Written Response 13

One of my biggest worries about being a new teacher is classroom management. Thankfully, Jill Reese discusses some simple guidelines in “The Four Cs of Successful Classroom Management,” which are commendation, communication, consistency, and content.

For commendation, Reese suggests bringing attention to a positive behavior by recognizing an individual who is doing the behavior you want the rest of the class to have. Oftentimes, this creates a ripple effect until all the students do the desirable behavior because they know that their good behavior is noticed and appreciated.

Next, she discusses communication, stressing the importance of nonverbal communication. If a student is misbehaving, some simple eye contact or standing near the student will likely solve the issue quickly without bringing negative attention to the student. If this does not work another step would be to quietly whisper “stop” or “no”. If further action is necessary, have consequences if place for breaking the rules and follow through with these consequences.

Third, is consistency. Having set procedures will save time because the students know what to expect. An example of this mentioned in class, is an orchestra director putting the bow on their head when it is times for the students to listen. The students copy by putting their bow on their head. This grabs the attention of all the students quickly and prevents students from playing while the director is talking. This procedure creates order and consistency which saves time and helps the students spend more time learning.

Lastly, is content. Let’s spend time teaching music in the classroom. One helpful tip Reese mentions is practicing tonal and rhythm patterns or singing during transitions. This makes the classroom more efficient because it keeps the attention of the students rather than having to refocus the class.

These suggestions are very helpful because they are focused on creating a good learning environment so that class-time can be spent learning rather than disciplining. While doing student observations I once asked my cooperating teacher how she deals with classroom management. She said that she keeps a fast pace because students are more likely to behave if they are engaged. I think that this article is also focused on keeping students engaged because it is easier to prevent poor behavior by keeping students interested in the content than it is to correct poor behavior.