Classroom management is a preventative measure that can be used to prevent discipline issues.  Students often act out when the classroom is not managed appropriately.  Teachers leave unsatisfied with their job because they are unable to successfully manage a classroom.  Classroom management includes the arrangement of the room, the rules that are established, and the way the teacher instructs students.  The room should be colorful and interesting with lots of examples.  Teachers need to make the classroom an interesting place to be.  Rules need to be short, clear, stated positively, and aligned with the schools rules.  It is often suggested that students have the opportunity to help in the rule making process, as well.  A teacher needs to instruct students with visual aids and in an enthusiastic manner.  In order to get a real view of this subject matter, I interviewed an excellent teacher.  I interviewed Debra McIntosh, a history teacher at the Fort Worth Can Academy.
     Mrs. McIntosh began by telling me that she thought that classroom management was the hardest issue to deal with as a teacher.  She said that she spent the most time learning classroom management.  Debra McIntosh has been a teacher for five years now and she still says that she is learning about classroom management.  When I walked into Mrs. McIntosh’s room there were beautiful colors everywhere.  The room had stars hanging from the ceiling and posters of presidents on the walls.  There were maps on the walls as well and a timeline over the chalkboard.  Debra McIntosh explained that she puts her students into groups of four because they do a large amount of cooperative learning activities.  She also put the groups facing, as much as possible, toward the front board.  Debra McIntosh claims that this type of arrangements gives the students the freedom to talk, but also the ability for her to be seen almost anywhere she might stand to get the students attention.  She also said, “The older students like the room decorated and it sets the attitude for the whole year.”  Mrs. McIntosh meant that the students come in and are excited to learn because the room is colorful and arranged in a way of mutual respect.  The rules are placed at the front of the room above the chalkboard for all of the students to easily see.
    Mrs. McIntosh usually has a mind binder or important fact to do on the overhead when the students walk in.  From the start of the year the students know to come to class and be seated with their folders from their trays, their supplies, and ready to work on the overhead activity.  Debra McIntosh said that she realizes that she must keep her students busy while she takes role and prepares for the lesson.  She said, “Students cause the most trouble at the beginning and end of class if they have nothing to do.”  Her rules above the board were as follows:
1. Keep your hands, feet, arms, and all other body parts and materials to yourself at all times.
2. Respect the teacher, staff, students, and school property.
3. Be in your seat on time, ready to work, with supplies, and quiet when the bell rings.
4. Use appropriate language and appropriate voices at all times.
5. Use the restroom in between classes.
    Debra McIntosh said that the staff during teacher preservice wrote the first four rules and the last one was decide by her students the first day of school.  She said that the rules needed to be written in a positive way, they needed to be short so the students wouldn’t forget, and they needed to be gone over so there is no miscommunication as to what was expected.  Debra McIntosh said that she spends the first day of class going over the rules and coming up with the fifth rule.  She also has the students introduce themselves and do a fun activity about themselves to make the students excited about class.
    The school also decided that the students would be rewarded in public and disciplined in private.  She told me that the students try to save face if they are approached about an issue in class, but when they are in private they are as real as can be.  Debra McIntosh said that it is a great system the school has because the administration is supportive of the teachers.  Maybe the support comes from a unified system of discipline when issues do arise.  Mrs. McIntosh claims that all the teachers use the same way of handling situations in the classroom and it prevents the students from becoming confused.  The students have the same rules and same discipline procedures for all their teachers.  Actually, the only difference between the teachers is the subject matter, the way the room is arranged, and what exactly are on the walls.
    Mrs. McIntosh said that she is most impacted by the third rule.  When I asked Mrs. McIntosh her reason for the impact it has on her, she said that it was because of the type of student she works with.  I think Debra McIntosh believes in Maslow’s theory and that is why she is concerned about this rule so much.  Mrs. McIntosh believes this rule is so impacting on her because her students don’t have money for supplies and often come to class with their troubles on their minds.  She told me that she often has to pull a student out of class to discuss what is going on in their life before the student can get started with the schoolwork.
    The rule that least impacted her class was the rule about using the restroom between classes.  Debra McIntosh claims that she has the rule up there because the students chose it.  She did say it is useful because students will talk between classes and then have to use the restroom, but she doesn’t mind too much because the restroom is just next door to her class.  Mrs. McIntosh said, “I would rather write a pass to the restroom occasionally then have to deal with the students hitting each other.”  She said that it is rare that a student needs a bathroom pass because her high classroom expectations and the fun her students have make them go between classes so they don’t miss out.
     Debra McIntosh is a wonderful teacher.  She set the expectations clearly from the start.  Mrs. McIntosh did not waist time getting started at the beginning of class, she went over the rules the first day, and she thought of ways to prevent discipline issues.  She began the year by having the students go over the rules and helping establish rules. The book suggests ways in which rules should be written and Debra McIntosh followed those rules to a T.  Debra also realized the need for an interesting room environment that fosters learning and the book suggests that this stimulates the student to become comfortable and excited about the learning process.  Mrs. McIntosh created a classroom arrangement that allowed students to learn, but yet gave them respect to work together.  She also set the pace for caring and firmness from the start.  The book says that a balance must be established and Debra McIntosh found a way for a balance to be found.  Debra McIntosh showed her caring by helping students who came to class with issues outside of school and too an interest in their lives.  At the same time, Mrs. McIntosh was firm in her discipline and was consistent in the way she handled a variety of situations that occurred.  It is no doubt that Mrs. Debra McIntosh has a handle on classroom management as a preventitative measure like the book suggests.