Exploring the foundations of middle school classroom management

Childhood Education, Winter 2001/2002 by Bucher, Katherine T, Manning, M Lee

Empathic understanding, in which a teacher learns about individual students, their specific needs, and their interests and abilities, is one of the best ways to correct or prevent student misbehaviors (Gordon, 1989). In this way, a teacher can tailor curricular and instructional decisions toward individual students without sacrificing academic rigor, achievement, productivity, or creativity. Among the causes of students' misbehaviors might be feelings of inadequacy, stressful home situations, or events from other classes.

Gordon also recommends that teachers send "I-- messages" (1974, p. 136). When a teacher begins a statement by saying "you," he or she focuses the message only at the student, rather than conveying how the teacher feels. Saying to the student "You stop that!" or "You had better quiet down or else!" poses roadblocks to effective management. Instead, an I-- message expresses how the teacher feels about the student's behavior or communicates how it affects him or her. For example, teachers can make statements such as "I'm frustrated by all this noise," "I'm really annoyed when people get pushed around in this room," "I have difficulty working in all this clutter," or "I am troubled when I don't receive your homework" (Gordon, p. 137).

Gordon (1974) proposed a six-step problem-solving process for resolving conflicts: 1) define the problem, 2) generate possible solutions, 3) evaluate the solution, 4) decide on the best solution, 5) determine how to implement the decision, and 6) assess how well the solution solved the problem. This six-step approach canbe used to address almost any problem or conflict-- students constantly talking, forming cliques, making too much noise, or bullying other children on the playground. Ultimately, the students will learn to accept responsibility for resolving difficulties.

Gordon also believed that children should be taught self-discipline. In Teaching Children Self-Discipline (1989), he considered the word "discipline." As a noun, it suggests order, organization, knowledge of and compliance with rules and procedures, and consideration of others' rights; as a verb, it suggests control and punishment. Gordon maintained that disciplining children might be the least (emphasis Gordon's) effective way to achieve discipline at home or in the classroom, and that discipline in the form of punishment produces aggression, hostility, and violence in children. Ultimately, Gordon believed that children should be taught discipline in a nurturing way, rather than having it imposed upon them. Instead of using rewards and punishments, he recommended noncontrolling methods to change a child's behavior, with the goal of having the child accept responsibility for the problem.

Directions for Middle School Educators. The teachers in the following examples have found Gordon's theories to be effective and relatively easy to implement.

* Demonstrating empathic understanding. During the first few weeks of school, one 6th-grade teacher gives his students an interest inventory, reviews their permanent records, talks with their parents, and "interviews" each student. He learns as much as he can about his students and looks for their challenges and potential problems as well as strengths on which he can build instruction. He has very few behavior problems. This is mainly due, he thinks, to his students' recognition of their teacher's sense of empathic understanding.