how does one really achieve great classroom management skills?

Today while observing, I noticed that the biggest struggle in most classrooms is managing student behavior.  I'm a product of Catholic school, so students misbehaving to the degree I've been witnessing weren’t even a thought in my fellow high school peers minds.  Now, that’s not to say that my high school didn’t have its fair share of kids who would act out, but it was nothing compared to what I've been observing.  In one of the classes I observed today, made up of 3 female students and 21 male students, the level of noise was so great that I couldn’t hear my self think, let alone the teacher verbally give out n assignment.  The teacher was giving the students a journal prompt to write about; she had to repeat the question 4 times, and still students were asking what the question was.  I began to get really frustrated!  This teacher is a veteran teacher, and to be honest I expected her to be able to control her students better than any other teacher, but that wasn’t the case at all.  I'm unsure of why the classroom got so out of control in the first place.  What was causing these students to have such a lack of respect for their teacher?  What was giving the teacher such patience that she didn’t run out of the room and never return?  It made me start thinking about my own future classroom.  What if my future students behave that way?  Do I have a plan of action to deal with a situation like that?  Or better yet, what can I do to prevent a situation like that from happening?  The teacher I observed put on a movie for the rest of the period, and that seemed to settle the students to a certain extent, and could almost swear I saw her raise a little white flag from behind her desk!  Ok, so maybe she didn’t actually raise a little white flag, but she may as well have.  The people I really felt bad for were the students who were actually trying to learn.  I can’t imagine how annoying and distracting it must be to be in a classroom where the majority of the period is based around the teacher telling your peers to pipe down and pay attention. 

Response to Arielle's Post 11/14/11

I really enjoyed Arielle's post about change, or lack thereof in our world.  Her post made me think of a unit I'm working on for another class.  My unit is focused on civic responsibility, which relates well to Arielle's post.  The books my students will be reading all deal with issues of women’s rights in foreign countries, including but not limited to arranged marriage, child sex trade, and many more.  One thing I want my students to walk away with is the notion that no matter how far away a problem may seem, or how big of an issue it may be to tackle, they can help.  I think that most of society thinks unless their completely solving the problem, they can’t make a difference.  However, the smallest action can result in something life changing for the person who's receiving the help.  The final piece to my unit is going to be the students setting up and running a "Women Around the World Awareness Week."  My students will be hanging up posters and flyers of facts they learned through the class, and the books they read.  They will also set up some sort of fundraising project, and all the money raised will go to a foundation that sponsors young girls in third-world countries to go to school.  I want my students, and the school for that matter, to realize that change or making a difference can be as simple as selling a cupcake, no one’s asking them to change the world.  Arielle brought up great points in her blog that really speak to how society looks at change; it seems that change is looked at as something difficult, something that is usually unattainable.  We all need to realize that change is attainable, and that what may seem like the smallest contribution could lead to the biggest reward to the people who need it most. 

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KGXd4TUEMc

If you see something, say something

" if you see something, say something" and no I'm not talking about the MTA. In the midst of the Penn State sex abuse scandal, I started thinking about legendary coach Paterno. Paterno, a celebrity in his own right, is not the accused, however, he seems to be smack in the middle of the whole scandal. This got me to thinking about what we, as teachers, are teaching students about bullying. We teach young people to step in or speak up of they see some sort of wrongdoing going on. The Penn State scandal is a perfect example as to why teaching that lesson to young people is vital. Paterno may not have abused those boys, or even witnessed the abuse taking place, but he was made aware of what was going on and said nothing. Does that make him as guilty as the actual abuser? Perhaps not, but to be aware of that caliber of abuse and not intervene does make him guilty to an extent. For students, it's the same thing. If they see a fellow peer being bullied and just standby and watch it happen, and than that student commits suicide that night, the stander by will feel a certain level of guilt. The Penn State scandal is a good lesson for society in general: we are all held accountable for the wrongdoings we see or are made aware if, and if we don't do anything about it, well then the blood is on our hands too.

creative piece # 2(not sure which i like better)

“The Heights”

By: Danielle Miller

Corona

This was our home.  A place I still cherish to this day.  There was no better place to grow up, in our eyes anyway, than Corona.  Everyday was like Sunday dinner, one big family loving, fighting, and of course eating.  Just driving down Corona Avenue with your car windows open would embed the aroma of “galic” in your seats.  Walking down the streets, you’d hear a million conversations at once, some you’d understand, and some you’d know only the “bad” words your parents had taught you in their native tongue.  Growing up in Corona was like living in a real life gangster movie; you had you “Robert De Niro” types, your “Joe Pesci” types, but we just knew them as a part of our “familia.”  You knew everybody, and everybody knew you.  Your neighbors were your cousins, and local shop owners were your parents “pisan’s” from the mother country. 

            Ya see, my friends and I had all known each other, for the most part, since birth.  All of our parents grew up together too.  My mother, for example, she’s lived on the same street her whole life!  This isn’t something that many people of today’s generation could say.  A lot of the neighborhood people could share similar stories. 

            Driving through the neighborhood now is a completely different world.  The colors of red, white, and green still stand, except now they stand for a different kinda people, people who come from “south of the border.”  Even thought the area has changed almost completely, I can still see every memory in my mind; my first bad scraped knee; my first kiss; the place I smoked my first joint, all of it.  No matter what direction I turn, I see a memory; Anthony and Jimmy jamming out in Mr. Pallino’s garage; Lisa breaking up with her boyfriend for the 15^th time; my uncle stumbling home from the bar.  Things were crazy back than.  There are moments I wish I could recreate, and others I wish I could long forget.