MANAGING THE CLASS
In my mind, the first and most basic obligation of a teacher is to see the beauty that
exists within every student. Every child is infinitely precious. Period.
When we start from this vantage point, classroom management and its flip side,
student engagement comes more easily. It's an outgrowth of students feeling loved
and respected.
Love them and stand firmly against behavior that doesn't meet your expectations or
reflect their inner greatness. Too many students have internalized a profound sense
of their own inadequacy, and it is incumbent upon us to remind them of their infinite
value and counteract the many messages that they receive to the contrary. By loving
our students unconditionally, we remind them of their true worth.
Our students know how we feel about them. If we don't like them or if we see them as
a behavior problem they know it. Even if we don't say it, they will know it. And then
that student is justified in resenting us, for we have failed to see the beauty that exists
within that child. Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
If a student chose not to meet one of my classroom expectations, they needed to know
that I loved them but not their misbehavior. They needed to know that I cared for them
and would not accept their poor choice because it would ultimately hurt them and
didn't reflect how wonderful they truly are.
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