Teacher Interview

I had the opportunity of interviewing Ms. Regina Garrity, a 5th grade teacher at Worth Elementary School. Although I do not know her personally, and cannot attest to her teaching quality, she seems to have the attributes of a highly effective teacher. She has been teaching for a total of ten years and has spent the last 7 of them at Worth Elementary School. In our interview, I asked the following questions;

1. How would you define “classroom management”?
2. What do you feel is the foundation for achieving effective classroom management?
3. What are your classroom rules/procedures for students?
4. When rules are broken or there are behavioral issues with students, what disciplinary methods do you use?
5. What are your administrative supports and boundaries regarding classroom management?
6. Have you ever used a classroom management strategy that was unsuccessful and if so, why?
7. What is your advice to me, as a pre-service teacher, regarding classroom management?

   

Ms. Garrity’s philosophy of classroom management revolves around fairness by setting clear and consistent expectations and procedures that allow learning to take place. Rather than having class rules, she uses “norms”. Some of these are as follows;

1. Come prepared and ready to learn

2. Be focused on your work

3. Be fair to others

4. Be kind (respect others, selves and teachers)  

This is not her complete list, but these are in line with the rules suggested in our text. According to Woolfolk (pp. 494-495), good examples of rules for elementary school students are;

1. Respect and be polite to all people

2. Be prompt and prepared

3. Listen quietly while others are speaking

4. Obey all school rules

The process for discipline involves set steps, which include maintaining privacy in consequences, as asserted by Woolfolk (p. 507).  Since these expectations and consequences are clear and consistent, her students know exactly what to expect from her and what is expected of them. Ms. Garrity mentioned that when there is a substitute teacher in her place, the students are able to run the class in her absence. The result is not chaotic. This directly demonstrates the third goal of classroom management; help students become better able to manage themselves (Woolfolk, p. 492).  Through setting clear and consistent expectations and “norms” for her students, they have developed a healthy level of self sufficiency.

This interview was very beneficial and offered many insights that coincide with our text and lessons. I particularly appreciated her suggestion to adapt to students every year. The only classroom management strategy that proves to be unsuccessful for Ms. Garrity is to expect any particular strategy to work as “a one size fits all”. Students must be handled individually.