What is most important?

Each day at Greenhill and definitely through the rest of my career, I continue to learn the craft of teaching. Each day I carry around an imaginary tool belt with classroom management written in big bold letters. Each afternoon upon my reflection of the day, I craft new tools to put in it. I have noticed at this point of the year that some tools are rusty and need to be cleaned off and some are altogether ineffective. Patience allows for the ever-changing workshop and keeps me on my toes to make sure my classroom management skills are effective.

In my certification course a question was asked about which is most important of the three characteristics of being an effective teacher. Of classroom management, positive expectations and lesson master, which would you want to master first and foremost. In crafting my response, I felt like I could make a strong case for any one of the traits, only to realize that all three characteristics do form a close pyramid. Without classroom management, the nurturing learning environment is spoiled. Without positive expectations of the students, the children will not know you truly believe in them. Without lesson mastery, the classroom may run smoothly but how are the students growing? Then I thought about free centers and recess. Classroom management allows for positive expectations to be communicated and followed so the classroom becomes a place of exploration, success and safe failure. There is not necessarily a planned lesson but the students are learning, growing and developing. So while ultimately I will continue to work on all three areas, a continued focus on working on my classroom management tool belt will help me grow (just like the children) in the other two areas.

The Sunrise

I wanted to share a personal refection that both teachers and administrators have seen repeatedly each school year like the daily sunrise, that is, students, children and adults alike, really do succeed with enough resources, support, confidence, and self-esteem, to name a few. I believe it is both fulfilling and rejuvenating as an educator to see a student be an "achiever."

I have seen the confidence and self-esteem in the kids of our classroom soar high on a number of occasions this year, to say the least. I recall this student whose writing skills has increased significantly, and more recently, wanted to learn how to write his name in cursive. It actually started when I heard this student ask another student at the table in a daring voice, "Do you think I can write my name is cursive?" The other student replied, "No way... You will never be able to do that." When I heard this while I was working with another student, I chuckled to myself. While this student's confidence is sky high who posed the question, I have seen the student submit papers with the name in cursive each time.

On other occasions, I have seen students be so ambitious to do more than what is asked, students take big steps in the letter/sound relationship, students undertake math problems, and more. At the end of all of this, I am reminded how powerful confidence and self-esteem is for every child to have under their wings.

"Kids' Pride"

Jamie has reiterated something important from her most recent post as followed, "While they (kindergartners) will test every limit, at the end of the day, all they want if for you to tell them they've done a good job. If we hold strong to our expectations, our students will work with us to learn, and even have a little fun in the process" (11/6/2009). Although I still cannot locate the page number that I read from "The First Days of School," it instilled a concept in my head for some time now, as I have used it recently in the classroom, that is, kids love not only for their names to be said, but also, to see their name on the board. What I am trying to get at is by having the kids take pride in their name on the board, if not verbally said, this can both help implement classroom management and have them work with the teachers to learn and more.

I was soon reminded about this concept mentioned above when I started to write down the kids names on the board during lunchtime when I felt they have listened to my instructions and complied to my expectations. Not surprisingly, I witnessed kids whispering to their neighbor to lower his/her voice so that their name could be on the board soon after I jotted down a name at a time. Sooner than later, I was able to have all the kids comply to my expectations without a word having been said. To maintain this environment, I decided to place a check mark or erase the name when the child continued to follow my expectation or vice versa.

Ultimately, I found this to be a reminder of how much kids take pride in their name. In doing this method, it became difficult for the child to test me since there were no signs of a power struggle to begin with. There were fifteen other classmates who were "implementing" the same expectations, as I had asked for.

Implementing Classroom Management

Classroom management is something I feel is constantly on my mind. I am always thinking of new ways to be more effective in managing the classroom. Something might work one day, and the next it's a completely different story. Being flexible and able to juggle these inconsistencies is essential to creating an environment most conducive to learning. At the same time, however, having consistent expectations shows the students the correct way to behave in the classroom.

Page 83 in First Days of School discusses the notion of consistency as being one of these essential components. Students must know the class procedures and teachers should be consistent in implementing them. I feel this is something I'm working on every day. Last week's Love and Logic seminar also touched on this with the notion that teachers should not use threats of consequences they cannot follow through with. One that is breached, it is almost impossible to have effective classroom management skills.

Luckily, and this is especially true in Kindergarten, students want to be accepted by their teachers. While they will test every limit, at the end of the day, all they want is for you to tell them they've done a good job. If we hold strong to our expectations, our students will work with us to learn, and even have a little fun in the process.

