JM International School teachers had a workshop on classroom management on June 30, 2014 in the school auditorium. Ms. Madhu Gautam was the animator of the workshop. Ms. Gautam had been in the educational field for 39 years in roles of lecturer and principal of Kendriya Vidhalaya.The workshop began with an ice breaker activity, in which all the teachers introduced themselves and shared the strategies they employed difficult students in the classroom.
To manage a class with various kinds of students who come from different kinds of backgrounds, levels of IQ and EQ have to be accommodated equally. It is not impossible but yet challenging task for a teacher to develop self-concept at early stage. It is imperative for them to build a healthy relationship with each student by accepting their unique traits and empathise their needs.
The workshop also highlighted the reasons of misbehaviour of students. Firstly, it can be due to lack of attention either at their home or surroundings. Secondly, children tend to seek revenge of any childhood traumas they have experienced. Thirdly, students show power struggle in which they take control of the situation and display temper tantrums and the lastly, children display real on assumed disability, in which they feel helpless or lose hope when they are not able to do the work as other children in the class at the same pace and level. Ms. Madhu shared the solutions to deal with such behavioural problems by being consistent, calm, paying more attention to the special needs of the children, lower the student’s escalation and the amount of missed instructional time.
Guidelines for an effective classroom such as to focus on the child’s behaviour, handling their negative emotions by counseling, avoiding escalation of the situation, by gossiping, allow the students to save their face. etc were explained.
To sum the workshop, Ms. Madhu had shared the top ten tips to manage the classroom effectively. To give at least one warning, don’t try and teach over the voice, don’t raise your voice, not to humiliate a student especially infront of his/her friends, spend time to prepare the lesson to be taught in the class, be consistent in treating the children, to have a discipline ladder in which a student can see his/her graph of weakness and strengths and can improve on it, to forget yesterday’s poor behavior of the child, regularly and fearless to be in touch with the parents and last not the least to praise, appreciate and reward children for their improvement and good behaviour and guide well to walk on the correct path.
