Teacher Interview Sutor

My goal as a future educator is for all my students to feel safe and respected in my classroom.  One of my greatest fears as I go through the educational program and teaching for the first time is classroom management, and behavioral challenges.  So, when I was assigned to interview an excellent teacher about classroom management, I was excited to learn their firsthand knowledge, and how they moved passed this common fear that first year teachers have.  I had the pleasure to interviewed Mrs. Swanson which is a high school math teacher and is currently teaching honors math classes at Harold. L. Richards High School.  She also teaches educational methods, and statistic classes at Trinity Christian College. 

When Mrs. Swanson described her approach to classroom management, she stressed the importance of setting a limited number of rules right away, and to have conversations with your students so that they know exactly what the rules are asking of them also known as effective instruction delivery (EID).  In the text Woolfolk states that “effective instruction delivery (EID) has found instructions that are concise, clear, and specific, and that communicate an expected result are more effective than vague directions.” (p 271) She also stated that each class is different so as an educator we all need to be flexible.  Currently the biggest challenge Mrs. Swanson faces in her classroom is inappropriate cell phone usage.  If she notices a student on their phone at inappropriate times, she first asks for it to be put in their backpack.  If the student refuses, she uses a negative reinforcement as a punishment and will take the phone away and send it down to the dean.  Mrs. Swanson also believes that if a situation arises that it should be addressed quickly and directly with the student.  This goes along with what Woolfolk describes as a successful teacher and the ability to prevent a problem before it becomes a large one.  Woolfolk states “they do not make timing errors (waiting too long before intervening) or target errors (blaming the wrong student and letting the real perpetrators escape responsibility for their behavior).” (p 523) An important statement Mrs. Swanson stated is that she builds a classroom community by developing a relationship with her students.  She does this by talking with them about their interests during school, and she show’s up to after school events to show her support.  “Students respect teachers who maintain their authority without being rigid or harsh, are fair and honest with them, demonstrate emotional support and are caring.” (p.524)  From my own experience as a parent, and volunteer I have noticed that if you have a positive relationship with children you will prevent behavior problems from arising, and if they do arise they are easily remedied because of your relationship with the child. 

Finally, I asked if there is any advise she would give a first-year teacher regarding classroom management.  She has noticed that first year teachers tend to focus too much on controlling the classroom.  I can relate to that statement because my first year as a catechist this is exactly what I did wrong.  I focused to much on classroom behavior which took away from a positive learning environment.  It wasn’t until I built a relationship with my students that the real learning began to happen.  I feel grateful for being able to interview Mrs. Swanson and I am looking forward to watching all the teacher interview to gain knowledge and build my confidence so that I can one day build a positive classroom community.  https://youtu.be/VFGI5pOm95Y