Knowing the Grains

While I believe that most of us, teachers and administrators, would echo how vital classroom management is in facilitating child development, I find this interesting, as we have just finished our 37th day of school, according to Kim. In saying this, I want to back up a bit to where Mr. and Mrs. Wong both write about "Positive Expectations."

Referring to page 61 and beyond, Wong discusses how powerful and beneficial it is to build relationships with both students and guardians (parents). For the teacher (and administrator), it may be as simple as complimenting the student's new haircut, etc (pg 61). Or the other things that I believe most of us do such as smiling, holding a door open, or saying, "good morning," "thank you," and "please."

Putting aside classroom management, something I believe that is just as vital, if not more, is the CONNECTIONS with our students, parents, and administrators. As Wong says on page 68, "Students, parents, teachers, everyone thrives on connections." Boiling things down, I think we will see that having great connections with our students is a stepping stone to anything, including classroom management.

Interesting enough, as I have experienced this year, sometimes saying, "please," "thank you," or giving smiles will not be sufficient to obtaining good classroom management. In my experience, obtaining good classroom management goes beyond these things mentioned earlier that is, knowing each child inside and out, to have good classroom management and in turn, a successful classroom.

Sure preparation, class procedures, consistency, and more are all attributes of a successful classroom, but I believe the connections (relationships) is not to be underestimated. Not only is connections to be overlooked, but it is something that we have to work for and requires time. If the shortcut to managing a child was to say, "please" 10 or 20 times, I would have certainly considered it at times, but ultimately that is often not how the world works. Moreover, individuality would be hindered and conformity would be on the rise. As we all know, every child is special and unique from one another. What better of a way to experience this than to engage in the child's life while peeling away every petal to their heart?

Classroom Management

While there are many important aspects to a Kindergarten classroom, I truly believe that classroom management is by far the most essential component to facilitating child development. In theory, there could be no lesson plans and all spontaneity if the classroom runs smoothly enough. In setting up the classroom, there is so much crammed in every nook and cranny but it does not distract; instead, it is organized in a manner that allows children to discover without needing management. I have observed the children already becoming more independent as individuals through this process. I was impressed-even shocked- how smooth the transition was for the children. Of course, Greenhill is unique since there was the picnic, home visits and an open house so that the first day is really not first. Often times, I found myself reading the book thinking “check, check, check” to the suggestions that it lists to help with most problems that occur during the first days of school.

While some of the sections pertain to older children, many overlap with our five and six-year-olds. For example, while we do not create seating charts, I was intrigued with the in depth thought put into the tape on the carpet. The children are assigned their spot so that they are not sitting to next to best friends, next to someone they would fight with, close if they get easily distracted, etc. While this is preparation or “work” for us teachers, the children think it is so fun to find their spot and take ownership of their position on the rug. While the children knew how to enter the classroom on day one, it has been interesting to see how they have made some poor choices now that they feel very comfortable with their settings and the people. Last week, Rachel had to remind some boys how to enter the classroom in the morning. However, they walked through again, setting a tone for the day that lent to a positive classroom management. The class could really run itself, but since it never will have to, there is so much more time for educating. The children have a routine for each part of the day and even if someone forgets, they have 15 other examples doing the process to help remind them. When they walk in during the morning, no one asks “now what?” Though the children may not always love the options for the morning, they know what to do.

While most of this post is obviously universal to each classroom here, it is important to note the distinction between Greenhill and some schools that do not focus as much on preparation. The most exciting thing about classroom management to me is the fact that everyone on campus has expectations and shares them with the children. At this point, the children do not need to be told what to do but instead can recite the expectations to us. By exposing them to different settings, we are helping to develop their ability to adjust to different expectations. Whether at a play, at recess, walking through the lower school or at lunch, the children have learned the expectations from their first days of school that will allow them to grow throughout the year instead of spending time being told what to do.Instead of spending time disciplining, a brief discussion with the children before the next activity leads to a classroom that runs as if it has had the same routine for years. Like Wong and Wong point out, the ultimate goal is to create procedures so that the children can actually spend time learning.

The 1st Days of School

Dear 2009-2010 Lucinda Carter Teaching Fellows,

Well, we are finally up and running for discussion of The First Days of School - both the book and your first days. We are now on our 35th day of school and I am sure you have much to contribute to each other from your anecdotes to your day to day responsibilities. Where do you want to begin? I thought about Section C: classroom management, but I will leave it to the ten of you to make that decision.

Please know that this is a safe place to ask questions and express your feelings; we know you are searching for ideas and thoughts and other's experiences. We ask that you participate on a regular basis so others might glean information from your experiences - once every two weeks is a minimum expectation.

Let the blogging begin.

Kim