RULES I LOVE
In my college experience, information on classroom management skills was thin and sparce, nearly nonexistent. Thrown into my first job in a melting pot of challenging behaviors, I had to claw my way through to a few basics that sometimes worked. This is a bit of what I learned the hard way.
RESPECT. Respect the students and they will give that respect back to you. They know when you actually see them as valuable human beings, and they love it. Sometimes you are the only one in their world who cares.
Start each day fresh, no matter what happened yesterday.
Don’t smile until after Thanksgiving. Well, maybe Halloween. (JK)
Do not ever raise your voice. Screaming is unproductive. BUT If you never, ever scream, when you finally do, it can be beneficial. However, speaking softly may get their attention. They will begin to wonder if they are missing out on some secret.
It’s fun to turn the lights off unexpectedly. This will quiet them down. But use this sparingly. Then, in that tiny golden moment of silence, issue a profundity in your most scholarly tone. “Students, let us return wholeheartedly to our discussion of Avogadro’s Hypothesis.”
In the middle of teaching the Bill of Rights, if you notice their eyeballs rolling into the backs of their heads, throw in some irrelevancy such as, “Esmerelda couldn’t help but quiver with passion whenever Horace looked her way” or “Then Pooh asked Piglet if he wanted to play Poohsticks on the bridge”.
For the student in high gear, repeat the same request quietly and methodically, over and over. Lower your voice each time. “Homer, you need to sit down…Homer, you need to sit down…” etc. Speak right into his/her face, close up. This baffles the student and puts the onus back on him or her, right where it belongs.
When things are going perfectly, in that blissful moment, switch the lights off and say, “You guys are absolutely wonderful. Have a Reese’s!”