Chapter 4a, 4b, & 4c: The Learning Environment: Planning and Managing the Classroom

4a
The beginning of chapter 4 talks about the difference between classroom control and management. Control seems to be an idea of the past and management is the concept now. Management focuses on the entire environment of the classroom while control seemed to focus specifically on getting students to behave and act the way we wanted them to. There are many different classroom management styles laid out throughout the chapter. Some styles focus on giving students more responsibility for their actions while others focus on positive and negative reinforcement. Classroom management not only encompasses how you handle instruction and student behavior, but also the physical environment, atmosphere (positive or negative), and how well you know your students. I think that all of the factors that play a role in your individual classroom management plan depend on your school environment and regulations, but weigh most heavily on your own individual personality. I have been in many different classrooms throughout my schooling career thus far and I have been in various classrooms as a student working towards my education degree; I don't think that a single one of them has been exactly the same in terms of classroom management styles. I also don't think that there is any one correct way to manage a classroom because what works for one teacher may drive another absolutely insane. I don't know exactly how I will set up my own classroom one day but I can tell you that things will be organized and  well mannered because I know my own personality and the things that drive me nuts.

4b
The second part of chapter 4 starts with the very first day of classes. You have to set your boundaries and procedures starting from the very beginning so that your students know exactly what to expect from you and exactly what is expected from them. It is better to refer to these expectations in terms of procedures and consequences rather than rules and punishment. It helps to create a more positive environment in your classroom and to start off on a good foot rather than expecting your students to do something wrong right from the get go. It is best to give your students as little free time, or time for them to do absolutely nothing, as possible. The more time they have to sit around and do nothing the more they will get bored and try to find something unproductive and potentially destructive to do. It is very important to keep them focused. Many ways to help do this mentioned in the second portion of the chapter include seating charts and opening activities to help move attendance along quickly and to give students something to do as soon as they walk in the classroom. Make sure to transition between activities smoothly and to minimize disruptions even when students are misbehaving or not doing what they are supposed to be doing. Start with indirect intervention before moving to direct intervention. I think that personally discipline is going to be a hard thing for me in my classroom. Especially in a middle school classroom. I am not a fan of confrontation and because of that I need to make my expectations very clear and minimize opportunity for students to become off-task and to get bored and possibly misbehave. I can also have very little patience at times and that will be a challenge when students are pushing buttons. I just need to focus on staying calm and collected and not letting my students push buttons.

4c
The last section of this chapter began with what I though was a crazy list of real life scenarios in which different teachers used a wide range of inappropriate punishments. It still baffles me some of the insane things that teachers do in handling a variety of situations in their classroom. These scenarios are just more proof that not everyone is meant to be a teacher. Just in reading them I really couldn't believe some of the things that teachers have done and it really makes me wonder how they rationalize their behavior and what they are thinking. Although the list is long, in the second half of the section there are many different ways in order to avoid situations described in the beginning of the section. I think that like with anything else in teaching these practices need to be finely tuned throughout the teaching career. They are all things to consider and to actively work on, especially in a middle school classroom where things can quickly and easily escalate to a volatile situation that could be avoided if handled properly. You really have to go into teaching in any grade, but especially middle school prepared with your head held high and ready for any situation that could possibly be thrown your way.