Prompt:

Describe your mentor teacher’s style of classroom management and communication.  Do you feel it is effective?  What is it that gives you this impression?  What aspect of your mentor teacher’s style would you include in your own classroom, and what aspect would you eliminate?  Give a rationale. Watch your mentor teacher’s style of communication for 20-30 minutes: voice tone, facial expression, body language, hand gestures, eye contact, etc.  How did the students react to the teacher’s style?  Was there any particular aspect of the style that was more effective than another? What aspect of communication do you need to develop in order to assure student attentiveness?

Response:

Discipline is a very complex ideal and as a future teacher I can assure you it is not something I look forward to having to contend with in my classroom. But unfortunately discipline does become a part of the school day. From Chapter 4 in Vatterott, we learned that by empowering students, recognizing their needs, and fostering positive relationships teachers will experience fewer disciplinary problems throughout the school year. Classroom environment is critical to student success and the ineffective use of discipline can quickly alter the mood of the group from sweet to sour. Vatterott suggests the best method for handling problems is need based discipline strategies which focus on prevention, supports, or interventions: punishments are used only when absolutely necessary.

This classroom practice of promoting community and cooperation to combat conflicts is also reflected Kohlberg’s ideas of moral development which we discussed in ED 241. According to Kohlberg, by adapting the control of the classroom to reflect the correct stage of moral development, there will be fewer problems for instructors to contend with. But encouraging a sense of community in a classroom environment can be difficult especially for new teachers, many of whom feel they must maintain tight control over what is happening moment to moment. Often treating their class as if they are at the first level of moral development, new teachers do not necessarily empower their students to do the right thing because it is right, only to avoid punishment.

Throughout our visits to Shortridge, we have been exposed to a number of situations which have required disciplinary action. The school as whole has certainly challenged my assumptions of how education looks and what is/is not acceptable in the school environment. After observing Mr. Frame, I can sympathize with teachers who do not have the patience to deal with many of the interruptions with which he must contend. He certainly does the best he can, but often the students do not respond to his incessant chiding’s and continue to disrupt the class. Overall I would describe his management style as not need based. He is more traditional, perhaps because of his age, and often relies on commanding the students to get where they belong. Mr. Frame does employ humor to grab the students’ attention; his comments are witty, but direct (INTASC 6). He does have a great capacity for understanding what students can handle and continually attempts to create as classroom environment that encourages positive interactions (INTASC 5).

In my opinion he could bolster his classroom management by empowering his students. It would be tough to do with this particular demographic of students given their level of activity and general intensive needs. But the students to not react well to being hassled. They are a busy group and thirty seconds after being disciplined many are up and out of their seats, trying to walk out the door for the fifth time, or flirting with a classmate. Having 8th graders in an unstructured advisory time is not easy, but through successfully empowering his students he could perhaps focus them in on accomplishing some work.

I hope I can incorporate the same use of humor in my classroom as Mr. Frame. It is an easy method for being both direct yet fun about discipline, definitely a good balance for this age group. I know it takes great empathy and patience to work with students at this age, Mr. Frame does a phenomenal job for the most part. I hope by the time I am a teacher I will have the skills to be a competent and capable instructor who easily recognizes student needs and empowers them so I can avoid any situation which may require discipline.

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