HELP! The Students Have Gone Wild

Engaging Classroom Management Jessica DeBarry jdebarry@mcintosh.k12.ga.us

I have had my fair share of classroom horror stories as someone who has worked with children for a long time. That one student who refuses to sit still, the interrupting 6 year old, the “they are touching me”, she's in my square type days where at the end you are not completely sure if you did your lesson or just redirected behaviors. In grad school I remember being told numerous times that as school counselors we are not disciplinarians; however not many of the classes mentioned how we as school counselors who are expected to at times deliver classroom lessons manage the many personalities that make up a classroom. This is where classroom management skills are utilized.

Classroom management has a wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized, engaged and attentive. These skills and techniques help students stay on task and be productive. In my graduate program there were many fellow classmates who had little to no classroom experience and the few interns I have had mentioned that classroom management is one area they are lacking skills in. As I have worked with students ranging from Kindergarten to HighSchool I have added different classroom management techniques that I have found handy in working with a diverse group of students. Here are just a few that I use consistently and that my students enjoy.

The “Pizza of Fate”

This is popular with my older elementary school students; third through fifth. They like it enough that if I forget to put the “pizza” on the board they ask for it. This is simply a circle divided into four or five slices. At the beginning of the year with my “Meet the School Counselor” lesson I explained the expectations of my time in the classroom. If a class as a whole meets expectations throughout my lesson they earn a “pizza slice”. Each class has a certain goal they are working towards for example 3 out of 4 slices. If they earn their “pizza slices” they gain a special treat at the end of the lesson. Kindergarten through second grade love the magic word. This year the magic word is macaroni. If they hear the magic work they say cheese (their magic word) and I quickly follow this with FREEZE. Students love being able to say their magic word (cheese) to be able to freeze. The expectations are for them to stop what they are doing and put their eyes on me. There are days where I say macaroni a lot but being consistent helps students quickly follow through.

The other part of classroom management is knowing when you may have to remind students that the time in the class with you is a vital part of their schooling. No one likes to be called out even when they are not meeting expectations. Often calling out a student who is not following classroom rules can create a bigger problem. One way to combat this is to provide praise for those students who are following classroom expectations “I like how table 4 is quietly working on their assignment”. Most of our students are seeking that praise and those who are not following expectations are quick to follow suit to get your positive attention. Our school uses a token system to reward students for following expectations and I use tickets to visually give students who are meeting expectations a silent “kudos”. They enjoy the ability to gain a token to shop our school store and that silent visual not only rewards following expectations but gives those students who are not a reminder of something they are working for. Get with your school administrators to see how you can implement school wide systems into your classroom management.

What about that one student who just can’t get it together? I have found that giving students time to reset allows them to get back to our lesson quickly. This can be a quick errand to my office, a leadership role or a whole class quick minute brain break to get everyone back on track. After class I have found it important to talk to that student one on one to see how I can better help them during our time together in the whole group. Unfortunately there have been times when a student had to be removed from the classroom due to unsafe behavior. As their school counselor I do not write them up but will make a point to talk with this student individually after they were removed and before the next time I am in their class. We problem solve together to increase their chance of success in the classroom.

With kids, consistent routines and expectations are key in having a successful classroom lesson. Work with your teachers to build your own classroom expectations when you have to push into their classes they will have classroom expectations that can be included with your own. Additionally, find a teacher whose classroom management style you like and ask them if you can observe them. There is a plethora of classroom management professional development available online and through the Department of Education but the best way I have found to enhance my classroom management skills and techniques is trial and error. Lastly, there are going to be times when no matter the skills or techniques it is just one of those days. Give yourself grace, practice self-care and keep moving forward. Remember every day is a new day.

Photo by Sina