Standard to be discussed:
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5.4 Component 2d:
Managing Student Behavior by Establishing Expectations
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1
Unsatisfactory
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2
Basic
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3
Proficient
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4
Distinguished
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No standards of conduct appear to have been
established, or students are confused as to what the standards are.
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Standards of conduct appear to have been
established, and most students seem to understand them.
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Standards of conduct are clear to all students.
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Standards of conduct are clear to all students and
appear to have been developed with student participation.
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To me, this standard means that all students must
understand how the teacher expects them to behave while in class. It also means
that, in order to be distinguished, students should have some say in the
expectations the teacher sets for the class.
I believe that it’s prudent to set out some basic
rules, and allow for some flexibility and student input on consequences
(assuming there is no schoolwide policy regarding a particular infraction). I
also believe it is best to use positive reinforcement rather than punishments
to encourage good behavior, and that a successful teacher is consistent in the
setting and maintaining of boundaries. In The
First Days of School, Wong writes that “Effective teachers MANAGE their
classrooms. Ineffective teachers DISCIPLINE their classrooms” (Wong, Kindle
Location 1079). He continues on to state “the most important thing a teacher
can provide in the classroom… is CONSISTENCY” (Wong, Kindle Location 1088). Wong
also later goes on to emphasize that an effective teacher “establishes
consistency in the classroom” (Wong, Kindle Location 1145).
Consistency is a theme in this classic teaching
text, and for good reason. In my own experience, consistency is key, and helps
maintain order. Consistency helps students feel comfortable and secure in their
awareness of appropriate boundaries and acceptable behavior, and once they know
these boundaries and behavior patterns, they are willing to work. If there is
chaos though, the kids rebel because they need to know where the boundaries are
– and if the boundaries fluctuate, anarchy ensues.
For instance, there is, at my school, no set schoolwide
policy for the trading of sneakers. Some students, usually athlete boys, enjoy
collecting and swapping particularly snazzy shoes. Several of them have tried
to carry out these exchanges while I am teaching. I have set a clear boundary
that these exchanges cannot happen during class while I am teaching, but are
allowed before the bell rings. They know that there will be a brief discussion
in the hallway regarding their behavior if they try to swap sneakers in class.
Similarly, there is no school rule regarding fidgeting.
That is, and has as far as I am aware always been, at the discretion of the
teacher. Most teachers frown on fidgeting. I gleefully allow it and encourage
it – and have found that by allowing students some freedom of movement and some
input on what they can do with their bodies during class, my students do better
and learn more than they might otherwise.
I think to increase effectiveness in the area of
managing student behavior by establishing expectations, I could add some of the
expected behaviors (and some of the behaviors I expect students to avoid) to the
syllabus next year. In fairness to this year, I was not allowed input on the
contents of the syllabus, because I was a brand-new student teacher. In the
future, I will make my more unconventional classroom expectations clear from
the get-go.
