Running head: OBSERVATION #3 CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 1

Observation #3

Jeremia Vergara

Raritan Valley Community College

Professor Kimberly Schirner

November 5, 2018

EDUC 212 Field Experience

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 2

I. Observation #3:
Classroom management and routines

II. Grade Level and Subject Area:

Pre-Kindergarten

III. Setting:
Facility of the classroom is located in a suburban town. The school is private and
specializes specifically in early childhood care and education. Each classroom has
a main teacher, two assistant teachers, and about thirteen students.

IV. Pre-Observation:
Management is important in a classroom. It helps the teachers maintain
order and perhaps a little peace of mind. The classroom’s daily schedule and
routines can help the child learn how to organize his/her thoughts throughout the
day. For example, in the classroom I observe, children are given a morning and
afternoon snack. After their naptime is when afternoon snack occurs. As soon as
they see the snack bin coming, they all know it will be snacktime soon, so it is a
routine that they would line up to the bathroom to wash their hands. Provided that
they are young, some may not cooperate, so a little push has to be given from time
to time. In this observation, I would assume that if a child should misbehave, the
teacher would set an age-appropriate form of discipline. Around this age is the
“tantrum” period, as children are not fully articulate and have not yet mastered
sophisticated language (Miller, 2018). However, a child may find a way to
maneuver, or “play the system”, as my observing teacher calls it. This means that
children may use a tantrum when things do not go their way. People around them
would respond by giving the child what he/she wants, hence enforcing negative
behavior (Miller, 2018). The schedule should be placed in an area that allows the
parents to see it as well.
If teachers were to be observed, I would assume it would be done by the
director on a specific day of the week. Since there are multiple classrooms in
school I observe in, each classroom has a specific amount of time for being
observed. I would guess the director would want to see if the children are
behaving, teachers are in line, and that the classroom is in order. Evaluations may

be written on a report and get presented at a staff meeting. Parents are also a huge
part of the observation process. Sometimes they would be peeking through the
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 3

windows in the hallway as they are walking.

V. Data:
● Schedule of the day is based off lesson plan. Lesson plan for the week is
printed out and taped on an outside bulletin so that the directors and
parents can see it. Artwork that was done and stated in the lesson plan is
placed on two boards on both the left and right side of the plan.
● Schedule is placed on a bulletin board inside the classroom above the
children's mailboxes.
● Misbehavior tends to be common after the children wake up from their
naptime.
● Children who bring their own snack are not given the snack the school
provides.
● Children washing their hands in the bathroom may get distracted by what
the other classroom across the way is doing. They must be watched from
the bathroom door that is located in their appropriate classroom.
● Should a child do inappropriate actions, such as wiggling an exposed part
to the other class, the door to the other classroom is to be
IMMEDIATELY shut.
● Ratio is a must - sometimes it can work to a teacher’s advantage. Those
children who were misbehaving earlier are kept for about three minutes in
the classroom with one teacher while another brings the remaining
outside. The teacher would calmly explain why their actions were wrong,
apologize to each other if need be, then take them outside.
● Sarcasm is not present as it is immature. However, it is easy to get
frustrated with children who do not listen sometimes. Often, it’s a
tempting tactic to use.
● Star stickers are placed under a mat the children sit on during circle time.
The ones who behave get a sticker.
● During pick-up time, parents ask how their child was. Teachers inform
them if a child was emotional, if he/she ate snack, or any updates on
school events. If a child is to be injured, a written report is filled out. A
teacher labels how the child was injured and what was used to remedy it.
A parent must sign the report on the bottom of the page. If a child behaves
negatively, i.e. hitting a friend, it is reported to the parent, if remembered
at least.
● If a child’s behavior gets too out of hand, he/she gets taken to the office
and must spend time with the director or another teacher. The child would
not get to participate in any activity the class is doing until he/she behaves.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 4

● Teachers are observed by someone from the front office. Usually it’s the
director or another high superior.
● There is no time-out system. If a child misbehaves, he/she is asked to stop
what he/she is doing and gets to choose another activity to do. It is up to
the child if he/she wants to sit in a corner or not.

