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Session 9 Reader Response

	Another aspect to consider is planning the physical environment for the classroom. When arranging desks, the teacher should consider if all students can see the board and if he or she will be able to monitor the class from his or her desk. The traditional desk arrangement with the teacher at the front of the class places focus on the teacher whereas, alternative seating arrangements with groups of desks clustered together in 3�s or 4�s focuses on the students and can make students feel like they belong. Another consideration is the accessibility of high traffic areas, such as pencil sharpeners and doorways. Additionally, the teacher should consider distractibility factors such as noise and should try to divide noisy areas if possible. In addition to noise, the placement of classroom pets (if there are any) should be considered. For example, if I was allowed to keep animals in my biology classroom, I would probably keep them on a table at the back of the classroom, so students can focus more easily on the chalkboard or overhead without being tempted to look at the pets. I personally experienced this type of distraction in fourth grade. My teacher had brought in four chicks for us to see, since none of our incubating eggs hatched. She placed them in cardboard-surrounded enclosure at the front of the classroom which turned out to be quite distracting for us all! The chicks would remain quiet when no one was looking at them, but seeing how we were all curious fourth graders, everyone ended up sneaking up to the front of the class to look get a look and this would cause the chicks to start �peeping�. A final consideration for effective classroom management would be establishing positive connections with parents. According to the book, research indicates that students with involved parents achieve at higher levels, possess positive attitudes about themselves and about others, have better attendance rates, and put greater effort into their homework. Based on my research from another class, many parents tend to be very involved with their children�s school at the elementary level and tend to be less involved at the junior high level and up. A possible explanation for this is that parents may feel that their adolescents both need and want independence and as a result, may feel that their involvement is not as important as it was in elementary school. Additionally, parents may feel that their children do not want them to participate in school activities (i.e. chaperoning a dance, etc.). However, adolescence is a time when students really need and can benefit from parent involvement and knowing that their parents support their educational goals (Eccles and Harold 575.) Teachers can encourage communication with parents by establishing a line of communication early. For example, instead of waiting until a student does something bad (i.e. disrupts class, risks failing class, etc.) a teacher could phone parents just to tell them about something good their student did. By doing this, the teacher creates a positive first impression of him or herself in addition to taking the first step in reaching out to the parents. Once this line of communication is established, teachers should maintain it. This can be done by sending a packet of the student�s work home and requiring that a parent signs it. I feel that this chapter might be one of the most important ones in the book. I have yet to work in a classroom, so I�m a bit nervous about managing one! For example, what if students still don�t listen to you simply because you are a new teacher or because you look really young? I think this will definitely be the most challenging part of teaching for me! References: Eccles, J.S. and Harold, R.D. (1993). Parent-school involvement during the early adolescent years. Teachers College Record, 94(3), 568-587.

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