When I was first assigned to teach a classroom management course, I was told the name of the course is “Human Relations.” I wondered why it wasn’t just called “Classroom Management.” Then I had an ‘aha’ moment.
Southern Oregon University School of Education is devoted to educating the whole child, which requires a shift in thinking about classroom management. Naming this class Human Relations signals that classroom management is about relationships, not control. It honors human free will and dignity, signifying that every human naturally holds their own power. Students learn how to manage their emotions and social relationships so they can be in community. The name “human relations” signals that learning how to relate to one another is embedded in the curriculum, not something we do as an add-on. In fact, how we get along with one another is the most valuable thing we teach and learn.
When I first started teaching, my primary goal was to deliver content to my students. I was excited for them to learn to read, do math, create art, and so on. I viewed classroom management as a tool to keep the class orderly and under my control so that distracting behavior didn’t interfere with the lessons. It was satisfying to learn tips and tools to create a classroom that ran smoothly, most of the time. In this class we will learn how teachers organize their rooms, their instruction, and their procedures to help their classrooms run well.
Since I started teaching, which was over 20 years ago, things have changed. For starters, I have changed. (More about that later.) Society and children have changed and evolved greatly for a variety of reasons, from the technology that is embedded in our lives to demographic changes, cultural changes, and different attitudes.
For example, children (people of all ages!) have shorter attentions spans. In terms of demographics, our population of children has grown poorer, with more than 50% of students classified as low income. Students who live in poverty are exposed to more risk of trauma, and they likely don’t have the opportunity for ideal secure attachment if their caregivers have to work long hours or are, themselves, suffering from the trauma of poverty. Students living with trauma may not come to school with the ability to self-regulate, or comply, with classroom expectations. Therefore, we have to teach them. Just as it requires years to learn how to read and we continue to learn more our whole life, learning how to get along and work with others is a lifelong process.
Classrooms are also significantly more racially and culturally diverse. The type of classroom management I learned was based on very Western and individualized cultural assumptions. That style of classroom management included winners and losers, good kids and bad kids. There was an underlying message that if you did things my way, you would get to be the boss later in life. It’s become clear that this form of classroom management was marginalizing people with different cultural sensibilities have been the “losers” in this model for years upon years, creating a multiplying systemic effect.
Not only is the winner and loser approach to classroom management no longer acceptable, it no longer works! Classrooms that are “managed well” should result in high academic growth. But our academic accomplishment in the USA continues to sink compared to other countries and according to our own standards. Classrooms that are “managed well” should mean that every child is safe and has their needs met, but anxiety and depression continue to rise at alarming rates among children. Today, suicide is the #2 cause of death among middle and high school students.
Policy-makers are beginning to recognize what the data tells us: The command-and-control style of management is not working. Instead, schools are beginning to focus on the wellbeing of children and communities. To “be well,” children need to feel a sense of belonging, self-worth, and their daily life needs to feel meaningful – meaning what they are learning needs to be relevant and provide them the agency to positively impact their community. And let’s not forget joy. Learning should be fun.
It’s time for an approach to classroom management that puts “human relations” at the center of the approach. That’s what we will be learning in this class.
References:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/01/health/youth-injury-death-rate-cdc-study/index.html