I learned how important it is to have a good understanding of managing your classroom in order to allow your students to reach their full potential. In a survey they did, over 70% felt like they did not receive adequate training on dealing with behaviors in the classroom. Teachers have indicated that they want to leave the profession due to this lack of preparation for classroom management. Younger children are learning the differences between home environment and school environment, which can affect their behavior. Power struggles, lack of self-regulation, and new rules or routines for children can all make classroom management difficult. Students want to have teachers who respect them and care for them in the ways that they need them to care for them. When reframing classroom management it is important to do four things: understand and distinguish behavior, rethink control and power dynamics, be proactive instead of reactive, and respond to the child and not the behavior. Understanding and distinguishing the behavior is important because you must understand why the child is acting the way they are before you can react to the behavior in a helpful way. Students need to know that you, as their teacher, respect them. That is why it is important to say encouraging things to the student that give them the idea of the classroom being a community, not just owned by the teacher. It is important to be proactive because if you only react to the negative things that your students are doing, it results in power struggles and the feeling of defeat. A teacher should do positive things to help fix behavior problems before they become issues rather than wait for them to happen. Responding to the child's needs is the best way to make the student feel cared for. Doing this allows for the child to know that you want to help them and find a strategy that helps them rather than just get them in trouble for the things they do. figuring out why your student is acting a certain way by getting to know them is the best way to handle behavior problems and gain a better classroom management style.
