classroom management

The quote for this week is “Intelligence plus character- that is the true goal of education.” This quote embodies two main goals of the education system. Kids go to school to learn, but one of the things that they are learning is social skills and even some morals. Many times experiences in schools are what teach kids values and morals and the correct way to act. A child could learn from school how to be a leader, or a good friend to someone, or even simple ways of how to behave in social settings.
This quote could also be interpreted as the content that kids are learning can teach them character. You can learn how to be a good citizen, leader, or friend from a story that they may read in English class. It may not be the main reason of teaching the lesson but it would be the hidden curriculum. Even learning about history can have a hidden curriculum about character, look at the George Washington and cherry tree example. Children start learning right and wrong at a very early age, especially from lessons in school. Even in gym class, children learn how to play on a team and work together, this all builds character.
I have also seen character directly being expressed to children. I have seen in many middle schools posters that say “character is the way that you act when no one is looking”. In younger classrooms teachers may have conversations about why honesty is so important, or why it is good to always help other people. Although there is no character class, it is definitely an important part of school. We all hope that in schools children learn how to interact with each other and do the right thing. It may be in school where children learn how to stick up for each other and engage in the appropriate behavior. They may soon learn that fighting with someone isn’t something not to do because it will cost you a trip to the principal’s office, but instead because it is not the right thing to do.
This quote can also be applied to the chapter we talked about in class on Monday. Classroom management deals with how you control your classroom. Many times it involves a situation when a child is behaving inappropriately. The way a teacher handles the situation can help guide students in the correct way to acting. We talked about different styles of classroom management, and some common themes were posting the rules, consequences and rewards. These can all set boundaries as to how children can act and they see that they will get rewarded for good behavior. Eventually children will know the norms and know what is expected of them at school. This will hopefully build good character. The children will also be able to tell each other’s character by the way the act in class and in the social situations at school. It is important to have classroom management and a good fair discipline procedure. Without classroom management education would not be possible, the kids would go crazy, but at the same time many harsh rules can inhibit learning also. It is important to find a happy medium. A teacher needs to have classroom management and complete control, but the kids need to feel like they are being treated as equals in a sense and that if they speak out they will get sent to the office.
School accounts for most of the waking hours of a child’s life. They are going to have more social encounters at school than anywhere else on the weekdays. It is important that they learn the content and gain intelligence, but it is also important that they learn how to act. A child who has problems socializing and building character has just as hard of a time at school as the child who has problems learning math. Character is in the hidden curriculum, stated directly and also in the classroom management. The goal in an ideal world would be that every child learned skills to succeed with their education and also gain the skills to become a great person. Teachers have a wonderful role of trying to provide the children with tools needed for both.