Balli, J. S. (2009). Classroom Management. In Making a difference in the classroom: strategies that connect with students (65- 77). Estover Road, Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

In this chapter to her book, Sandra J. Balli uses concrete suggestions, academic research, comments from students looking back on their school years, and many personal anecdotes to assert the need for classroom teachers to develop a management style that is both based on connections between teachers and students on the one hand and incorporates strong structure, whole-class supervision or ‘with-it-ness,’ and consistency on the other. Balli also proclaims the need for teachers to leave room for an attitude of understanding and an appreciation for nuance in classroom situations, as students may have hidden rationales behind their behaviour. As a whole, Balli believes that the ultimate aim is to create a positive and supportive classroom environment, but that rules that are clearly explained and followed through are necessary to create this atmosphere. This chapter is useful for my inquiry because it pairs both more traditional management styles with relationship-based ones, in a way that will enable me to see the essential ingredients for creating a well-run classroom. Its simple and clear language and focus on concrete experiences and advice will also assist me in finding ways to translate ideas within it to my own practicum context, in order to test their effectiveness for myself. The stories she relates are also eye-opening and so, although they are specific and cannot be fully generalized, they allow me to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of a master teacher. However, there are some strategies in the chapter that seem to come out of a context that does not fully fit with the inquiry-based approaches of the new BC curriculum and so require modification in order to be able to be implemented in my practice. For example, Balli suggests creating guidelines for the classroom before the first day, but I believe that it would be better to create these guidelines together with the students during the first week of school. Overall, I believe that the guidelines Balli discusses are important, but that they may be shifted to allow for more student agency, particularly in the intermediate years, and I would like to find more sources discussing this.