Blog Post #5

I have been fortunate in that I get to observe a great art teacher at Gentry middle school.  Her 7th grade class is unbelievably well behaved and talented.  That is to say, I haven't witnessed a specific classroom management situation that needed to be "handled."  Therefore, instead, of listing a specific moment, I'll list what the teacher does in the classroom overall that I think pre corrects that kind of behavior. 1) The teacher is well organized: She has lessons planned out well with materials and resources readily available for student use.  This is especially helpful in that the class is only 45 minutes long everyday, so students need to maximum time to be working on their projects. 2) Her behavior expectations are clear:  Students have routines in the classroom of putting their binders and books on the shelf as they walk in the classroom (no distractions), sitting at their assigned seats, listening to directions, getting to work, cleaning up materials and desk area well when class is near over, double checking their work is put away and stations are clean.   3) The teacher is very fun, witty, sarcastic (which I aspire to be all those things):  She allows students to see her having fun so they know they can have fun in the art classroom, while at the same time lets them know when it is time to be more serious and diligent.  I think the classroom has a great balance of work and play!  This also allows students to feel less confined and surrounded by rules. In my classroom, I would hope to implement these three classroom management strategies in order to create an artistic, fun, challenging, supportive, community environment in the art classroom.  I think it would be important at the beginning of each year to outline the basic routines and principles of the classroom and behavior expectations so students know how to respond and act in the classroom.