Since my peer discussion on my inquiry topic on February 3rd, I have not had the chance to locate or read more academic research. However, there have been stories shared in the media that have influenced my thinking about the power of positive, social and emotional, and relationship-based classroom management. Although more subjective and more influenced by trends than academic research, I think that these media sources have great power to inspire me as I navigate the challenges of developing my classroom management style, to provide me with examples of other teachers who are putting their ideas into practice in a classroom instead of leaving them solely within the realm of theory, and to show me which practices members of the public connect to as ultimately our jobs as teachers are to form relationships with both parents or guardians and students. One example of a teacher in the media who inspired me in this way is Barry White Junior, a fifth grade teacher in the United States who greets each one of his students at the classroom door in the morning with a personalized handshake routine (Jerry Hamilton, 2017). This video has been shared widely among my cohort and the UBC education program as a whole. Not only did I find it truly impressive that Mr. White was able to connect to his students to such a strong extent that he could remember a complicated handshake for each of them, it struck me that implementing such a fun routine would help students start the day off on a positive note. It could show them that their teacher truly cares about who they are as an individual and that they are truly motivated to help them succeed. This shows me that classroom management must be truly foundational as a work in progress, instead of being instituted only when students are not following behavioural guidelines. Although, as pointed out in the last peer group discussion, strategies must be developed uniquely for each class situation and cannot simply be transferred from the media to my classroom or even from one of my classrooms to a different classroom the following year, this example leads me to think about how I may implement a positive and consistent daily routine with my students during the long practicum, and how this might influence classroom management. Another example of a teacher who inspired me in the media recently was Mr. Bonner, a second grade teacher in North Carolina who helps teach his students content material in new and exciting ways, such as through a rap song (TheEllenShow, 2017). Although not as directly related to classroom management, I think that this example demonstrates how personalizing content to fit with the interests and needs of students can help feel them feel motivated and inspired to succeed, and can thus increase their engagement in lessons and lead to better management. Both these examples demonstrate that forming relationships with students is the first step to crafting any classroom community. Moving forward, I hope to find more examples of such dedicated and creative teachers to take points of inspiration from, and then to place these examples in conjunction with educational theory so I may develop my own unique positive management style.
References
TheEllenShow. (2017, Jan. 12). Ellen Surprises Incredible Teacher Mr. Bonner. [Video File].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN6gKAfEwZ8
Jerry Hamilton. (2017, Feb. 2). Teacher Connects with Each of his Students by Creating
Personalized Handshakes. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaTOxVaYkPU