A Really Interesting Article

In my group we are discussing classroom management as well as getting help from and working with parents, administrators, counselors, etc. One article that I really found interesting was entitled "The Positive Alternative Learning Supports Program: Collaborating to Improve Student Success" and was written by Patricia S. Arter. What I found really helpful was at the very beginning of the article, the author gives 2 scenarios involving classroom disruption by students. I found this helpful and also very real. Real in the sense that both of the scenarios could happen to any teacher, and interesting because it really made me think about what I would do in a similar situation.

Also, one excerpt I found very interesting is the following: "Teachers at all levels of mastery cite classroom management issues as their number one concern. Moreover, approximately four of every five incidents of classroom disruption can be traced to some dysfunction in school organization and management or staff training (Mayer, 2001). Many teachers in urban-setting schools are ill prepared to deal with diverse academic and behavioral needs of students with chronic misbehavior. Consequently, nearly half of classroom instructional time may be devoted to discipline problems (Ohlund & Nelson, 2001)."

This excerpt was really interesting and related to my group project extremely well, because effective classroom management is vital and is key to being able to teach a class efficiently and in order to be able to get the best results. Also I think that statistically speaking, if four of every five incidents of classroom disruption stem from some dysfunction in the school I think that is something that the administration should really be aware of and work towards fixing. Furthermore, I think that the article makes a good point about teachers in urban-setting schools being ill prepared to deal with the various needs of the students. That is why I strongly believe that future teachers should have gone through a student teaching program in an urban setting. This will give experience, and will help give the student teacher more insight and knowledge on how to deal with the students in a positive and helpful way.