Effective Management Ain't Just for MBAs

Classroom management has been on my mind a lot of late. The teachers on my team are at wits end with one particular boy. This boy, no matter what they do, tends to act out and disrupt the class (in every subject). Then, after he's sent to the hallway, he remarks that the only reason that he is singled out is because he's black.

Don't get me wrong, I know there still is racism in America, but not with these teachers. The team, although all white, doesn't seem the least bit racist. In fact, they go out of their way to be racially sensitive. The math teachers said it doesn't bother her that much if this boy fails, what bothers her is that his actions are causing ten other students to fail. Now, she was saying this in jest, but I can totally see her point.

One of the reasons that they are at wits end, is the fact that football season is nearly over. This is the sole thing they can hold over this student's head. In the meeting before school, they lamented the fact that they now have little incentive to motivate this boy to behave. They were thinking of using the eligibility-type form to record whether or not he misbehaves in each class. If the forms stack up, as they think they will, the teachers plan to show the forms to the parent of the boy.

I've watched all of this closely, since classroom management is not my strong point. But this week, classroom management will not be ignored. It's been a serious part of my thoughts. You see, this week my teacher had to attend a funeral, and I went next door to observe in my other area of concentration. And the same kids who were well behaved and focuses for my teacher, where rather like hooligans for this teacher. So I discovered that classroom management was more about the teacher than the students.

Another thing that happened this week, pertaining to classroom management is related to a girl who constantly falls asleep. I asked the teacher if the girl just doesn't sleep at night. I had envisioned her sitting in front of "My Space" until the wee hours of the morning then sleeping through school. The teachers doesn't think this is the case. She in fact might have some sort of disorder. The team is meeting with her parent/parents soon, but I wonder if they can actually do anything this side of encouraging the girl to have espresso before class. I wonder how receptive the parents will be to seeking help for the girl.

One student is passively ill-behaved while the other is actively misbehaving--yet neither student is getting the education they could have. I wish I could impress upon them how important education is. I should be the poster boy for getting as much as you can out of your education. I didn't take middle school nearly seriously enough. I managed to get good grades, but I was motivated only to do the absolute minimum. My main goal was to take as little homework home as possible. Then, I spent 2 decades in jobs that were less than careers. My current job (the one I've been at for 13 years) pays well, but the bosses are really adversarial. They know that there aren't jobs out there that pay what mine does--so they demand massive amounts of overtime, they demand the driver often work double shifts, and they blame the driver for things that clearly aren't his fault. I know every career has its drawbacks, but if these students can capitalize on their educations, and if they can parlay their public education into a college scholarship, and if they take college seriously--their options won't be limited to the blue collar-type jobs that are rapidly drying up in America. If they can use their minds to specialize--perhaps they can avoid the outsourcing that is crushing the job market. But how can they do this if they refuse to take their education seriously? And how can you get them to care about something that is essentially half of their life away?

If these problem students stay on the path they are on, they might not even be a good Wal-Mart greeter.