Interview with Master Teacher

As Wednesday is early release day, my master teacher and I were able to set aside some time this afternoon to go over some classroom basics.

I began by asking my MT what she viewed as important tips for a successful first day of school. She confirmed what I had hypothesized to be her primary focus: beginning to set the tone for the classroom environment. I would characterize her approach as friendly but firm. No doubt many of us have come across the philosophy that teachers need to be extremely strict from the beginning. There is a difference between being firm but kind, and strict to the point of causing anxiety among students. When I asked one student, a recent immigrant, about his sister's experience starting junior high this week, he said it was "okay," but that her math teacher had "yelled" at her the first day because she did not have something.

Beyond setting the desired classroom tone, my MT also focuses on activities designed to help the class become acquainted. To this end, she incorporates a good deal of group work and allows numerous opportunities for student to "turn and talk" or otherwise share. She tries to encourage student participation beyond the handful of students who always raise their hands. She brings the class into a "community circle" at least once the first day (and every day thereafter) to establish a respectful, sharing environment. She also focuses on classroom procedures to help students feel comfortable with the workings of the classroom.

We also spent time today talking about the rationale behind the arrangement of the classroom. As is surely the case with all classrooms, to some extent the arrangement is dictated by the characteristics of the room itself, as well as the size of the class. We are fortunate this year to have only 22 students in a generously sized classroom. The usual bookshelves, cabinets and computer stations (5) are stationed around the perimeter of the classroom. The teacher's desk occupies one corner in the front of the room, and the student desks are arranged in groups of 4-6. My MT says she cannot imagine operating a classroom in which students were not seated in groups, because working cooperatively in groups is such an essential part of the learning that occurs in her class. I was rather shocked to hear her say that many elementary teachers persist in traditional arrangement of desks in rows. Her "prime real estate" is a rear corner of the room, located in front of the class library area. She uses this open carpeted space for community circles as well as other learning situations in which the kids can be seated in a semi-circle. Knowing how "antsy" I feel after a long afternoon seated in the same chair at the same table, I am sure the students welcome the opportunity to get up and move around before seating themselves on the floor for some activities. Also located around the room are a few spaces where kids can work alone as needed.

Finally, we continued our discussions of classroom management. Last week, my MT loaned a copy of a Love and Logic classroom management CD so that I could get an intro to this style of classroom management. I was somewhat familiar with the L&L method from a parenting class some years ago, but when I first ran a classroom (many years ago), the prevalent philosophy was more behaviorally based. I am looking forward to learning new techniques for classroom management.

Prominently posted is the class "Super Rule," which states that "You have the right to do whatever you want as long as it doesn't affect another student or the teacher." My MT has found this to be a virtually foolproof version of classroom rules. When she asked the class to think of what they could do they would be okay under the Super Rule, the kids gave examples like read quietly and get a drink of water if the teacher or another student wasn't talking. Another student suggested that he could do the "happy dance" silently in the back of the classroom, but other kids quickly pointed out that this would affect the teacher and other students who would be distracted. I have several times heard my MT use a line from the L&L CD to the effect that: "I find it hard to do a good job teaching when I am distracted."

My MT believes strongly, as do I, in the necessity of building relationships with students. The benefits are too numerous to list here, but, in terms of classroom management, good relationships enable the teacher to elicit better behavior from students than would be possible with a strict reward and punishment type system.



In the Community Circle, a set of Community Agreements prevail:
1. Active listening.
2. Mutual respect.
3. No put downs.
4. Right to pass.

These support the concept of a true, safe classroom community.