Art of Classroom Management Building Equitable Learning Communities

9780130990778

0130990779

I wroteThe Art of Classroom Managementto provide teacher educators, teachers, administrators, those enrolled in preservice teacher preparation programs, and anyone who shares the belief that every child should have a fair chance to be successful in life with a comprehensive overview of the legal, ethical, and cultural issues associated with classroom management. Public school educators are addressing an increasingly diverse student population that brings with it a broad range of personal needs and interests. A one-size-fits-all approach to management cannot adequately serve teachers who seek to create calm, safe, and productive learning environments for all their students. It is time to expand our shared professional vision of what is meant by the termclassroom management. My vision for what is and what is not appropriate management practices begins with a democratic framework. The ideas shared within these pages take their initial inspiration from the laws that govern public schools. Some of the legal concepts discussed include: The impact of compulsory education.The fact that students are compelled by law into our public school classrooms heightens the professional responsibility of all educators to ensure equity in their practices. Fourteenth Amendment concepts of due process and equal protection under the law.Equal protection ensures each student's right to the range of opportunities available in our public schools, and due process helps to protect students while they are in the classroom. Our increasingly diverse student population also affects the choices and decisions educators must consider in terms of management and curricular practices. Interwoven throughout this book are discussions of two particular issues: Our increasingly diverse population and how educators can understand its similarities and differences, and our need for mutual dependence.A broad range of issues related to cultural and social diversity is discussed. The dynamic elements of our social interactions and how they play themselves out every day within our public schools. Inclusive and welcoming management and curricular practices are a necessity. They are the most powerful means by which to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to be successful regardless of the languages they speak, the beliefs they hold, the disabilities that challenge them, their gender, or the color of their skin. Organization of This Book The first chapters of this book establish an understanding of the basic rights and responsibilities shared by all members of the public school community. The early chapters focus on strategies for establishing rules and assessment procedures. Integrated throughout the strategies is a framework of law and multicultural issues and how the two can be used when determining what constitutes effective democratic management. The balance of the book is devoted to a number of supporting topics that are closely associated with how educators might effectively manage all students. The book's underlying theme is that effective management is not a simple matter of using one trick or another but rather is a thoughtful and deliberate construct for supporting every learner who enters a pubic school classroom. Some books on classroom management are based on multicultural perspectives. Others are based on a legal perspective. Still others provide an overview of management topics and include separate chapters on multicultural issues or legal issues. This book is the first to approach management, law, and multicultural issues from an integrated perspective. Features Some of the special features of this text are: An examination of how an educator's interactions with parents directly influence the classroom climate and management options.Chapter 9, which addresses parental issues, includes th