308 Blog

Blog Post #2 Garrett's (2008) article suggests that the philosophy we adopt in our teaching should align with the philosophy we embrace in our management - but, many teachers who believe in student-centered learning struggle to give up teacher-centered management. What do you think about Garrett's premise? Why do you think teachers struggle with this? Looking at the different extremes of custodial (teacher-centered) vs humanistic (student-centered) teachers, there is one outcome that sounds more negative with impersonal relationships, the teacher being highly controlling, punitive sanctions, and so many more. On the other side there is positive interaction and communication, close relationships, mutual respect, etc. Clearly one sounds way more inviting than the other and we all want to lean towards the more positive side, but that's not always how it works out in the end. Because teacher-centered instruction is the more "traditional" way of teaching, I feel that i...

  Blog Post #1 How are your initial thoughts about management already changing or being reinforced? The only experience I have with management is with children I have babysat. I have hardly any experience in the classroom so my experience with classroom management is slim to none. What my preconceived notion about classroom management is, is that it is difficult but if approached in the right way, works really well. After todays first class and the bit of reading we have done, I feel that my initial thoughts are being reinforced to some degree. I am excited to dig deeper into this topic and concept and learn tons more about classroom management! How do Charles' three purposes for management (he calls it classroom discipline) complement each other? The three classroom disciplines are to first, remove or limit the conditions that tend to promote misbehavior. Second, teach students how to behave appropriately and support their efforts to do so. And third, intervene helpfully when stud...