We spent a long time in years past discussing classroom management.
Now we realize engagement trumps discipline, and when students are positively engaged, management becomes an old notion. There's no longer a need to "manage," but instead a calling to coach.
That's an exciting new direction in education. Don't you agree?
I do agree that coaching and facilitating are a much more effective ( and yes, exciting) approach in the classroom. I have long cringed at the term "classroom management" as it feels so authority based. I don't want to manage my students but to inspire, fuel their passion and help them discover their own spark for learning. I wonder if we all examined our student attendance to see patterns when students were absent more if it would lead to any "ahas" about how engaged our students are in class. Thanks for giving me something to think about!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Joan. My first revelations in this regard came during a workshop I attended which was led by Dr. Perry: http://teachwellnow.blogspot.com/2012/01/smart-is-what-you-do-not-who-you-are.html and while reading Gladwell's book, Outliers. Since then so much of the reading I've done including Pink's Drive, Dweck's Mindset and Hattie's Making Learning Visible have pointed me in the direction of engagement over management. Finally, the fact that I rarely have to discipline anymore is such a pleasure--most of the time is spent on figuring out how to engage and teach all students. I hope others comment as this is an important discussion point in education today.
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