EDE 4504 Blog 2

Chapter Three in Elementary Classroom Management, by Weinstein, is all about ways to show care and respect for students in order to build positive teacher-student relationships. One of the ways discussed in the chapter was to be welcoming. I have noticed that my CT is very welcoming to her students. In the morning, she always greets them with a good morning and their name. I do this in the morning as well. There was a great idea for greeting students mentioned in the book on page fifty two. This was to have the students fill out an index card on the first day of school with a couple of things they want to share about theirself. Then, you place the cards on your desk and each day pick up a different card and talk to a student about something they wrote. This connects to learning about students' lives, which is another great way to show them care and respect. In the chapter, they used the example of a teacher who had his students create a digital storybook about their lives(Weinstein and Romano 52) I think this would be a fun way for students to express theirselves and I would love to do it in the future if I have the technology resources available.

One of my favorite points touched on in the chapter was that students need to know their teacher is a real person. What do I mean by that? I mean they need to know a alittle about our lives if we want to know about theirs. Kids love getting to know their teacher and things about them such as about their family and their interests. "Another way to show your humanity is to admit when you've made a mistake or when you don't know something"(Weinstein and Romano 57). It is okay to mess up once in a while because that reinforces the fact that you are human just like them. My CT, for example, has mispelled a word on the board or given a wrong page number and when she is corrected, she says thank you. She does not try denying the fact that she was wrong because making mistakes is okay. What else do students need? They want someone they feel comfortable talking to and for that it is important to have good communication skills. Students know that if you are grading papers while you are listening to them they do not have your undivided attention. It is important to leave other projects aside when talking to students and to be an active listener. They need acknowledgement that you are listening to them and that you understand and are there to help. Whenever a student comes up to me to tell me a story or ask me a question, I make sure to give them my undivided attention.

Chapter Seven in Principles of Classroom Management, by Levin, was also about building relationships. The human environment includes students, their teachers, and their families. All of these things influence a student's appropriate behavior and academic learning. This is why learning about students' lives is so important. A type of behavior we might see in the classroom may be a result of something going on at home. I have a student in my class that calls out and is often off task. In order to try and understand why, I attempted to find out some information about his home life. I found out that he has two older siblings and a baby sister. His older siblings do not spend much time with him because they are busy hanging out with their friends. His dad works all the time and his mom is home but is most likely always taking care of the baby. So, I deduced from what he told me that he does not get much attention at home and it may be the reason he tries to get attention in school. Now I may be wrong but knowing about his home life gets me one step closer to understanding why he acts the way he does.

Classroom Spaces that Work was desgined to help teachers understand how they can make their classroom into a place where all students feel comfortable and enjoy learning. On page thirteen of Chapter One, the authors stated three goals of setting up a classroom for students needs. The first is "The classroom should fit the range of physical sizes of the group"(Clayton and Forton). If most of the students in the class are very small, the chairs and desks should be very small as well in order for them to work comfortably. Another thing to keep in mind is the size and location of furniture. "In general, children should be able to see and be seen over any set of shelves placed inside the perimeter of the classroom"(Clayton and Forton 14). In my classroom, all of the furniture matches the size of the students and there are no shelves blocking their view of anything. The second goal is "The classroom should accommodate children with special needs"(Clayton and Forton). For some students, minor adjustments will need to be made and for others, major ones. The third goal is "The classroom should support students' developmental needs: emotional, social, cognitive, and physical"(Clayton and Forton). Depending on their age, there are certain needs the students will have. All of their needs should be met in order for them to be productive and successful in the classroom. This will not be easy, of course, but we as teachers must do our best to meet their needs.

References Clayton, M. K., & Forton, M. B. (2001). Classroom spaces that work. Turner Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, INC Levin, J., & Nolan, J. F. (2014). Principles of classroom management: A professional decision-making model. New York, NY: Pearson

Weinstein, C. S., & Romano, M. E. (2015). Elementary classroom management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

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