Journal: Reflection on Classroom Management

For my field experience, I am in an elementary school, and I get to spend class periods with 1st and 3rd graders. Classroom management in an elementary school is crucial in order for an art class to run smoothly. I think my field teacher has great classroom management, and it all revolves around organization. Students sit at tables all with a different assigned color. Supply containers and folders for students' work are also color coated and correspond to the different tables. The students at each table are also given a number one through five. Each number is responsible for different tasks when gathering materials and cleaning up. Having this system of categorizing students is very helpful for the teacher because every student knows their role and their responsibility. She sends the students to get materials by color so that everyone doesn't crowd around at once, and she does the same when she dismisses them to line up. This is a tool I would love to use in my own classroom. Also, to monitor behavior, the teacher is good at demanding the students respect and attention in a nice way. I think it is so important for elementary level teachers to come across as warm and welcoming. There must be balance, and teachers must be careful not to be intimidating and scary, while still maintaining authority. The students in my field classrooms all work together to receive a maximum of six points if they display good behavior. The class points are compared to the other classes and are used as a way of friendly competition. The students seem to respond well to this method, and they all are motivated by the idea of earning points. Throughout the class, it is important to sometimes stop the students, get their attention, and evaluate their current behavior. The students are then aware of what they need to do to correct themselves as they continue working. The main things that I will take away from my teacher and apply to my own classroom are to establish an authority position, to maintain a positive and cheerful attitude, to practice patience, and to master a system of organization. If I have good classroom management in my art room, I then have the ability to create meaningful and rich unit plans. If I earn my students respect and trust, they will feel more comfortable expressing themselves and challenging themselves to be more creative.