An Intern’s Role in Classroom Management

It was my first day as a junior-level intern at Anytown Elementary School. I was excited to begin the first part of teaching, and I looked forward to meeting “Mrs. Smith” and her first-grade class. I missed the first-graders I had worked with back in my hometown and hoped that my new students would be similar. I approached the door to Mrs. Smith’s classroom feeling a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

Here goes, I thought.

Upon entering the classroom, Mrs. Smith interrupted her yelling and curtly introduced me to the class. Not knowing what to do, I sat down in the back of the room and began observing. It was obvious there was no order. Children ran and danced around the classroom. Others pestered the few students who were working.

These children are nothing like my first-graders back home. Mrs. Smith must have a really bad class this year. I wonder what the coming semester will bring?

It brought much of what I saw on the first day. The classroom usually was hectic and chaotic.

Maybe more than a bad batch of students is to blame.

As the semester end neared, I prepared for a full week of classroom teaching. I looked on the occasion with both excitement and trepidation. I was excited to teach for a full week using my own lesson plans, but I wondered about handling the class for an entire week, keeping the students under control long enough to teach a lesson. Would I be overstepping my bounds if I took on the responsibility of disciplining the many behavior problems in the classroom? I decided to take my chances, realizing that results would be clear in the week to come.

My Turn to Teach
On Monday morning, I arrived at school early and focused on being the teacher by promoting order and fostering an enriching learning environment. By lunchtime, however, that environment fell into its usual chaotic state. I knew that something had to be done. Overstepping my bounds as an intern had to be better than the students overstepping theirs.

That afternoon, I spoke with Mrs. Smith about the state of the classroom. I politely explained that I was having difficulty controlling the class while teaching and asked permission to take charge of discipline problems myself to gain authority in the classroom and the respect of my students. She agreed and seemed glad that I had taken the initiative to take control of the situation. After school that day, I went to my university and spoke with my supervising professor, who was well aware of the situation. Despite her concern about the situation; however, her hands were tied. Any comments she might make to the supervising teacher regarding a well-ordered classroom would not have been perceived as helpful, but rather as unprofessional and uncalled for, even rude.

Therefore, she suggested that I try management techniques that I saw fit, given Mrs. Smith agreed. With that recommendation and Mrs. Smith’s support, I determined to set expectations for the students and instill order. To decide which practices to use, I consulted friends, colleagues, and professional publications, as well as reflected on methods learned and tried in previous field work.

The next morning, I arrived at class ready to meet the challenges. I had determined that I would not wait for Mrs. Smith to take action, but would deal with problems myself. The morning began as usual—with little order and students off task. I began my lesson, but my audience was inattentive.

Taking Charge
Without saying a word, I walked to the back of the room, turned out the lights, and in a calm but stern voice said, “Boys and girls, I am incredibly disappointed in the behavior you are showing today. I have worked very hard to prepare an interesting lesson for this class and you are being rude and disrespectful. Now, if you cannot show me the respect that I deserve while I am teaching, we will do worksheets on the subject instead of the fun activities I planned. If you still cannot behave, I have no problem moving you to a different classroom to do the worksheets by yourself. When I turn these lights back on, I expect every bottom in a chair, every mouth closed, and every eye on me for the remainder of this lesson.”

I turned the lights back on and walked to the front of the classroom. As I had requested, students were facing front and attentive. It was a totally different class! I continued the lessons with minimal problems, but followed through on what I had stated. Per school-set consequences, one student was moved to another classroom. The students were almost stage struck. Never before had I taken control of the discipline in this manner, nor had Mrs. Smith. I had followed through with what I said I would do if the behavior fell below my expectations.

For the remainder of that last week, I continued to run as tight a ship as possible. I praised students who were on task and doing their work and moved children causing disruption, while keeping other children from fun activities if behavior was poor or work not completed.

Final Review
Though I felt proud of accomplishing what had seemed an insurmountable task, I was concerned that my stern actions would affect my relationship with the children. On the contrary, the children responded positively. Even the most “behavior challenged” ones hugged me goodbye and said they were sad to see me go.

Structure, I realized, was what the students had needed. Their behaviors were signals that they needed someone to expect something from them and show them attention for the bad and the good they did.

I still faced my review by Mrs. Smith. How would she assess my move to take charge? Would she penalize me for my boldness? Her reaction was the opposite of my concern. She was pleased with my instruction and how the class had behaved, and she saw no areas in which she thought I needed major improvement. I was relieved and thanked her for a great semester.

If nothing else, I have learned that I truly want to teach. Though the class was difficult, with a little more time, I think that I could make it into the type of class that I prefer. This class did not scare me away from the field of education, but rather made me want to be a teacher even more.

All classrooms have behavior problems. The key is to possess the knowledge and ability to control them. As teachers, we must use all available resources and never be afraid to ask for help when we need it. Schools are places where students and teachers alike must learn better ways to excel in their lives, responsibilities, and commitments.