those who are just starting out without tenure have more their work cut out for them. It’s a roller coaster ride that’s almost impossible to get off and nowhere near as pleasant as the one at your nearest amusement park.
So where do you begin? How do you begin to make sense out of all the chaos? Well, for starters, you need to sit down and go over the class curriculum and whatever state requirements there are for your particular subject. Many times, these two things by themselves will pretty much box you in to what you have to do, let alone what you’d like to do.
For example, if you’re teaching high school math in the state of New Jersey, students have to be prepared to take their HESPA, which pretty much dictates gearing your instruction to the test itself and not so much to what the student “needs” to learn. It’s a sad but true state of education system today.
Then of course each school district has its own regulations and requirements for just about every little thing you can think of, from what “items” need to go up on your bulletin board to how your plan book needs to be kept. Some schools require them to be entered into a computer system while others are still working off of paper. How difficult each is depends on what you’re used to.
If classroom management is stressful to you, there is a review of a great resource in my signature that will make managing your classroom a lot easier and a whole less stressful. I think you’ll find it most helpful.
Don’t let your classroom get to you. Not when there is no need to.
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