A Much Better Day

Today was a much better day. The kids were a little bit wild at the beginning of the day (probably excited because I was back today and they thought that they were going to have another day where they got away with everything), but by the end of the day they shaped up quickly.

It really is true that consistency is everything. Students, no matter how young, have a sense of how far they can push their limits, how much they can get away with. I think of it like an animal being able to sense or smell fear. When the students can smell that the teacher is not going to follow through with their "threats" for discipline, all hope for order is lost. Reflecting back on Wednesday, I realize that that was a big issue of mine. I hate having to put the kids on "steps" because I want students to make their day and I want to make sure that they are able to participate in my instruction. But I definitely realized that the students very quickly realize that if I am not going to put them on steps that they can do whatever they want with essentially no consequences, not at all what I hope for.

It was important for me to have that frustrating, disaster of a day to really realize the importance of classroom management and being consistent with the classroom management that is established in the room. Without these structures, learning cannot and will not take place. With the structures AND the consistency of enforcement, learning will be able to occur in an optimal environment - really the goal of teaching!