VI. Analysis:
Obviously, a child needs to see learn the consequences of their actions. Of
course, there are both positive and negative outcomes. If a child helps clean up,
he/she gets praised, whereas if he/she was hitting and kicking the teacher, he/she
would be told to sit away from friends and be talked to by a higher official. After,
a phone call home would be made. The teachers I observe had their own way of
inflicting appropriate discipline. A child who had hit the lead teacher, assistant
teacher and helper was pulled aside and talked to by each one. “Studies carried
out to date have determined that teachers frequently use imperative sentences as a
discipline method...They also use rule-making and verbal appraisal and then
preferred verbal warning, abolition of privileges and sending notes home as
classroom management strategies...They further use physical and verbal
intervention more...” (Soydan et al., 2017). Eventually the director had to come
and tried to help since the situation had gotten too out of hand, but the child found
a way to disrespect her as well. The conflict was reported to the parent over the
phone rather than in person as the lead teacher had left before the child was
picked up. The child himself is too young to be considered as a pre-
kindergartener. However, the parents view him as more advanced, hence him
being in a class older than what may be suitable for him. A child is exposed to
two worlds: home and school. Sometimes at home a child is an angel, but
monstrous at school, and vice-versa (School vs. home: Your child’s two personas,
n.d.). Parents play a role in how their kids behave in school. "’When children are
seen by their parents as being more special and more entitled than other children,
they may internalize the view that they are superior individuals, a view that is at
the core of narcissism,’ the researchers wrote in a study released online Monday
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ‘But when children are
treated by their parents with affection and appreciation, they may internalize the
view that they are valuable individuals, a view that is at the core of self-esteem.’"
(Bernstein, 2015). The children do have a role for resolving consequences. They
would clean up the mess they made, apologize to the hurt friend, or even go out of
the way to do something nice for the teachers or another friend in the class. It all
depends upon what their actions were.
The schedule, as mentioned before, is placed above the mailboxes of the
children. The parents have a view of it and can observe it at any time. The daily
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 5

lesson plan is posted outside the classroom. The objective of the week is listed on
it plus the activities that the children are doing and how they would learn the
lesson. The schedule and lesson plan are weaved together. The schedule’s routine
is flexible. Some days the students would be read a book first then do their arts
and crafts. Other days they would go outside and do part of the lesson plan out
there. Given the short attention span of the children, it does not seem like they
know fully well about the schedule. The teacher does try to tell them, but some
children drift off into their imagination, some get distracted by toys, or some just
freely choose to ignore the teacher. The amount of time given to do each activity
is appropriate though. “Children enter preschool with different strengths. One
child might love picture books and already know lots of letters but have trouble
with social interaction. A classmate may find it easy to initiate play and share toys
yet have almost no experience with books and reading” (NAEYC, n.d.).
These different abilities play to the child’s abilities. During arts and crafts time,
the teachers also set up stations that encourage the children’s fine-motor skills. As
they still have that creative stride from arts and crafts, they can continue it by
playing with magnetic tiles or another coloring station the teacher allows them to
play in. They also use their imagination by having stuffed animals talk to each
other in conversations they hear both at school and home.
Multiple classrooms calls for different scheduling. This especially applies
for the school I observe in. Going outside to allow the kids to play is vital after
sitting in a room for so long. Sunshine, exercise, and socialization is beneficial for
children’s health (McCarthy, 2018). “Through outdoor play and the exploration of
natural elements, it is possible to promote education in its broadest sense” (Bento,
2017). The outdoor playground has many toys and stations the children can play
with and explore. They have a big climber in the middle, a big magnetic board,
waffle blocks, and many other things for them to use. However, having two
classes out there is not wise. It can break ratio and the kids could get injured
easily if they run into each other. The time allotted for outdoor play per class is
created by the director and other superior staff. The school tries to implement at
least 60 minutes of outdoor play, especially on sunny days. Other than that, it is
the teachers themselves that plan the daily activities for the children to do.
Classrooms that hold the infants have their own playground with smaller climbers
with more floor padding and open space to allow the kids to waddle around in.
I was lucky enough to see someone from the office assess some of the
teachers. These ladies are the ones that help out the director and sometimes fill in
for ratio requirements. When I saw them, they had a small thing of paper and pen.
I did not see them write anything for the teachers who were with me, so I assumed
it was a good sign. When I asked her what a teacher usually gets assessed on, she
addressed that she was looking for the effectiveness of the teachers and making
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sure they were not raising their voices at the students. She asked the teachers how
their days were, how the students were, and then went onto the next room on her
list.

