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.