Sharing Good Practice
COULD KINDNESS BE THE KEY TO
EXCELLENT BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT?
By Mary Rose Connolly
C
lassroom management begins
as soon as you open the door
to your classroom. You see
your students, they see you
and opinions are formed. Do you walk
in smiling or looking stern? What will
your initial impression be? What do
you want it to be? Some believe you
shouldn’t smile until winter break,
other schools of thought suggest
that you be yourself? There are so
many experts out there on behaviour
management, that the new teacher
or the teacher new to the region, can
be forgiven for becoming confused or
even overwhelmed.
In speaking exams, students are
often asked to identify their favorite
teacher and why. Their answer often
shocks me. I expect them to go with
the fun teacher or the one who uses
technology the most, or the most
dynamic teacher, with the most
interesting subject. So why is she
your favorite teacher? Their response
is almost always the same; because
she cares! I must admit, sometimes
I am surprised by their response, as
I may have judged this teacher to be
too harsh or a little stern. Students
are quite insightful though. They see
beyond this and they categorize us in
an entirely different way; those who
care and those who do not. This is a
much tougher appraisal than a lesson
observation. As teachers, we are happy
to be judged by lesson observations
and lesson plans. Two inspectors, one
principal and a lead teacher – this we
can do! They want to see objectives on
the board, interactive lessons and 21st
century skills in your classroom. We
got this! Making a class of teenagers
believe that you care about them is a
little harder to gloss over! So start as
you mean to go on. Show your pupils
that you recognize their individuality
and that you care about their progress.
One way you can do this is by creating
a mental Filofax containing each of
your student’s names. Alongside their
name you categorize personality, add
idiosyncrasies, identify learner type
and most important of all, pinpoint
ways to engage them. Getting this
metaphorical Filofax in order is the
key to a smooth academic year and
the foundation to a positive classroom
environment. This is not an easy task,
there are days I feel more like Tom
Cruise at the beginning of a Sci-fi
movie, where he swipes pieces of
information from his mind around in
front of him so he can locate just the
piece he needs!
This Filofax will form the foundation of
the learning environment you create
in your classroom. Its cornerstone
is to know your students. A mental
Filofax helps you to care. It helps you
to go beyond your subject and see
the humanity in what we do. It looks
deeper than Assessment for Learning,
Assessment of Learning, curriculum
development, staff meetings and
professional development and it
brings you to the core of what we do.
We make a difference. We educate
these students not just in our subject
area, but also in humanity and this is
what makes teaching awesome!
Can kindness be the key to excellent
behaviour management? I certainly
think so. This year go beyond the
books, get to know and care about the
students.
Mary Rose is an English teacher with 12 years experience in Ireland and the UAE.
She moved to the Middle East to take up a teaching role at ATHS Al Ain Girls
Campus in August 2017.
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