I
always knew classroom management was important, but after attending my third
class at Mount Pleasant, I realize just how important it really is. It was
second period, on a Friday, and today just so happened to be the day of their
unit test on cells. I had arrived as the students were walking in and the
teacher had me sit in the front of the room so I was able to observe from a
teacher’s perspective. As the students came into the class they were loud and
rowdy. The hallways were even louder. Some kids were running, some were yelling
to their friends. Students stopped in to the classroom I was in to see their
friends. I could hear teachers telling certain students to get to their class.
It was then time for the students to settle into their seats and get ready for
the exam. The teacher began his “Do-Now” assignment. He told the students to
make sure that they do this one because it would be on the test. The students
continued talking. The teachers voice could not overcome the students and he
did not discipline them.
As
I looked around the room I counted the number of students present. There were
six. I asked the teacher if this is how many students were always there and he
said that there should be twenty. This was shocking to me because it was the
day of their unit test and if the teacher was not surprised then it was obvious
this was a normal day in his classroom.
When the test was being passed out the
students continued to talk loudly and they did not put their things away. They
had to take pencils from the teacher. I noticed that the teacher had left the
“Do-Now” answer on the board (on purpose). The teacher asked if the students
would put away their things and they ignored him. He continued to pass out the
tests and shut a student’s notebook that was on his desk. The second the
teacher turned around the student smirked and opened the notebook again. The
teacher noticed this and chose to ignore it. The teacher stood in the front of
the room and spoke to me about his class. I asked what they were learning about
and what were the topics covered on the test. A student took out his cell phone
and another student told the teacher right away laughing. The student said he
wasn’t cheating and when the teacher asked to see his phone (laughing as well),
the student played with it then showed the teacher a new background picture.
The teacher didn’t say anything else and walked away.
As
the test went on, the teacher did he best to praise his students and encourage
them to work. He answered any questions the students asked and since there
wasn’t much of that he walked around and helped students who were not writing
much. He gave the students hints and sometimes answers. They seemed to just
blow off anything he said unless it was a direct answer. They would get up,
walking out of the classroom saying, “mister, I have to go to the bathroom”, or
“mister, I need a drink”. He would allow them to go but I don’t think the
students were waiting for approval.
The
students finished at various times throughout the class period. When they
finished they were not given other work and the teacher did not mention
homework. When they finished they asked to go to the library or computer lab
and the teacher gave them permission. When all the students finished the test,
there were only a couple of students remaining in the classroom and they played
on their phones and talked for the last fifteen minutes.
The
experience I had in this classroom was very eye opening. I realized that your
students may not always respect you and that it is very important to manage
your classroom appropriately at the beginning of the year and to stick to the
rules you set for you classroom. This teacher treats these students with
respect and I don’t think that these students dislike him. I just think they
know they can get away with a lot so they behave however they want to. Other
teachers may manage their classrooms with more discipline so this class may be
a break for these students. However, I don’t think it was right of the students
to disrespect their teacher and not follow the rules he tried to enforce in
class. This class was a huge learning experience and it taught me that
classroom management is such an important aspect of the classroom
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