"Good boundaries, both those that help us manage ourselves and lead others, always produce freedom, not control." from "Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge" by Henry Cloud I have been reading/listening to this audio book for a few weeks now. It has been teaching me so much about the importance of boundaries from a leadership standpoint. I had previously read Dr. Cloud's other book that is simply entitled BOUNDARIES and knew that this new edition of his book would be great for me to read since coming into a leadership role here at ACS. As I read through the first 4 chapters, several things stood out to me that correlate with having boundaries as a tool for classroom management (even though this book does not reference classroom management at all). Below you will find information straight from his book that may help you with your classroom management. I have changed the words "leaders" into "teachers" and "organization" into "students". All credit for the following information goes to Dr. Henry Could. I pray that this information helps you utilize boundaries to create a positive learning environment here at ACS. DRI = The Directly Responsible Individual! As a teacher, you are the DRI of your classroom. Ask yourself, "Who owns it?" It is a central principle of boundaries: ownership. Ultimately, teachers own their classroom. Teachers are the ones who define and create the boundaries that drive the behavior of the classroom. What a teacher has to “not allow.” What the teacher has to say no to and how to prevent those things from existing in the classroom is vital for having a successful learning environment. Teachers are a positive force for good and a negative force against bad. Students need to know what the teacher is for and what they are against. You will get what you create and what you allow. Besides giving direction, good classroom management and boundaries also establish the norms and behaviors that drive success. They build unity and energy. Good classroom management and boundaries diminish bad behavior and forge an immune system that automatically identifies, isolates, and stamps out toxins, infections, or other viral patterns that would make the classroom environment sick or lead it away from its values, mission, purpose, and results. Strong teachers set up the kind of culture and structures that will deal with negative behavior quickly and effectively so that it never takes root. The work of classroom management is always twofold: 1- to make sure positive conditions exist 2- to rid classrooms of the negative elements that stand in the way of high performance. Just think of what is possible if the right conditions exist: innovation, creativity, problem solving, goal orientation, planning and organizing, initiation and perseverance, adaptation, self-regulation, and more. SCIENCE BEHIND IT: The brain relies on three essential processes: 1-Attention: the ability to focus on relevant stimuli, and block out what is not relevant: “Pay attention!” 2-Inhibition: the ability to “not do” certain actions that could be distracting, irrelevant, or even destructive:“Don’t do that!” 3-Working Memory: the ability to retain and access relevant information for reasoning, decision making, and taking future actions: “Remember and build on relevant information.” In other words, our brains need to be able to: (a) focus on something specific, (b) not get off track by focusing on or being assaulted by other data inputs or toxicity, and (c) continuously be aware of relevant information at all times. Teachers must set the stage and ensure that: a. What is important is always being attended to—attention. b. What is not important or destructive is not allowed in—inhibited. c. There is ongoing awareness of all the relevant pieces required to fulfill the task—working memory. What structures, disciplines, and practices make sure that your students are attending to what is most important? What processes do you have in place that are inhibiting what is disruptive, irrelevant, or destructive? How do you keep students conscious of what they need to be conscious of in order to make it all work? How do you manage your classroom in a way that enables students to attend, inhibit, and remember? The ACS student handbook provides teachers with the rules that they should be using within the classroom. If you need help with classroom management, please contact your immediate supervisor for assistance.
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Monique SanchezPrincipal Categories |