A moment with Uncle Seuss~

Let's talk about rules~

You MAY not like this --->  RULES

"Rules, routines and procedures assist you to manage effectively and efficiently"

As kids, we were always been told that we couldn't do this, we couldn't do that. We hated the adults for doing it..and for that, we should know how the pupils feel whenever we put rules on their life.

Some rules maybe unnecessary and might just holding back the child's physiological growth. This is why the teacher or parents should know what kind of rules that they should tell the children to follow.

If you're athletic like me, you probably know that EVERY sports or games have its' rules; we could get a red card just by giving 'opinions' to the referee..but we don't really cared about it because that's just how we play it and we enjoyed doing it. Same goes with LEARNING in the classroom. If your pupils love to learn, they will definitely follow they classroom rules.

Well before we go any further on rules, lets get to know the definition of it first.

1. Authoritative statement of what to do or not to do in a specific situation, issued by an appropriate person or body. It clarifies, demarcates, or interprets a law or policy.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/rule.html#ixzz2N2c2OSuZ

You may look at your dictionary for simpler definition but just by this, we can just say rules are something or a list of things that you should or shouldn't do. That's about it.


Why Classroom Rules?

1. 1.    Rules are important because they are guidelines to what is acceptable and what not. There would be no civilization without rules.
   2.    Human beings are organized in societies which have rules to 
   3.    control human beings' behavior. Human beings must follow those rules in order to live in a organized society.
   4.    Rules are in place to protect the common, good--in essence, they are there to prevent people from doing harm to one another. 
   5.    To create a happy environment for children to learn in
   6.    To keep everyone relaxed and prevent stress
   7.    So a teacher can keep control of the class
   8.    To make sure everyone is safe
   9.    To make sure everyone can hear what the teacher is saying, and are learning.
   
   

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT?

Before we start let us first introduce you to the most significant part in a classroom management; THE CLASSROOM, of course.

What exactly is a classroom? How do you define a classroom?

 Seems familiar?

Undoubtedly, it is basically or will be, for most  of the readers, including us, one of the place where you will be most involved during your professional career as a teacher. So, before knowing how to manage it, let's get some insides of knowing our classroom first.

According to A. Lourdusamy one of the authors of Classroom Management Facilitating Teaching and Learning , " The classroom activities in which the teachers are involved in are communicating goals to their students, regulating the learning activities monitoring the progress of the students, motivating their students to learn, engaging their students to think creatively and critically, and maintaining discipline. the students on their part, besides socializing with their peers, receive information and directions from their teachers, engage actively in individual and group work, take tests and quizzes, and interact with their teachers and their peers, receiving feedback in return." 

Again according to our mister A. Lourdusamy, when viewed from the above perspective it could be considered as an ecological system where all living things provide for one another, emotionally, mentally or even physically. it is define as a unit where the teacher and students interacts for the purpose of teaching and learning to take place. 

Save to say, the classroom is where all the ' histories' are made. where all the ' rock and rolls' takes place. where the stories happened, where knowledge are exchanged. So how do we make sure that all the interactions made between teachers and students are planned accordingly and effectively? 

Now here comes the main point, the reason for this blog was ever made; aside from the reason that this is part of our mundane lives as teacher trainees; CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. How important is classroom management in effective and meaningful learning? Save the questions. We may have some answers to them.

Let us start first with;

WHAT IS CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT?

Briefly defined , Classroom management is the term educators use to describe methods of preventing misbehavior and dealing with it if it arises. In other words, it is the techniques teachers use to maintain control in the classroom (By Melissa Kelly, About.com Guide) 

OR  

Classroom management is defined as the methods and strategies an educator uses to maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to student success and learning. Although there are many pedagogical strategies involved in managing a classroom, a common denominator is making sure that students feel they are in an environment that allows them to achieve.(eHow.com http://www.ehow.com)

To summarize, its main purpose is to gain control of the classroom and to deal with students' misbehaviors. They are strategies used by teachers to ensure the physical and psychological safety of the students, to ensure a smooth and orderly teaching and learning process and it acts as a technique to enhance students' disciplines.

So why is classroom management important in a classroom?What benefits does it brings?

The importance of classroom management is it ensures the students to learn the material rather than committing it to short-term memory for regurgitation of facts and tests. By effectively being able to move around the classroom, asking questions and employing both verbal and non-verbal teaching, it ensures that the students are paying attention and taking more from the learning experience than just simple facts.

In the same time, it boosts their confidence and thus making the lesson more effective.

Brophy and Evertson (1976) says:

Classroom management skills plays an important part in the success and effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. 

Talking about skills, 

What are the skills?

Few of the things we teachers should know:

1. be prepared 

- this could be deemed as one of the most important skills as classroom management is more effective when a teacher is prepared and failing to do so may show weakness and allows the students to disrupt and cause problems while teacher is formulating the plan.

2. be confident

- a teacher who exhibits confidence at all time  rather than timidity will accomplish more in the classroom and gain the respect of the students. confidence assists teachers in terminating doubts in students and being in more control of the classroom.

3. develop a good interpersonal relationship

- with your students of course. a healthy and supportive relationship are among the key factors in the classroom that will help enhance the process greatly.

4. promote appropriate behavior

- behave! this even goes to us teachers. behaving at all times is deemed crucial as we are frequently seen as role models to our students. thus, promoting appropriate behavior is best when we are in class and will be able to contribute to  the personal growth of the students.