A First Year Teacher’s Biggest Challenge

A teacher spends a tremendous amount of time learning how to teach various ages of people. Their main objective it to teach the lesson in such a way that it will be easily understood by the students.For students of a specific age bracket, say three to eighteen year olds, the only way that they can actually learn the lesson is if they have fun doing it. Unfortunately for new teachers, this is where all the problems begin.How does a first year teacher manage her classroom and discipline her students?   Be it in the pre-school or high school teaching environments, getting the students to respect the teacher and follow learning rules during class hours has been the bane of teachers since time immemorial.But, this is not to say that first year teachers have to suffer that kind of situation. No, there are many things that a first year teacher can do in order to gain control of her students and her classroom.To begin with, it is imperative that new teachers enter the classroom with at lea st a basic training and know how regarding classroom management. Admit it, the youth can smell a novice teacher a mile away and will take advantage of the greenhorn teacher in any way they can.New teachers need not despair though. All is not lost. The teacher can still manage to win the war provided he or she is willing to work at it.To begin with, a new teacher can take advantage of the hired consultants that many school district offer. These are people who can train the new teacher to use the art of nonverbal techniques in classroom management. If a new teacher learns how to use these skills to his or her advantage during her first year of teaching, it will be a lot easier for them to get through their freshman teaching experience.Not all the new teachers have to go by hit or miss results and rely on learning from their mistakes. Unlike their predecessors, new teachers can be taught and trained in how to use a personal bond with the students in order to get the results they want.T he keyword in this type of situation is respect. Children respond better to people whom they know will not mete out a punishment for bad behavior and instead treats them as an equal whose rights and feelings must be respected. This is a delicate line to tread upon though.The new teacher must be sure to convey the aura of respect for the student without overstepping the boundaries and becoming a personal friend instead of a teacher to the student.Although most school systems have their own ideas of how a new teacher should be able to gain control of her classroom, the truth of the matter is that it would be best if a teacher has the freedom to try various classroom management and disciplining techniques on his or her own until he or she finds a style that she is comfortable with and gets positive results from.New teachers may or may not be given the chance to learn about classroom management styles during their senior year of college because that is not the focus nor priority of thei r training.Therefore, it would benefit the fresh teacher if he or she would take advantage of every class session break to enroll in various training courses and seminars that will help him or her learn and enhance the classroom techniques that they already know.Finally, a fresh teacher can reap the benefits of consulting with the senior teachers of the school regarding how to implement classroom discipline and management. Just as we learn from others emulation, so can the new teachers when it comes to classroom management.Fresh teachers must never feel too inferior to their senior counterparts that they would be afraid to come up with their own classroom management style by taking a peer’s original style and updating it to suit his or her needs.Classroom management is a problem that faces all teachers, not just the newly graduated ones. Therefore, they should never be afraid to ask for the help, guidance, and assistance of the senior teachers. After all, it is through a free exchange of ideas that most problems are usually solved.Work CitedBosch, Karen A. & Kersey, Catherine C.(2007). Managing with class. National Education Association Professional Library. Retrieved January 20, 2008 from http://www.nea.org/tomorrowsteachers/2007/classroomcon.htmlMatthews, Jay. (2000). New teachers rarely learn classroom management. Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 21, 2007 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23017-2000Dec18.html