Classroom management is a skill that is critical for an educator to dominate in full. This is one of the takeaways that articles such as "Schoolwide and Classroom Discipline," by Kathleen Cotton, conveys to readers.
Managing a group is not limited to monitoring behavior and preventing incidents. It is also about setting the tone and atmosphere of the learning environment so that a sense of community and team work is fostered among all students.
When incidents do happen in a classroom, the most important part of the problem solving process is communication, attention to the rules in place, and knowing how to approach both parties involved. Factors such as age, maturity level, and prior history should come into consideration when deciding consequences for the incident, as well.
Incident:
An example of an incident related to Cotton's article occurs many times in many classroom settings. Surely, many teachers can relate to this. This incident happened to me, personally, but I will relate it in general terms.
This is a third grade classroom, and the students' ages range from 8 to 9 years old. By Eriksonian standards, the children are going through the "Industry versus Inferiority" stage at this point, until they hit puberty. This means that their successes, as well as their failures in school, are taken quite seriously. Kids of this age group tend to get angry easily, still can cry in frustration when things do not go their way, and they also start to separate into subgroups, also known as "cliques." All of these factors should not be ignored. These are variables to take into consideration when acting as a mediator, as well as an educator and guide.
Issue: A student gets a reward for good behavior or good performance. Another student, who was close enough to get the same reward, but did not get it, is upset about it.
Rather than showing good camaraderie, the student that is upset decides to act against the student that has been rewarded by starting a false rumor about the student, and spreading it around. The rumor involves the other student cheating in order to get ahead of the rest of the other kids.
As educators, we are often the last people to find out when a rumor has been spread. Students are very good at keeping secrets and at sticking together when they operate in "mob like" behaviors fueled by either jealousy or petty anger. However, there is always a point where someone is no longer interested in participating in the rumor, or is directly affected by it. When this happens, students often speak up and tell the teacher what is happening. This is when the educator moves into action.
The problem solving process:
When bullying behavior of this nature occurs, the teacher needs to listen to every detail of the case, document facts in writing, and start asking questions. The students involved are called for one-on-one conferencing. When it's clear who the culprit is, a responsible teacher should sit down with the student that is committing the act, and explain to him or her directly what is at stake with those behaviors. A lot can be gathered from a good one-on-one, such as motives and other hidden emotions that the teacher can address. Once the student who did the act understands the extent of his or her mistake, the teacher can bring the two students together and do some mediation using the counselor as a witness and as a resource.
Personally, I think that every incident in a classroom is an opportunity for social learning. The teacher must take the time (as I did) to address the whole class, dispel the rumor, and appeal to the inner character of the students so that they voluntarily apologize to the affected student, in their own time. Forced apologies only fuel more anger and teach children to be fake in their intentions to say sorry.
The most important thing, however, is to bring the group back to "team mode," by reminding them that the classroom is like a family. We may or may not like one another sometimes, but we are going to be working together and accomplishing goals for an entire school year. The atmosphere of a cooperative working environment is the key to success. We cannot succeed in anger and frustration.
Moreover, the teacher should tell the students that each of them is equally valuable to the group; that each of them has a talent to bring to the table, and that rewards for specific things do not take away those talents, nor diminish their value. It is all about communication and being attuned to the students. Teachers who are committed to a good environment will take the time to do all of this.
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