Classroom Management Essay

Natalie Schwartz | Teaching

When Richard Eyster encountered Jennifer Longley at an education conference, he was delighted to learn she had entered the teaching profession. He remembered Jennifer as a bright and good-natured student in his third grade class twelve years earlier. But when they met for lunch, she opened up to him about her frustrating struggle to maintain control of her high school English class. He later found out that she left teaching to pursue a career in marketing—after only one year in the classroom.

Dismayed that generations of students would miss out on Jennifer’s ability to engender creative expression and enthusiasm for literature, Eyster set out to offer teachers practical techniques for addressing challenges, engaging students, and fostering a productive and fulfilling school year. He teamed up with fellow education expert Christine Martin to write Successful Classroom Management (Sourcebooks), a comprehensive, insightful and inspirational survival guide for teachers.

Successful Classroom Management covers everything from preparing for the school year to dealing with bullying to forging relationships with administrators. Below is a list of my ten favorite insights from the book. I had the opportunity to speak with Richard Eyster recently and gain a deeper understanding of his perceptions and strategies.

1.) Effective classroom management is based on a learnable set of skills.

New teachers, like Jennifer Longley, often buy into the myth that the ability to manage a classroom is an inherent trait. Eyster maintains that teachers can acquire the skills necessary to successfully manage a classroom.

Students are hardwired to test their teacher, but they want the teacher to pass the test, according Eyster. Successful Classroom Management offers methods for preemptively establishing order and expectations, addressing transgressions, enlisting parental support, and using the disciplinary hierarchy. Eyster’s focus on creating a...