Behavior Management - Aaaaagh!
I currently work in a public library; however, I was a music teacher for four years and a small group reading specialist for one year. Each group of children has different behavior management "requirements." The first thing I found out when I started teaching was that it doesn't matter how much in-theory behavior management you talk about our implement during student teaching - being up in front of a brand new group of kids in practice is a whole different ball game. When I taught music I planned ahead and spoke with the teachers and paraprofessionals about the students and their behavior. We had assigned seating in a circle (boy, girl, boy, girl.) Over the course of the three years that I taught in the same school I developed a behavioral game the kids played. In our music program we had a set curriculum to follow throughout the district, but there was some flexibility in terms of benchmarks. I took advantage of this and created a behavior meter program. The kids and I at the beginning of the year discussed what the "rules" should be for the classes and what the expectations were for learning. For each class time we accomplished our goals (which were clearly written on the board) without "three strikes" (also on the board) the students would be given a piece of their meter to add on. When the meter reached the top the next class period for music was free choice day. The system worked quite well, especially since I only saw them once a week. The meter was reminder of where they were and what the expectations were.
At the public library behavior management is something else entirely. We are very hands-off in terms of our code of conduct. The library is no longer a place where people go and have to be silent or come and go quickly. It is a place of discovery where they can collaborate, socialize, find resources, and go to classes or programs. Behavioral issues are unfortunately a problem every day. We address problems when a behavior is either harmful to a person or our materials or is a burden to other patrons. For example, if a child is on the computer playing a game and shouting across the desk we will ask them to keep the volume reasonable because there are people in the area trying to get work done. If a small child is running around we tend to ask the parent to please have their child slow down for their safety. Our behavior management is hands-on so that we can nicely ask the kids and parents to be considerate of others and/or exercise common sense. This doesn't always work so well!! One example sticks out in my mind - I had a little girl standing in one of our book bins. I asked her nicely to come out of the bin because we do not step on our books. We need to treat our books nicely. Her adult looked at me and said, "She's only doing it because she saw someone else do it." as though that makes it ok?!
I watched some of the Lemov YouTube videos about classroom management strategies. I found them to be interesting. I have used some of them in the past such as interrupting myself (with silence) until everyone is listening and of course complimenting appropriate behavior. I use some of these strategies when we have group visits for tours at the public library. The lecture notes also mentioned making yourself a presence in the school. I always tried to help classroom teachers when I could or participate in Family Fun Nights and the like so that both the teachers and the parents would know who I was and that I was dedicated to the school. Being a "specials" teacher can sometimes be a little frustrating when others in the building don't think you are pulling your weight.
The question I have in regards to the "Cold Call" video is - do students ever act out because strategies like that seem contrived? I think it is great, but delivery is key. Management of some sort is a must and it seems that the management strategies or styles may not suit all teachers and all learners.
