The Secret to Successful Classroom Management!

As a first year teacher, I was almost convinced that the powers that be had developed a fail proof plan guaranteed to insure that only the strongest individuals would survive their first year of teaching. After all, why invest time and money into an individual unless they possessed the necessary qualities to endure the trials and tribulations of public education! So, after a tireless summer of arranging my classroom so that every detail was as I thought it should be and putting the final touches on my lessons, the students finally arrived! As they entered the room, my thoughts of excitement for the year to come quickly turned to terror as I wondered which federal penitentiary they had just released these students from. Were they seriously asking me to teach these students? Apparently someone forgot to send this group of scholars the memo informing them that they were suppose to quiver in fear at the greatness of my authority. Panic time!

After some soul searching, I came to my senses. After all, the number of renowned professionals in the field of classroom management would help me to solve my problem. In no time at all, these unruly students would be turned into the obedient, knowledge seeking youngsters that I had witnessed in other classrooms. Unfortunately, throughout all of my teacher preparation, the knowledge that was never imparted to me about classroom management was that it has to be your own. No model can completely fulfill your needs. You might take elements of a behavior management program, but you must alter it based on who you are as a teacher and the unique needs of your students. So, although advice and suggestions from those more experienced in the educational field are always helpful, discovering who you are as a teacher and what you value is the most important piece of figuring out the management system which will be successful for you. I highly recommend establishing an environment where you you set high standards, clear expectations and opportunities for students to get to know who you are and what you stand for. Above all else, especially in a middle school setting, a sense of humor is essential! So, sorry new teachers, there is no formula for creating a classroom management system, but the journey will leave you with some great stories!