At last week’s eMINTS Winter Conference, the keynote speaker, Todd Whitaker, made a poignant statement about classroom management. He said “There is no such thing as classroom management, it’s about self-management.” Today when I got back into the classroom, I looked at all the little ways that I let students know who is in control of their learning. It’s not me. It’s them. I want them to feel that every second of the day. I want the focus to be on learning, not on me telling them what to do. I’ve made some small changes that have really added up and today I took stock and realized, it’s the little moments that matter.
The Hall Pass: They wave from across the room, grab the pass, and go. It’s an open door policy. I’ve never, ever had a kid abuse this policy. They go when they need to. Just let me know, for safety’s sake, that you’re stepping out.
The SMARTBoard: They use the remote. They write on it. They use it when they present. They remember to power down when we leave. It’s THEIR SMARTBoard.
Student-Led Presentations: I noticed when we’d get ready for student presentation time, I’d get all caught up in shushing the class, reminding them to be a good audience. One day, I stopped, told the presenters to please wait until everyone was ready and begin when they felt the audience was ready. Since that time? I’ve never had to say anything. The kids are now in control of captivating their own audience. Every watch a third grader command their audience? Pretty awesome to see.
Thinking: I love nothing more than roaming through the room when kids are working on projects. I know that my questions, and more importantly, my ability to listen to the kids questions, helps keep the learning going. I like to think of it as stoking the fires of learning. I stoke, but I don’t smother.
Technology Tools: I used to say “Use Microsoft Publisher for this.” Now, I’ve started saying, “What tool do you think would be a good one for this?” My goal is to keep a running list of tech tools and let kids choose the tool when they need it.
Writing: I have clipboards, chairs around, carpets. Kids move when they want. It doesn’t matter where they sit. They move so they can focus, get comfortable, write, and think. It’s their choice.
Rules: One rule…”Learn.” The kids write norms and come up with what makes our environment conducive to learning. I took my “rules” poster down and haven’t looked back since. Those rules were for me, so I could feel in control. But, I can tell you that now, I don’t need to be in control, because that self-management is there.
I definitely don’t mean to make this sound easy. I was terrified at one point to release control. I didn’t know what would happen. But, I took the risk, and the kids showed me how their learning could go to amazing new levels. I find that trying to control kids is a trap. It takes the focus off the learning. Are things ‘perfect’ in our class? It depends on your definition of perfect. We’re far from quiet. We don’t have desks in rows. We might even look like some form of crazy chaos when you glance in our window. But, the kids are in control of their learning. That, to me, is about as perfect as things can get.
