This topic is sure different now that as of last Friday, schools will remain closed to face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the school year, but this was a topic I had jotted down a long time ago as a possible blog discussion.
At the time, I'm sure I was talking about best ways to have discipline management in the classroom, which is usually a really big deal for new teachers. I remember my first years at Westmer Secondary School, and I was having a whole lot of problems with student discipline. I couldn't have a behaved classroom, and it was awful. I tried point systems and positive incentives and different seating arrangements and office referrals...it was a nightmare. Part of that was that I was teaching junior high students - gosh I never want to do that again. Another part was that I was "fresh meat", and those little devils knew it. I remember practically being in tears and eventually asking a teacher next door how she seemed to have so much discipline so easily, and she smiled and told me that it sort of just happens.
Well, it's not magic, but it seems like it. I know now that being "old" helps. For some odd reason, just being older and more experienced seems to enhance discipline management. The age of the student matters a lot too. I still tell Amber and other teachers that teach younger kids to help them grow up before they get to me, because I don't have a lot of patience for "silliness" or "jackwagons" as Amber likes to use the term. I think over the years, though, helping students know that you genuinely do care about them and want good for them makes a big, big difference. Even if a student is reluctant to school, caring about him/her goes a long, long way.
Each teacher needs to come up with his/her discipline management system that works and keeps a good classroom climate that allows everyone the opportunity to learn. So it's not like waving a magic wand, but it does take time and comfort.
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