Reflection on Article #2

Roache, Joel. Lewis, Ramon. "Teachers' Views on the Impact of Classroom Management on Student Responsibility". Australian Journal of Education. Nov. 2011. 132-146. 


Even from the beginning on Tutor year, I always had the understanding that classroom management would be a struggle for me. With a quiet voice, small stature, and a free spirit personality, it was difficult for me to discipline children. There was the constant worry of hurting their feeling, the balance between being too harsh and too lenient, and what behaviors should be ignored. So many wonderings and the constant answer I would receive is that these skills will come from experience. Working with fourth graders was completely out of my comfort zone ( especially since a few of the children are almost as tall as me!) so this classroom management experience would have been a much needed tool in my back pocket. 


I found this article to be quite interesting and relevant to my personal views on student classroom behavior. Fourth grade children are nearing the end of the elementary school years and I believe that these nine and ten year old ladies and gentleman should have the developed abilities to maintain responsibility for their assignments, desk area, and the well being of their fellow students. The purpose of this Australian student was to determine the effects of teacher demeanor and the amount of student responsibilities on the overall classroom environment. Would less disruptions occur? This quote found within the article beautifully describes the purpose of the study:

".......that children should be willing to assert their right to learn at school and be prepared to protect the rights of other students in their class to learn in a safe and emotionally secure environment.To help encourage students to do this, there is a growing body of research that argues that the nature of the student–teacher relationship needs to be built on a basis of sensitivity, trust and mutual respect."


This study invited the students to take part in classroom management decision making, hinting when unacceptable behavior is occurring, making not of appropriate behavior that is occurring within the class group, and making expectations clear. Interestingly enough, the study found that when students misbehave the teachers obviously grow concerned and somewhat angry that their methods are failing. These unwanted student behaviors are in turn paired with the punishments inflicted by the teacher. These  teachers are also less likely to reward and validate appropriate behavior in the presence of misbehavior. This in turn causes the teacher to become less "responsible" and also diminishes the childrens' responsible behaviors as well. 


I would say that in simple terms, this article is stating that it as important to dole out consequence as it is to praise students who are behaving appropriately!