I have discovered that my classroom management style has not been addressed in any of our texts or discussions. When researching articles for assessment strategies and management differences between middle school and high school students, I came across some research about relational management techniques. I demand that my students are respectful to me and each other yet I am certainly not the dictator personality that others are comfortable with. I have great respect for teachers who have a commanding presence in the classroom but I am naturally not that way. Probably the most valuable part of my student teaching experience has been discovering how to successfully manage a classroom effectively while remaining true to who I am as a person. I am a relational person who loves to have fun with the kids yet I am also a bit of a control freak. I sincerely love the kids and I want to see each and every one of them reach their fullest potential.
I am discovering that respect for teachers, parents, administrators, the law - any authority at all - is waning among the general student population. Students who are broken, are involved in gang activities, neglected, you name it, do not have a built-in trust or respect for me as a teacher. To reach these students, I have to build a relationship of trust with them. They are so used to having adversarial relationships with those who traditionally have inherent authority such as police officers and principals. Teachers find themselves with no credibility to maintain any level of authority with these students either. The result is multiple disciplinary problems with the student(s) being kicked out of class or suspended after multiple detentions and referrals to the office. It was encouraging to find that my technique is actually one that is being researched and has been observed as being a successful technique in inner-city high schools. I was a bit surprised by the results and I am encouraged. If you think you gravitate toward a relational-style of managing your classroom or if you have no idea as to what the heck I'm talking about, this research paper will probably be of interest to you.
I wasn't able to figure out how to attach an Adobe file to my blog. If anyone knows how, I would appreciate some help. I also cannot link directly to it because it requires a subscription to the journal to access it directly. I added a page to the wiki that I'm a part of with the article saved as an attachment. Here is the link to the wiki: http://scienceassessments.wetpaint.com/
I will have to invite you on to see it first. It is located on the Classroom Management Strategies page. Leave a comment on this blog if you want access to the Science Assessments website.
If you don't want to access the attached file via the wiki, here is the information you'll need to find it through Ebscohost:
School Psychology Review,
2008, Volume 37, No. 3, pp. 337-353
FEATURED ARTICLE
Adolescent Trust in Teachers: Implications for Behavior
in the High School Classroom
Anne Gregory and Michael B. Ripski
University of Virginia
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I agree that forging relationships with students is key to gaining respect. Respect is also two-way. One thing that I did in the small rural school I taught at was to invite myself to dinner. It was just an "open" invitation to the class(s). Not everyone invited me, but there is nothing quite like "breaking bread" with people to change the dynamic of a relationship. Decades later I often hear from former students or their families and we still talk about "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"
ReplyDeleteJust so other readers know, Bob was my 4th grade teacher. We have recently reconnected through facebook. I had forgot about "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" until he reminded me with his posting. Our society is becoming more fragmented and mobile and I think that having meals with our students and their families helps build a community and a trusting atmosphere between teachers, administrators, and the rest of the community.
ReplyDeleteI had a bit of a time finding you and I wondered who Biobird was. But of course I should have known it was you. I look forward to reading the information you have about the relationship approach to teaching. I didn't know it had a name, but I think that is probably the key element in my behavior management and my philosophy of teaching. Mutual respect IS relationships. Each student is an individual, and if I slip and call a student by the wrong name, I feel horrible. Funny how I have come to love every darn one of my students, even the ones who are the most challenging. And I think that if the kids know you are really trying to help them the way you think they need help, it will build some measure of respect.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, I think my classroom management style is this one too. Thanks so much for sharing, and for putting a name to the style so I can read more about it!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to reading the article. This style sounds like me too. Thanks for posting it on the wiki!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, I thought it was so interesting that you posted this article. I was telling my family that I chose the same article for my journal review and was planning on posting it because it had such valuable information. There were so many choices for articles, its funny we chose the same one. It was an interesting study and confirmed what I have seen in action. Unfortunately, not all teachers are comfortable with this approach. It seems like there are teachers who feel like they need to keep a distance between themselves and their students so they can remain disciplinarians. I have also seen teachers that seem to use this approach selectively. They choose some students to build relationships with and give and receive respect. Then there are the other students that they don't seem to bother trying to get to know (possibly low achieving students) and are frustrated because those students don't respect them.
ReplyDeleteThat is really something! Out of the thousands of articles we have at our disposal the same one spoke to you like it did to me! I agree with your assessment of the variety of teaching styles. I think we need to find out what works with who we are and not try to force someone else's method into our classroom just because it worked well for them. We can certainly learn from other types of management and I have great respect for those who manage differently as long as it is conducive to an effective learning environment. I have observed those who are selective in who they reach out to and I cannot respect their methods like I can a disciplinarian approach because it all too often hurts the very students that need the most help.
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