In my first year of teaching, one of my first goals was to effectively engage my students. I thought this could be done by reviewing and reinforcing my rules and procedures them using natural and planned consequences.
A big part of my classroom management journey was accepting my authority both as a classroom manager and a teacher. Experienced teachers already can distinguish between the need to teach academically and teach to students. But less experienced teachers need to learn how to balance these two sides of teaching.
New teachers also don’t always realize that along with accepting their own authority is the need to exercise flexibility.
Unfortunately for teachers, students have x-ray vision. They know when they are nervous and with them. But they need to know that they can joke with you and approach you both during and after the lesson
So you may ask: how exactly can you develop this fine balance between educator/human being and classroom manager?
This begins with interaction. Every new classroom decision will give more experience and insight. Slowly, teachers will grow understand that certain classroom situations require flexibility. This flexibility gives a new “shade” of your authority.
So how can you start? For an effective classroom management plan, make sure you have the following things in order:
- Outline for yourself four-five classroom rules and procedures which you absolutely cannot live without and are essential for running your classroom.
- Make sure you enforce these rules using the 90-10% principle.
- Decide also on at least one strategy that will help you also connect better with your students. You may be a great listener during a brainstorm session or when students ask you questions during group work. You may have a gift for bringing humor as you start a lesson. You also may be very sensitive and caring when students feel stress during a test. You may know what to say to students during difficult situations.
These are great gifts and should be consistently used to nurture student-teacher relations.
As a new teacher, you will have both good and not so good days. It is even more important during those unanticipated moments that you also connect with your students.
