No one ever tells you how difficult it is to manage a
classroom. College teaches you how to make a lesson plan and
how to actually "teach," but yet you cannot teach if you cannot
control your students. That said, it would be impossible to
teach classroom management, as each school and each teacher is
different, but still... Some general strategies would have been
nice.

I'm only in my second full year of teaching, so I still have a
lot to learn. But I will say that during student teaching, I
felt like I had control, and when I subbed long term, I felt
like I had control. And THEN, came my first full year of
teaching and I felt like I was in a movie. The things I saw
happen I could have never predicted. I felt totally useless as
a teacher, and everything I did just didn't work. I wish I
could say things improved dramatically that year, but really,
once you lose a group, it's hard to get them back (at least
with me, that's how it was).

This year, though, is different. Our incoming students never
had me before, and I started out calm and assertive. Things are
GREAT with those groups. The groups I have this year (and also
had last year) - well... They don't run as smoothly, though
they do run better than last year.

My best advice is hang in there. And try not to let the kids
see you angry. The less emotion you show, the better. I also
repeat a lot, and in a monotone voice when specific student is
not following directions. When it's the whole class, I stand
and wait. Any reaction that involves anger/sadness is what the
students want from you. Some of them get a kick out of
upsetting teachers. If you remain calm and consistent, you
should have some luck.

Good luck. :)

On 11/02/09, New Teacher wrote:
> I am a student teacher, and I am having the hardest time
> with classroom management. My sophomore class is so
> disrespectful. I am about to give up hope. I'm under a
> lot of pressure, and not going to get my credential if I
> can't get this class under control. But I feel like I have
> tried it all. I'm so frustrated. What can I do that will
> give results immediately? I call parents; I send kids to
> OCS, I had my class on silent restriction for two weeks, I
> even had a kid suspended. And yet they still have no
> respect and are really chatty and out of line. What else
> can I possibly do? I am so frustrated.

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