classroom management: questions

[Prior to the last semester of our 2-year course, the professor for our class in teaching methods wrote to all of us and asked us what we most wanted to learn this semester. I responded that I wanted to learn more about classroom management. The professor asked for clarification; her message is below, followed by my clarification.]


> Thanks for your response. I am curious about what you mean by classroom
> management issues. A number of people had this response. I know that
> Alan made a distinction between classroom management and discipline in
> the first methods course. Which are you talking about? If you can give
> me more specific info it will be really helpful. What questions do you
> have? Exactly what do you want to learn how to do that you currently
> lack relative to classroom management?


All of the above really. Some illustrative scenarios that pop quickly to mind...

I'm standing at the front of the class, saying, "I need your attention... Susie, Juan, I need your attention please... Latanya, Helen.... I need your attention...." I sound tentative and nervous. Sooner or later the roar becomes a murmur and I just start talking. Could that have been done more efficiently?

The students are taking a math placement test. Danielle starts muttering and soon she's talking out loud, then louder. "I can't do any of these." ..... "What is proba--probab--probablibity?".... "This is so aggravating!!" ...."I can't DO math!!!!" I walk over and make various attempts to (a) calm/encourage her and (b) shut her up for the sake of other students, but I am completely ineffective on both counts. She continues to speak loudly. I eventually just walk away and she winds down, but I feel that I've failed in both my objectives.

During the same placement test, two students are obviously cheating. I walk over to them and they look scared. I choose not to directly challenge them so as to avoid a scene in the middle of the test, so I ask them not to talk so as not to distract others. They look derisive--I'm obviously too stupid to realize that they're cheating right in front of my face. They both get very high scores but their mistakes are different. What should I have done then? And what do I do now?

I give instructions that students are to work in pairs. They are to read each paragraph aloud to each other, then work together to identify and underline the main idea of each paragraph. Some students diligently begin working per instructions. Others are confused, but start work as soon as the instructions are repeated to them individually. Some refuse to read aloud, but they *do* read silently and discuss/underline the main idea (I was trying to use the read-aloud strategy to compensate for weaker reading skills among some students, so this is distressing, but I don't seem to be able to enforce my instructions). One pair refuse to even look at the piece of paper, instead gossiping or looking out the window, and when I ask them to do the work, they whine that it's boring (these last two are very capable readers). (Also on this theme, sometimes it seems that the most capable students are the most determined to circumvent the instructions. "Why do I have to do it that way when I could do it this way?" Often, I'm concerned that their modification will not produce the desired results, but either I don't want to take time to argue, or I find it difficult to convey to them what the desired results are, or I don't want to say, "trust me, you won't be able to do it that way," especially as I may be wrong--but then again I may be right).

I am giving a brief introduction to an activity and students continuously shout out questions. I try insisting that they raise their hands. I try asking them to wait until I'm done speaking. I try whining. I try threatening. All tactics are met with derision and attitude ("This sounds stupid")("How are we supposed to do THAT?"). The activity doesn't get started until twenty minutes after I'd planned, and many students are firmly convinced that they will hate it.

One student, who is very capable but lacks confidence, never does any work until I come over and crouch down next to his desk and coax him through each question. This is obviously impractical, but if I don't do it, he just doesn't complete the assignments. At all. Ever.

Another student needs to be the center of attention and disrupts the class anytime I am not focused on her. She seems to have no impulse control, but is tremendously offended whenever she is asked to wait her turn, be quiet, change seats, etc.

On this theme, some students react to any reprimand as a terrible injustice, taking no responsibility for their own actions (e.g., they get marked down for their book report because they obviously didn't finish the book; they are asked to leave the classroom after repeatedly disrupting the class). Phrasing everything in terms of choices ("Since you are not choosing to work quietly, you are choosing to leave the class and be marked absent") has not the slightest effect on this attitude of indignant, self-righteous outrage ("why are you always picking on me? why do all you teachers hate me so much?" or "I'm supposed to have modifications, I'm not supposed to have to read the whole book!"--where the shorter, easier book *is* the modification).

Some students seem to see school as a sort of survival challenge, in which the goal is not to learn or even perform adequately, but simply to convince the teacher that they have performed adequately.

They circumvent and slip past everything, and seem genuinely unaware of any possible benefit from school (i.e. learning new things or having skills that could actually be useful). This makes them seem sly, dishonest, and manipulative; meanwhile they learn much less than their classmates. How can I awaken the understanding that learning itself can be pleasurable? Making everything "practical" quickly turns into vocational education, and I believe every student should have access to the intellectual pleasure of reading, thinking, learning, understanding. But how is that connection made? How do I stop the evasive, manipulative behavior and get these students on track--especially when are already behind their classmates, and thus tend to be further hampered by a powerful combo of embarrassment, lack of confidence, and lack of desire to put in all the extra work to catch up?

I probably wrote a lot more than you were requesting, but I thought it would be the clearest way of conveying the range of issues and variables that are (in my mind) encompassed under "classroom management"--the array of strategies that keep things rolling along smoothly, so that students learn and nobody goes home crying (including me).

I should add, please don't misunderstand me--I'm not at all discouraged (certainly not on the verge of giving up or any such nonsense). I'm having a blast, really loving sixth grade, and feeling much more confident about my skills with developing lessons and units, etc. I think I've come a long way on a lot of fronts and I'm sure I'll figure this stuff out too. But with so much progress in other areas, it's frustrating to feel that I haven't gotten very far with this particular skill set.

Thanks again & looking forward to Tuesday,
[birdfarm]