Sink or Swim: Classroom Management

(Second in the series of four articles)

“We don't get to decide whether we have challenging students in our classes, but we can certainly decide how we respond to them," wrote Carol Ann Tomlinson, the American educator. 

"All five years of my teaching English, as well as my Diploma in Education, did not teach me anything about dealing with students' behaviors on the first day of school," were the words of teacher Sara (name changed on request), an English teacher who served five years teaching at an elementary boy’s school. Her words voice the fear that most future teachers face. Perhaps the most frustrating part for teachers is being in a situation where they cannot apply the learned skills and strategies in managing the classroom. 

Teacher Rawan (name changed on request), at a primary girl’s school for fourteen years, shares that she was not fully prepared to act and use intervention strategies to control misbehavior. As a result, students' first impression was that the teacher is inexperienced, novice, and has poor managing skills. We asked four teachers about the most challenging part of their career, and they unanimously agreed that their most prominent issue is controlling students’ behaviors.

Sleepless nights, inconsistent heartbeats, and a mind filled with anticipation with a bit of fear is how a teacher's journey begins. Dissatisfaction caused by unmet expectations of students’ behaviors and attitudes towards learning can lead teachers to feel stressed and anxious (Proost et al., 2012). Due to that, beginner teachers begin reconsidering their decision to stay in this profession. With a lugubrious tone, teacher Sara refers to her experience as “exhausting and frustrating.” She explains how "innocent-looking students can be worse than bullies". Students at a young age can be rude, disrespectful, and disobedient; hence, making it more challenging for teachers to deal with them.

Mrs. Layla, a grade one teacher at a primary boy’s school, shared a recent challenge she faced during online learning. She stated how students became unresponsive to her instructions. They would always turn on their mics and talk in others’ turn. Similarly, students were turning their cameras on and doing silly gestures or movements. “Attracting students in an online learning class and controlling their attitude is definitely challenging,” said teacher Layla. Regardless of the hardship of managing students' behavior, it is not an impossible task. Teacher Layla elucidated that through using entertaining websites and applications for rewarding students according to their behavior during class time, she did eventually manage to maintain positive behavior.

The key to a well-managed classroom is setting strict rules yet maintaining a positive relationship with students. The first year of this journey is crucial, as it determines if the teacher will be able to overcome these obstacles by keeping student behavior in control or simply surrender to them. Teaching is not easy as one two three, yet if done sensibly, the outcomes are worth the effort.