Blog #3

The latest website that I have reviewed and have found to be immensely interesting and informational is K12 Education, http://www.k12connection.org/. The section that I have reviewed is name “Classroom Education Advice” and it offers advice to newly certified teachers, and in this case, aspiring teachers. Although we are not currently teachers of our own classroom, many of my peers and myself have already encountered “difficult” students in our field observation classes. Personally, what I have witnessed has been a “rude awakening” of what I may find in my future as an educator. As the website states, “students who may not be as respectful of their elders as was once commonplace, many teachers need to know as much as crowd control as they do about mathematics or English lessons. An unruly classroom is not conducive to learning, and if allowed to get out of hand can cause real problems for the teacher and the students.” There are four sections that offer advice: first impressions in the classroom, seating arrangements, music and body language. The section that I’ve found to offer the most information that can be useful in my future is Body Language. The reason why I found it to be most important is because I feel that this is the topic that can help me, since I tend to be shy and only want to be seen as friendly at times. Some of the suggestions that are given are that, “when you walk into the room, walk in like you mean it, stand up tall, walk with purpose and look like you mean business. When you speak, speak clearly and with authority, shouting isn’t the answer, but speaking in a loud and determined voice will soon let the class know that you are there and it’s time to start work.”  I feel that this suggestion will give me the means to take better control of my future classroom, and I would like to get better educated in this topic. We, the students in the blocks, can be taught all the strategies and be given all the resources to teach the content, but without proper classroom control, we cannot teach the class properly. Unfortunately, we will inevitably face a classroom within our career that will prove to be tough to handle at times, but perhaps with strategies and methods, we can learn how to take control of the class environment.