Classroom Management 101

A milestone was reached upon our return to school on January 24th. It became very apparent to me very early in my classroom observations in Negotino and in Probistip, and verified by almost all the PCV TEFL’s throughout Macedonia, that the students behaved somewhat like the characters in the novel Lord of the Flies. By this I mean there didn’t seem to be any behavioral direction for the students to follow, so they more-or-less behaved as children would behave, given no supervision. When I asked the Macedonian teachers if students were always so “uncontrollable”, they would respond that when they were in school under the Yugoslavian Government, things were quite different and discipline was not an issue.

So the missing key here in “Deadwood”, as I soon realized, was that the students didn’t really know how to behave and were ignorant what the teacher expected of them. To address this hole in their schooling, I put together a Power Point Presentation for Alexandra entitled “My Expectations in My Classroom”,“My“ referring to Alexandra. She accepted the idea and presented it to each of her classes (5th, 6th, and 8th grades) on their first English class of the New Year.

The topics covered in the presentation were: Do Your Own Work; No Leaving the Classroom Once You Enter; Be Ready to Work When the Bell Rings; Check the Chalk Board for Your First Assignment of the Day; Follow Our Classroom Rules As Posted on the Wall; Look at Me When I Am Speaking; Rules for Conducting a Class Discussion; Bring Your Handout to Class; When Another Student Is Speaking, Listen; Do Your Homework; Ask Questions; Comply With Our Noise Level Chart; Be Prepared to Answer Questions; and Listen and Learn.

These topics might seem rather basic, but each one of them was something that the students needed to hear from the teacher. So Alexandra spent the period explaining in detail what she expected in her classroom. Other teachers may have different or no expectations, but her English class would be conducted in compliance with her expectations (a new marshal in Deadwood).

The difficult part for Alexandra now, is to enforce and reinforce her expectations. It’s a lot of work initially to change behavior patterns and it’s tiring. She is letting the students know she means business and she’s getting wonderful results. The students, for the most part, have bought into her ideas. The students now come into the classroom knowing they can’t leave to wander the hallway and hangout near the water closet. They know they must be ready to work with pen/pencil, textbook and handout when the starting bell rings, not starting to get ready (they have a five minute transition time to get to their next class). They must check the board and begin their assignment while the teacher fills in the Dnevnik (another story). They know if they break one of the class rules (developed by the students themselves) they will write the rule out 15x’s in English and 15x’s in Macedonian for homework. They know they must face the teacher and look at her when she is speaking and not be doodling or daydreaming. They know they must bring their handouts that Alexandra and I put together to save time by eliminating copying vocabulary and grammar rules into a notebook. They know they must raise their hand to make a comment during class discussions and not just yell out their opinions while another student is speaking. They know Alexandra keeps a record of completed homework assignments. They know they should not be embarrassed to ask questions and that the teacher thinks they understand what she is talking about if they don’t. They know they must be silent when the teacher gives them a “One” command; whisper on a ‘Two”; indoor voice on “Three” and rarely, if ever, use the “Four” or “Five” mode. A “One” is the default mode.

So far the results have been wonderful. The students now have understandable guidelines and they are very content to follow them. I also have noticed Alexandra’s surprise and elation how classroom behavior has changed and she admitted that it’s fun to come to school with a new idea to try out on the students. She also knows from experience over the last few weeks, that initially it’s going to take a lot of effort on her part to reinforce and enforce her newly codified expectations. But she fully understands that her efforts now will result in a better learning environment for her students for years to come. It’s all up to her.

I challenged Alexandra last December to see if she could teach her lessons for the month of February without using the designated textbook that was selected to be used in Macedonia (and which I hate for many reasons – another story). Sadly, most teachers only have the text and workbook and no other resources and couldn’t accept such a challenge. We’re now half-way through the month and she has yet to use the textbook. Instead, she has devised some wonderful activities, found relevant websites on the internet, introduced the students to ThinkQuest on the computer, and used pertinent music and lyrics. I don’t doubt that she’ll make it to the end of the month and meet my challenge.

I’ve been busy building up a supply of teaching resources that the English teachers can use to supplement and reinforce their lessons. My son Jesse and his friends made a donation of a continuous ink-flow printer and supplies necessary to make laminated flash-cards, game boards and other materials that need to be protected for re-use. The materials will be available for use by any of the English teachers in Probistip.

I’m also completing “Operation Bottle Cap” so there will be a handy supply of manipulatives for working with students of varying abilities, from the simple making of the Latin alphabet to irregular verbs and opposite adjectives.

My next immediate goal is to conduct a workshop for all the English teachers during which Alexandra and I will present all of the strategies and materials that we have developed over the last two years. I’ve got to convince the manager of the schools here in Probistip to allow the teachers to attend. When the Ministry of Education sponsors a workshop, the managers and directors jump through hoops to insure teachers attend. Locally initiated workshops are unheard of so I’ve got to make a convincing argument to have one.