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Show , Spring 2005 page 11 M KHffVA ¦ • Make your classroom experience more relaxed by avoiding problems with a behavioral contract. Sometimes a little mercy or a second chance is the best way to fulfill that goal. A teacher who is inflexible and unsympathetic may fail to educate students with special circumstances. For example, there was a pregnant woman in one of my classes for whom I made some special exceptions. Being too accommodating, however, may jeopardize the impartiality and fairness in the class. I argue that a contract can be used to help teachers address those more rare cases, such as a confrontation with a particularly emotional or hostile student. In your contract, include a statement that aggressive behavior will not be tolerated in your classroom. Provide a means for students to communicate concerns to you such as an anonymous drop box or specific meeting times after class. Include in the expectations they have of you that you will listen to their comments and respond in a timely manner and make sure you do, in fact, honor this agreement. You do not necessarily have to agree with them, but address the issue, and do so quickly. First-time teachers should not view students as enemies or antagonists who, left to their own devices, will disrupt the policies or order you have created in your classroom. However, it is wise to be prepared for such cases, because emotional and angry students are more common than most beginning teachers realize and though not every class has one, if you teach long enough, you will encounter similar situations. Most angry students want their concerns recognized, and if you remain calm, nonjudgmental and don't get defensive, most will acquiesce. 1 believe that if I had discussed with the class that not every student will agree with me and offered an alternative way to communicate their concerns, I may have avoided this type of conflict. On occasion the method of a behavioral contract may not be enough, and a student may persistently and deliberately refuse to act civilly towards you. In such a case, you should be prepared to quickly and firmly address the student and have a plan of action ready. In your contract, you have already established that aggressive and rude behavior will not be tolerated. Be ready to ask students to leave and have a faculty member provide counsel about particularly distressing situations. The main roadblock for a graduate student's ability to manage his/her classes is a sense of uncertainty regarding their authority. Graduate students who teach for the first time have little to no training. These circumstances often produce a sense of being an imposter, especially when expected to provide skill training and student assessment to a class of students who are close in age to the instructor. This uncertainty becomes ever more apparent when authority is rigorously challenged. The first step to managing a class well is becoming comfortable yet equitable with one's authority. I once read an analogy likening teachers to business owners. Effective teachers do not discipline, but, instead, manage the classroom much like a business owner manages a business. A business owner does not wait for problems to occur, but prepares for them with strategic plans to alleviate difficult situations that arise. I have found that making a behavioral contract with students is the best strategy for addressing a wide variety of behaviors that commonly disrupt classroom learning. I have always wanted to create a fair classroom environment conducive to learning. I now realize that order in the classroom, especially if it is coupled with fairness and consistency is the key to a healthy, safe and positive classroom. Harmony exists only when standards are clear and when expectations and consequences are laid out and up-held with the least amount of exceptions. |
