This one is for educators and those who care about them. Expressing legitimate concerns isn’t whining, it’s responsibility. For believers, this is confirmed in the lamenting Psalms.
Routines…
Processes…
Consistency…
Proximity…
Eye contact…
There are dozens of ‘proven’ strategies for effectively managing a classroom of students from kindergarten to high school. The goal is for the classroom to operate like a well-oiled machine, keeping disruptions minor without interrupting instruction.
And, yes there are teachers who struggle with keeping order in their area of influence. When this happens, many times both co-workers and administrators will conclude that a particular teacher has poor classroom management skills.
Is this sometimes true…OF COURSE!
But, there will always be situations that will be beyond anyone’s control.
So before an administrator tells an educator, “Your children don’t meet your expectations because you have poor classroom management”… They must ask themselves…
“When teachers and staff don’t meet my expectations is it because I have poor building management skills…or do I deflect the blame?”
How healthy is the overall culture in the building? What’s the macro culture of the district that’s beyond the control of teachers?
I once worked at a school where the children arrived at 7:40 (received breakfast) and were dismissed at 4pm…
- My class didn’t have lunch until 1:10 pm (with no morning snack)…
- The class periods were 2-hours long…
- There was no gymnasium (the cafeteria was used)…
- There was no recess (this was before COVID-19)…
- The children were barely allowed to talk…
By mid morning, these children were hungry, and it definitely affected their behavior. There was no recess to release pent-up energy…one could conclude these children were being set up by the culture for behavior problems…and the teachers were left to take the blame.
And of course, no matter how much we want to believe that ‘all children are good’, no set of rules, procedures or protocols are effective against this child…
Too many times it’s easy to deflect ALL accountability to the teacher or any ‘front-line’ worker, but leaders should always remember what Jesus Christ said in Matthew chapter 7…
Matthew 7:1-2 (NLT)
7 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
Too many ‘experts’ outside the classroom (especially those outside the school building) feel their expertise trumps the expertise of the ‘experts’ who are still in the classroom every day.
BE BLESSTIFIED!
BE BLESSTIFIED! 