Class Management and Relationships

This blog entry is dedicated to my fellow teachers; I wanted to promote a blog and book that really helped me out. Actually, the video posted here has nothing to do with the post, other than the fact that it is from the school I write about below, and that it really is a good example of how welcoming everybody is at that school.

The other day I went back to visit CIL, (see video) where I worked for 5 years. I went in through the cafeteria, at lunch time. When I was about 15 meters away from the door, I realized that everyone in the entire room was looking out the window at me. As I walked in I almost felt nervous about my safety; I thought I was going to be crushed as my many of my former students ran towards me to give me a hug, while others cheered, clapped and chanted my name. I blubbered like a baby, and so did some of my former co-workers. A new teacher even asked if I was some kind of celebrity. It was one of the greatest moments of my career. It says that I did something right. How did I ever get to that level of success?

There will always be students who you just don't click with, no matter how hard you try. I started off like a lot of other teachers, frustrated with the constant chatter of my students and resorting to shouting once in a while, even though I knew that when I got angry, it meant that my students had won the battle. The first major change in my teaching style came when my daughter was born. This made me see my students not as people in a classroom, but as the sons and saughters of other people. Until you actually have children it is hard to imagine the change that happens inside you. I don't know what I did differently, but within a few weeks my little fans were rushing towards me to give me hugs and chat whenever I had playground duty. These were students who I didn't even teach yet. Treating students like I would want someone to treat my children was the first step to making my students and I enjoy our time together much more.

The next big change happened when I read the book called Dream Class. The blog is also full of answers to questions you may not learn or think of when you when you study education. While it wasn't a miracle, and not all of the ideas work with every teacher and every class, it did allow me to stop shouting over my students to get their attention, and led to a huge improvement in our relationships.

I admit that my strong point at that school was relationships over content, but my students and their parents didn't mind. There is more to education than data collection; giving students a reason to enjoy school motivates them to do better. This year, for example, one of my students from my "little rebels" class said to me, "Clark, I have a C, and I'm fine with that. But I like you, so I'm going to do the extra work to get an A."

Hopefully this information will help improve your realationships too!