Classroom management is one of the most important aspects for beginning teachers to address within their classrooms. Creating a supportive learning environment where all students feel capable of learning and comfortable is one of the best things a teacher can do in their classroom. Through the past few semesters, I have witnessed some really good classroom management by some of my School Based Educators, and some really bad classroom management by others. One teacher in particular that I have observed had great control in her classroom and her students truly felt comfortable and capable of learning within it.
The teacher that I observed last semester taught at Victor Intermediate School in a multiage classroom containing grades four through six. She had a very calm demeanor and created a supportive learning environment in her classroom where all students felt comfortable and there were very few behavioral problems because every student felt that they were supported and capable of learning. The students in this classroom loved their teacher and seemed to really respect her. She never raised her voice at them, and this truly worked to her advantage. Her students responded well to her calm reminders to stay on task and whenever she called for their attention, she rarely had to ask twice. It seemed that her students truly respected their teacher’s authority and when she spoke they listened and really tried to follow all of her directions the first time. I commented to a student once that they seemed like a great class and that I was so impressed that they followed directions so well on the first try and came to order so well. This student responded by telling me that they all loved their teacher and she had gained their respect by showing them respect, so they wanted to help make her job as easy as possible. This really touched me and it made me pay close attention to everything that the teacher did because I want to have that success in my own classroom...