Teachers are hailed to be jack of all trade; we are expected to always have ideas and have the ability to execute these into actions. Perhaps this is the outcome of the trainings and varied seminars that are made available to us or this is the reason why we are sent to train and learn, adapt and become responsive teachers. Again we cannot give what we don’t have.
However, transferring these concepts and theories into a more tangible and sustainable ones is never easy. Tangible means we see the change in the behaviour of our learners brought by our efforts and further seeing them achieving their goals in life even if they are no longer under our tutelage, this is sustainable. Sustainability for me is the peak of all the things we do as a teacher. Knowing our students and former students become the best of their craft shaped by the values and philosophies in life that we have shared when they are with us is such a fulfilling gratification.
Classroom Management brings me back to retrospect and from there design a better plan for the learners of today. Before, I thought classroom policies should always be from the teacher only just like in my elementary and high school years. Now, in all circumstance related to teaching-learning is a two-way process. Teacher should appreciate the abilities of the learners to contribute positively in decision-making, planning and the likes. This means education is no longer bounded by content only but as well as how they become successful in understanding the content guided by values, attitudes and skills you and them have developed together.
Also, student-centeredness is the heart of our classroom management. Aside from they are our evident client but as well as this is why we are here, envisioning our 21st learners anchored in moral values, locally grounded yet globally competitive.
Furthermore, my classroom management is also my comprehensive reference to better myself as a teacher, learn from my shortcomings and making it as a challenge in finding innovative and responsive strategies. I advocated a classroom management that is anchored with the following tenets, to wit;
Rules and Procedures. I strongly believe that the quality of outputs and outcomes based on our desires can only be achieved with thorough orientation at the beginning of all things along with constant reminders and guidance. Hence proper planning, monitoring and evaluating are fundamentals inside the four corners of the classroom and even should be embedded in all instructions. This is how rules and procedures manage my classroom.
I call it “sense of ownership”. Heart contract, is a psychosocial tool that I use where the teacher facilitates at the beginning of the school year. The teacher encourages learners to post three things, first is things “I expect from my classmates”, second is things “I expect from my teacher” and finally things “How I wanted the entire class behaves”. Each item is color coded written on different shapes of strips of paper. It will then be posted to a perfectly cut heart-shaped cartolina. The heart-shaped cartolina then will be posted on the wall. So every time a classmate misbehaves he will be directed again to the agreement and be reminded about on what they have written. Also, they will be told that if they continue to misbehave and break the rules then they are breaking the “heart” of the entire class. In this way, they will have the sense of ownership and when they own something they will do anything to protect it. This approach encompasses everything may it be from a small activity or instruction to a bigger and more complex task.
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