VII. Recommendations:
With having many children to teach, sometimes it hard to see if conflict is
happening in the classroom. While I was helping the lead teacher hang up some
decorations for the fall season on the hallway windows, I was able to see all the
children. One of the teachers had their back turned talking to other students,
another one was prepping snack, and the last one was monitoring the bathroom.
All three would have their backs turned in different directions. I saw kids start to
stand on their chairs, throw their snack on the floor and then smash it, or be
playing with toys they were not allowed to play with. I was able to help stop some
of them, but not all. I would recommend, after naptime, having the children sit at
the tables and do some stations or even read a book as their friends are waking up.
They have to be encouraged to be quiet as this is the time some friends may have
just fallen asleep, or may get startled if they hear a noise as soon as they wake up
(NAEYC, n.d.). As children are waking up, they are slow in putting away their
sleeping bags. Allowing them to sit and let them use their minds would help them
perhaps wake up a bit. It is not the job of the teacher to rush the child to wake up
and put away their sleeping mats in a matter of minutes - it takes time and the
children must learn themselves to implement it into their classroom routine
(NAEYC, n.d.). After everyone is done putting away their mats, I would tell the
children it is time to put away stations and get ready for snack. Since I saw most
of the conflict happen because all the kids were just walking around, I would call
them up by table to come and wash their hands. There is a sink located in the
classroom and another in the shared bathroom. The one in the bathroom in the one
predominantly used as there is a specific sink for the class to use in there. It is also
more their height. While a teacher monitors the children washing their hands,
another can keep an eye on all the children who are still waiting to wash. The
third helping teacher can then prepare the coffee filters used to place snack on.
The helper teacher can then help keep an eye on the children as they are walking
around.
The common problem I observe most in this room is the lack of listening
from the children. I have heard myself say, “Ms. Bethany and I told you not to
play with those - why aren’t you listening bud?” countless times. Of course, it
does have something to do with their attention span. Sometimes I would ask a
child how his/her day was, get no response, then ask again. The second time I
would get a surprised look with a, “Huh?” at the end. It can get irritating at times,
especially during the end of outside time and snack time when you are telling
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 7

them to clean up. However, a teacher has to overcome this. Giving a lecture to a
child most of the time proves inefficient. “Lecturing is a great way to train
children to not listen. Too often adults tell, tell, tell, (lecture, lecture, lecture).
They tell children what happened, what caused it to happen, how they should feel
about it, and what they should do about it. This is a very threatening experience
for children and they learn to take care of themselves by shutting down” (Child
Won’t Listen in Daycare, 2016). Instead, we can try to listen to them and validate
why they feel that way. Perhaps we can whisper instructions to them so they
would have no choice but to listen.

VIII. Post-Observation:
In this observation, you learn the importance of managing a classroom.
You must learn how to tame your students, but not control them. Since they do
not understand the concept of sarcasm, it is highly inappropriate to use, no matter
how tempting it is. We have to keep in mind that children are like sponges.
Whatever we say gets absorbed by them and they will repeat it, so it is important
to watch what we say around them. Keeping the schedule and routine in order is
also important. As time goes, the kids should implement the schedule and know
when which activity happens. Setting appropriate discipline is crucial as well. We
do not need to raise our voices, but understand the child.

IX. Citations:

Bento, G. (2017, April 06). The importance of outdoor play for young children's

healthy development. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science

/article/pii/S2444866416301234

Bernstein, L. (2015, March 09). How parents create narcissistic children.

Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/

to-your-health/wp/2015/03/09/

how-parents-create-narcissistic-children/

?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a773ca94c011
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Child Won't Listen in Daycare. (2016, May 30). Retrieved from

https://www.positivediscipline.com/articles/

child-wont-listen-daycare

McCarthy, C. (2018, May 21). 6 reasons children need to play outside.

Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/

6-reasons-children-need-to-play-outside-2018052213880

Miller, C. (2018, July 10). How to Discipline Toddlers. Retrieved from

https://childmind.org/article/how-discipline-toddlers/

NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/dap/preschoolers

School vs. home: Your child's two personas. (n.d.). Retrieved from:

https://www.parentmap.com/article/

School-vs-home-your-childs-two-personas

Soydan, B., P., Samur, O., A., Esra, D., & Sema. (2017, November 30).

Pre-School Teachers' Classroom Management Competency and the

Factors Affecting Their Understanding of Discipline. Retrieved

from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1171181

X. Appendix: Attachments being used as supporting documents.