Classroom Management (EDU6130) Course Reflection

The first day of classroom management, we were told if you take anything away from this class to take away the importance of building relationships with your students.  Building relationships with my students is something I have worked on throughout my internship at Meadowdale High School and I feel it is the most important aspect of classroom management.  I found the 2x10 activity especially impactful because it helped me connect with students that are harder to reach.  I have used this on students who are extremely quite and those students with behavior issues.  Another important thing I learned from this course is that the students with consistent behavior issues have experienced or are currently experiencing some form of trauma.  This has been extremely beneficial for a few of the students in my classes.  Knowing this information has allowed me to connect with these students on a different level, when most teachers would dismiss them or send them to the principal, I was able to keep them in the classroom and make a positive impact on them.  The concept of keeping the student in the classroom rather than sending them to a principal or dean was something I learned in the school to prison pipeline articles.  Not only did I find the articles from this class helpful but also the books have been paramount in the classroom management throughout my internship.  I knew these books would be a fantastic resource because my mentor teacher had also read them and together we implement the techniques and strategies.  From the weekly modules, articles, books and discussions it all comes back to the importance of building relationships with the students. 

Portfolio Evaluation Standard - Professional Practice (Professional Issues/Abuse (EDU6134) Course Reflection)

Professional growth and development has been the cornerstone of the SPU course of Professional Issues/Abuse.  This completely aligns with standard 8.2 Professional Practice – Growing and Developing Professionally (Figure 1).  From trouble areas for new teachers, protecting student confidentiality and technology in the classroom; this course covered a wide array of topics to help promote professional growth for a new teacher.

Figure 1

The course began with the context for learning assignment.  It helped give me background knowledge of the community and demographics for the school I have been interning at.  We then moved into recognizing and reporting abuse, as well as protecting student confidentiality.  This was a tough topic to learn about but is so very important and sadly, I had to make a report already this year for a student.  Somewhat along these lines was promoting effective relationships with parents and guardians.  This was extremely helpful and something I know I will continue to use throughout my career. 

         Most recently, learning about the trouble areas for new teachers, professional organizations and the Washington Education Association was by far the most beneficial for me.  I feel like topics such as technology use and student confidentiality was of course helpful, however I feel like the trouble areas for new teachers and professional organizations are topics you do not get to learn about on the job.  I now know how to better prepare myself to prevent burn out and get the most out of my career as a teacher.