Chalkdust & Apples

Chalkdust and apples are two traditional icons of a teacher. A good teacher shapes the minds and touches the hearts of future generations. In sharing my thoughts on this blog, I hope to share with my readers the joy, frustration, and endless string of entertaining stories that fill the life of a teacher.

Summer Book Club Discussion Questions #1

How would you describe your current classroom management strategies/philosophies?

My goal in classroom management is to train students to become autonomous, so that even if I am not there, they know what to do. I give them a set of procedures at the beginning of the trimester. Then I reinforce the procedures every day by following them. For example, if a student does not have a pencil, I would expect him/her to know where to find a writing utensil without asking me for one within two weeks of starting in my class.

As for discipline, I tried the step system, but it didn’t work very well for me. I think that all situations are unique. While a warning as a first step may work with some students, it does not always work with every student. Also, the consequences I set in place do not always fit the crime. I try to always listen to what the students have to say for themselves before dealing out consequences, but this takes away time from instruction.

What weaknesses do you think you have when it comes to difficult moments in the classroom?

Consistency. While I always aim to be consistent in dealing with discipline, I know I am inconsistent.

Posted 11 months ago

Tags: summer book club, edubookclub, love & logic,