Notes of a budding educationist on how to build student investment and boost student achievement
Shashank Shukla
Finally after the long long sleepless night, the day came and I was at the school…my school, my class…whom I was supposed to transform over the next two years. Well transformation was the last thing on my mind as I stepped into class, survival was…!!
As I recount my experiences from the first few days and weeks in the classroom, I would like to also touch upon some key aspects of classroom management which may come in handy.
Teacher is NOT a Friend: This may come as a shocker to many but in my humble experience of being a teacher and talking to career teachers, I have realized that while you can be friendly to your students, you are NOT their friend. It is very important to draw this distinction very early in classroom i.e. as early as first day. This is utmost importance because your children need to realize that you are the authority figure in class!! The best way to implement this is to actually spell out your expectations from the class on Day 1 i.e. Class Rules & consequences plus Class procedures. Make it clear from day 1 that you have decided these rules and you expect the class to follow them without exceptions and leniency.
Note: Day 1 don’t do any SWBAT, just be armed with your rules, procedures and consequences and make the students practice it whole day. This will give you confidence and send a clear message to your students that you mean business!!
Class rules and consequences: As stated above it is utmost important that on your first day you are very clear on the rules you want to frame in class and the consequences that follow, both positive and negative. Have rules and a corresponding consequences chart put up within the first week and take every opportunity to refer to it every time a rule is broken. Also be consistent from word go, be conscious of hidden biases towards certain children and follow simple logic that if a rule is broken, you will
- Refer the chart for the broken rule
- Explain to the child and class what rule was broken
- Hand out the associated consequence
- Be consistent in the consequence every single time without any exceptions
- Also remember, effective rules are few (3-4) and in simple English
If the above is followed consistently and firmly then classroom management issues can be ironed out within the first 2-3 weeks itself!!
Class as a team: Once your class is familiar with the class rules, consequences and procedures, then it is time to bond the class together in a team spirit. This is best done through a class name and a class motto Or Chant ex. My class name is “Rangers” and the motto “I can do it, we can do it, Rangers can do it”. Building a team spirit in the class right at the outset will help not only in discipline but introducing group rewards but also later in group work and class BIG GOALS. It is imperative that you reinforce the class as a team concept every day especially with external stakeholders present like calling your class by their name in front of other teachers or other classes or encouraging them as a group by their name etc.
Class Values: Along with the team concept, another parallel concept to be introduced in class is the class values. The class I was assigned came with a history of misbehavior and violence with blood not being an uncommon sight. I knew that simple rules and consequences will not do much to deter them once they figure out that I will never scare them or hit them into submission. Hence a class culture had to be built based on shared values within the class. Values is a very difficult concept to introduce in class hence I started with 4 promises i.e. I will never hit you, I will always respect you, I will always trust you and I will never leave a ranger behind. In turn I asked 4 promises from my class which in turn formed my class values. They were: We Love each other (never hit each other), we respect each other (never make fun or abuse a classmate), we always speak the truth ( cause I will trust even if you lie but if you lie then you don’t respect your teacher) and lastly “Be Nice-Work Hard”, which meant that we will work hard together as rangers including me and help each other to go together to class 4. The values slowly superseded the rules as rules were more to do with transactional situations like “Raise your hands” or “Speak in English” but values were more of conflict situations which occurred very often. Here again just like rules constant reinforcement and linking the same also to consequences worked wonders especially as I set an example of following all rules, values and consequences myself. This is the key, make sure you yourself follow your rules and values!!
Class values over time have made rules redundant in class as broad values like “Be Nice - Work hard” could be applied almost anywhere and has helped take class investment and discipline to a whole new level.
Power of Dreams: rd week of school and reaches 100% by end of the first month. Also this gives you time to know your kids better in order to guide them through these workshops.
Dream workshops are nothing but a presentation to the kids on various life paths including alternate paths like sports, arts, music etc. It is best if 1 workshop is conducted per week typically end of week for 8-10 weeks accompanied by a role model wherever possible. Even videos of role models will do just fine. These workshops should be a forum to expand the horizons of your kids plus also an opportunity to deduce interest areas of your kids. Each workshop should be followed by one on one quick session with kids interested in that profession to really invest them in their future and how it is linked to their learning outcomes in class.
Connecting dream to routine – Class vision and Big Goals: The last piece of the puzzle is the fact that just by doing a dream workshop or pasting a BIG GOAL will not invest the kids. The dreams will fizzle out till you show them a daily path they need to walk to reach their dreams and the BIG GOALS will have no meaning if they don’t lead to their dreams. Hence in my class, there is a simple logic…in order to be a fighter pilot tomorrow, they have to study very hard and succeed every year as measured by their BIG GOALS. In order to meet their BIG GOALS, they have to meet their intermediary goals and in order to meet intermediary goals they have to walk towards their dreams every day one step at a time…a step being a homework done, a question solved, time saved for study by behavior as missing any one of these means a step away from their goals, meaning a step farther from their dreams. In an nutshell invest the kids in their dreams by really building up the joy of success upon meeting their dreams and then lay out class goals and class routine as the daily road they need to walk on to meet their destination. Here again, just like anything in class, constant repetition and consistency will be the most effective tools apart from really building it up. Remember your kids love what you love!!
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