This book is really near and dear to my heart because it was written by my mentor teacher. She is an amazing veteran teacher who really has her classroom management as perfect as classroom management can be. Having witnessed her teach not only in her own classroom but mine as well, I can say that this woman knows her stuff! So, this manual is a great reference for how to deal with those noncompliant students and really master your classroom management.
The book is really unique in that it offers a lot of interactive questioning and responses, as well as a reflection page after each section to answer the question "How am I feeling?" The first half of the book goes through an introduction and an overview of classroom management, including what to do and what to stop. It also establishes a difference between discipline and punishment, an important concept to understand in order to hone your classroom management skills. The first half of the book really lets the reader reflect on their classroom management strategies that are already in place and how to improve them overall.
The second half of the book focuses on five case studies. Each case study follows a hypothetical student who displays a certain kind of noncompliant behavior: from the quiet students who refuse to work to the loud students seeking negative attention. Each case study goes through specific strategies and advice on how to manage each of these kinds of students. Of course, there is no one size fits all to managing noncompliant students, but these case studies provide an in-depth look at what can be successful in dealing with these different kinds of noncompliant students.
Overall, this book was a great read for me personally, being it is my first year teaching. However, I believe this book would be great even for a veteran teacher to look at their own classroom management, reflect on their practices, and see if there is any room for growth. My personal philosophy is that there is always room for improvement, so this book will be on my teaching bookshelf for years to come!
Steph,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a teacher's must-read book. I am always looking for ways to improve my classroom management. I find it so great that the author of this book is actually your mentor as well. You are lucky to have such a strong veteran teacher to guide you through your first few years of teaching. I will definitely be purchasing this book as a summer read to get myself ready for my new class in the fall, in hopes of setting the ground rules and clear expectations from the start. Thanks for sharing!
I will tell my undergraduates about this book!
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