In the book, Classroom Management, by Paul Burden, Burden goes heavily into detail on

what classroom management is, the importance of classroom management and the various
components of classroom management and how to maintain it throughout the school year.
Classroom management involves teacher actions to create a learning environment that
encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Classroom management also involves behavior modification, order, discipline and respect and in
next few paragraphs I will explain the importance of each component and explain the psychology
of the self and student. First, let me introduce myself.
As a college student, who mainly aims for achievable targets, I strive for perfection, but
to a certain extent. Instead of trying to make the impossible possible, I would rather work with
the possible to make it better. I also like to be acknowledged for my accomplishments and
believe that people should be accepted as they are flaws and all. Ive decided to be a middle level
education major because my middle school years were the roughest and most upsetting. Because
I was in a different state, every year of middle school, 6th, 7th and 8th, I had to adapt quickly from
moving from the north to the south and from the south to somewhere in the middle. My teachers
in middle school were not helpful with contributing to my adjustments and I often felt left out
because it was hard for me to fit in. Because of this I became hard headed, stubborn, loud and a
trouble maker. I wanted attention and figured that the only way I could get the attention of my
teachers were to get in trouble and that the only person who cared about my well-being, in
school, was the disciplinarian. I knew that I was a bright student and could do better work than I
did, but I assumed that it wouldnt matter because the teachers showed little interest in me and
my skills. When I got to high school, I joined the track team. Joining the track team was a get-away for me. As a freshman I was still kind of new to the Carolina area but I knew that I could

count on my teammates to be there if needed. As I matriculated through high school I started to

notice that I was good at math, science and other areas of interest like dancing, stepping and
ROTC. High school kind of taught me to be open to try new things where as I believe that should
have been taught during middle school. When I came to college I learned how to be independent,
hard-working, dedicated and strong minded. I want to be able to be a role model to my students
as well as stress the importance of education. My parents didnt finish college and I want to show
my students that anything is possible if you try. I want to learn as much from my students as
much as I want them to learn from me and the only way to do that is to share my story and relate
to them in the most positive way possible.
In order to organize manage, promote and create a respectful, supportive, learning
environment for students, teachers must establishing a culture for learning through family
interaction, managing classroom procedures and student behavior, and organizing physical space
effectively.
In chapter 4, planning to work with families, Burden states that students ultimately
benefit from good communication and effective working relationships between the school and
home. Good communication with families should be a priority because it keeps teachers and
families informed about what is happening. It also builds trust so that there can be a working
partnership in the vent there are difficulties with the students.(Burden) When trust is developed
between the teacher and family, they know that their ideas are recognized and understood. If the
teacher communicates with the family on a regular basis, the family will have no choice but to
believe the teacher. There will be no room for the student to lie about missing work, not showing
up for class or misbehavior. There are many ways to communicate with families. Ongoing
communication, from the first, to the last day of school, can be through open houses, newsletters,

emails, notes, phone calls, report cards, letters home and parent-teacher conferences. It is
beneficial to keep in contact with family members, not only when the student is misbehaving but
also when they are doing something good. Students like to feel a sense of accomplishment and
when they feel accomplished, they want to keep behaving so that they can keep getting praised
for it. Families involvement in their childrens schooling has been associated with better
attendance, more positive student attitudes and behavior, greater willingness to do homework
and higher academic achievement.(Burden) Although some families may be resistant, due to
their unhappy experiences when they were students, their coping mechanisms in dealing with
ongoing problems with their children, their view that educators are the experts and feel that they
are not needed or their perception of the intimidation and bureaucracy of the school, it is
important for teachers to build a parental support system by communicating to reach parents by
seeking parent volunteers to help in various ways with school-related issues. When students see
their parents and other parents actively involved with school related activities, they understand
and feel that their education and school setting is important, not only to them but to their parents.
Because families want their children to succeed in school and generally appreciate teachers
efforts to keep them informed and involved about academic and behavioral issues, it is important
to listen carefully to families to identify their concerns and suggestions.
At the beginning of the year, teachers should spend a great amount of time working with
their students to create an accepting and supportive learning environment. On the first day or
two of class, many teachers plan an initial activity which focuses on some aspect of the
curriculum. These activities are intended to provide some content review from the prior year and
to provide opportunity to teach procedures and get acquainted. (Burden) One activity, teachers
often use, at the beginning of the school year, is the name game. This is when everyone in the

room introduces themselves, where they are from and possibly what their goals are for the
semester or school year. Burden explains, in chapter 5, that teachers should use their students, at
the beginning of the school year, to brainstorm rules and procedures so that they fully understand
them and the reasons for them. Rules are general codes of conduct that are intended to guide
individual student behavior in an attempt to promote positive interaction and avoid disruptive
behavior. Rules also give students concrete direction to ensure that our expectation becomes a
reality. Procedures are approved ways to achieve specific tasks in the classroom. Teachers must
teach, demonstrate, establish, and enforce classroom procedures and routines at the start of the
year. Determining rules and procedures for the classroom is essential for effective classroom
management to be sustained throughout the school year. (Burden) When teachers are consistent
with their rules and procedures throughout the school year, it establishes order in the classroom.
When there is order in the classroom, students are focused on the instructional tasks instead of
misbehaving. For examples, if there are certain ways to turn in homework assignments, answer
questions, enter or leave the classroom and sharpen pencils, there should not be any exceptions
when it gets to the middle of the school year. This shows students that the teacher is not
affirmative and can cause problems. Most teachers let up on their rules and procedure when the
school year starts to come to an end. This is the second most hectic time of the school year and I
this happens students will start to lose interest and the teacher begins to lose control.
In chapter 3, preparing for the school year, Burden expresses that organization is one of
the main keys to keeping a classroom in order. The design of the classroom will shape students
first impression of their new teacher and determine how comfortable they feel in their new
surroundings. The students are more nervous than the teachers on the first day of school because
they do not know what to expect. Teachers come to school on the first day prepared with

expectations of their students. Therefore, teachers should strive to create a welcoming

environment. The room arrangement you select should be consistent with your instructional
goals and activities. (Burden) Adding warm colors, creating student work areas that encourage
students to take leadership roles in the classroom and customizing bulletin boards to prepare
students for upcoming units, activities, and important dates are a few examples. On few
occasions there will presentations, game days, group projects and tests that the students will be
involved in and sometimes this requires that the classroom be arranged differently. I think that
teachers should rearrange their classroom every once I a while so that students dont get too
bored with the classroom. Maybe one day have the students sit in groups, other days separate
them and if seating arrangements are assigned, let them sit wherever they want when the class
behaves as a whole. Since teachers have special procedures and behavioral guidelines for times
when students work in small groups or in a laboratory setting, they should think of ways to
provide directions and guidelines for the tasks as well as ways to monitor the students while they
work together or individually. Teachers should consider the movement pattern of students
throughout the classroom, the need for students to obtain a variety of materials, textbooks,
reference books, equipment and supplies and the need for students to the instructional
presentations and display materials.(Burden) Keep in mind that some students may need
special accommodations. Some students may have difficulty with math and science but students
with learning disabilities experience challenges in several areas including learning, language and
social and behavioral difficulties. While there will always be various types of disabilities that
will require the teacher to make changes and adjustments it is important to treat every student
equally. Providing and attending to special accommodations, like hearing or supplementary aids,

tutors, visual aids, or even moving students to the front of the class, for students with learning
disabilities will ensure that all students have equal learning opportunities.