I think that if students have a say in how things go in the classroom they will be more inclined to follow them. In Principals of Classroom Management by Levin and Nolan (2010) they state “In collaborative classrooms, rules and procedures are developed jointly by the teacher and students” (92). Having the students help to make the rules will help them to feel like they are a part of the classroom. I don’t believe that you can give them full control over the rules, but I do believe you can have them write them with guidance into the direction of what you want them to be.
In Linda Albert’s Cooperative Discipline (2002) it states “Students need to feel that they belong in the classroom. This means they must perceive themselves to be important, worthwhile, and valued” (69). I agree with this whole-heartedly. I think that if a student doesn’t feel like they are important or that their opinions and beliefs aren’t valued they are not going to want to try and be the best they can be. They are going to pull away and not want to participate in activities.
Along with allowing the students to help make the rules for the classroom, I believe that letting them help make the consequences for breaking those rules is necessary. You cannot just let them help make the rules, but you get to decide the punishment. If you are going to collaborate, you need to do it on all levels. Setting up a few consequences you don’t want to deviate from will give them a starting point to build upon.
I also don’t believe in only collaborating with the students. I think the parents need to be involved as well. If the parents feel like you want their input on things like the rules they are going to want to work with you more throughout the year. You are giving them a voice in a place where they are not usually heard. Most teachers that I have met send the rules home and say these are the rules of my classroom and the students need to follow them. I believe that if you get the parents involved you can see if there are any cultural beliefs that make following all of the rules impossible. You learn about those things and are able to work with the parents and students to mend it into something that everyone can follow.
Collaboration does not only happen when making the rules for a classroom. I think it goes into every aspect. I think working with students to find out what they want to learn. Obviously not when it comes to the bigger picture, but giving them a broad topic that they need to pick from. If you are working on ocean animals, letting the student pick the animal to do a project on, will let them explore their interests and feel like you care about what they like. It motivates them to do the project because you are letting them do it on something they are actually interested in. Giving them that little bit of control makes all the difference. It is in my experience as a student that if I was forced to do a project on a topic I had little to no interest in, I would dread doing it, but if the project was on something I actually liked, I would always get it done early and enjoy doing it.
This view on teaching could change next week, next year, or never, but for right now, my future classroom will be a collaborating between my students, their parents, and myself. I think that is the best way to get everyone involved in the classroom community. If everyone is involved, communication becomes easier and trust is built between everyone.
In Linda Albert’s Cooperative Discipline (2002) it states “Students need to feel that they belong in the classroom. This means they must perceive themselves to be important, worthwhile, and valued” (69). I agree with this whole-heartedly. I think that if a student doesn’t feel like they are important or that their opinions and beliefs aren’t valued they are not going to want to try and be the best they can be. They are going to pull away and not want to participate in activities.
Along with allowing the students to help make the rules for the classroom, I believe that letting them help make the consequences for breaking those rules is necessary. You cannot just let them help make the rules, but you get to decide the punishment. If you are going to collaborate, you need to do it on all levels. Setting up a few consequences you don’t want to deviate from will give them a starting point to build upon.
I also don’t believe in only collaborating with the students. I think the parents need to be involved as well. If the parents feel like you want their input on things like the rules they are going to want to work with you more throughout the year. You are giving them a voice in a place where they are not usually heard. Most teachers that I have met send the rules home and say these are the rules of my classroom and the students need to follow them. I believe that if you get the parents involved you can see if there are any cultural beliefs that make following all of the rules impossible. You learn about those things and are able to work with the parents and students to mend it into something that everyone can follow.
Collaboration does not only happen when making the rules for a classroom. I think it goes into every aspect. I think working with students to find out what they want to learn. Obviously not when it comes to the bigger picture, but giving them a broad topic that they need to pick from. If you are working on ocean animals, letting the student pick the animal to do a project on, will let them explore their interests and feel like you care about what they like. It motivates them to do the project because you are letting them do it on something they are actually interested in. Giving them that little bit of control makes all the difference. It is in my experience as a student that if I was forced to do a project on a topic I had little to no interest in, I would dread doing it, but if the project was on something I actually liked, I would always get it done early and enjoy doing it.
This view on teaching could change next week, next year, or never, but for right now, my future classroom will be a collaborating between my students, their parents, and myself. I think that is the best way to get everyone involved in the classroom community. If everyone is involved, communication becomes easier and trust is built between everyone.