Classroom Organization

Posted by Dorit Sasson Feb 16, 2007

It seems to be the running theme of the week: seasoned teachers walking into their classes with theme lessons due to Valentine's Day only to find themselves in the lunch break struggling to understand why the students weren’t listening, cooperating and working, and then blaming themselves for such a poor lesson.

With all the anxiety teachers are put through, it is often like a test. Once we learn from the mistakes of our classroom organization and how we manage our classes, then we will be better readers of the classroom management picture.

Yes, that’s right. Almost always the reason for poor lessons is due to classroom management. A big part of it is your attitude without even saying it in words.

A number of things can be done to straighten this scenario. First, after such a lesson, it is a good idea to catch your breath. When you are relaxed, think again, this time objectively about your classroom organization.

One teacher in particular, felt she let her students down. She admitted to using the testing procedure to implant her position of authority. But it ended up backfiring on her and instilled resentment and antagonism on part of the students. This for sure creates a no-win learning situation for teachers and students alike.

The next day, she realized that she needed a teacher support plan and spoke with me about it. She decided on a few activities on building their goals. She realized that she had lost the students. As a rule of thumb, it is important not to show you are their best friend or be too strict. It is important to be consistent about the rules and procedures, put to exercise flexibility and sensitivity according to the social, emotional and cognitive needs of the students. It is particularly important to also show them that you care for their success and you want them to succeed.

This particular teacher realized that she needed to go forward and opted for building upon more opportunities for instilling an atmosphere of more positive reinforcement in the class and even asked for tips from teachers on how to be more spontaneous in the classroom.

Classroom organization is therefore, reevaluating your classroom management , your organization and how your own personal message comes across to the students.

So, tomorrow is always a new day! Learn from your mistakes and cut your losses.