Summer Prep

Last summer and the one before I spent time working on my curriculum for the following year. This summer I decided to concentrate on classroom discipline. I reasoned that I could present a solid constructivist art education to my hundreds of students more efficiently if things went even more smoothly. My research gave me serious cause for reflection and definitely impacted this school year.

Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. Mackenzie is one book that gave me insight into my teaching methods. The author must have been present in my room because he practically scripted one or two of my most challenging classroom moments. I strongly reccommend this book for middle school teachers.

The book that really fascinated me this summer is the old stand-by Discipline With Dignity by Curwin and Mendler. Undergraduate work had introduced me to these two, but I had never actually read the book until my rainy camping trip to Vermont. The research on body language and violent crime was very interesting. Prisoners who were guilty of violent crimes were shown video tape of random individuals walking down a street. The walkers were rated by the prisoners by how "muggable" they were. The study showed that people who walked swinging right arm with left foot, heel to toe were the least "muggable". There is more here worth reading the book for.

The most useful idea in this book was that of a social contract for the classroom. I used this idea for my third, fourth, and fifth grade students. I keep the signature page with a home telephone number in a binder, organized by class. I also use this binder to write consequences that I have applied to individual students before contacting parents or involving the principal. This has worked wonders for me. I encourage all teachers to read this book, no matter how great things are going in the classroom, your students deserve the best. It has helped me to give my best to my students.