Ben Barnett Education 114 December 2, 2013 Keeping Focus within a Classroom

In todays school systems, keeping control of a classs attention is as difficult as teaching the students. Poor discipline in a school can completely deteriorate the learning experience of a student and therefore, is a topic that deserves attention. While doing my classroom observations at Abingdon High School in Abingdon, Virginia, I had the opportunity to explore that question for myself. Over this period of observation, I was able to identify several different tactics that I believe helped engage the students in the classroom learning. I hope to someday take some of these tactics and use them in my own classroom or in any other learning environment. One of the first strategies I noticed while observing Mrs. Mary Sue Smith, a world history teacher at Abingdon High School, was her ability to connect with her students. Not only was Mrs. Smith able to teacher her class the material that was on the curriculum, but also develop a special relationship with her students. Although some may believe that it is not essential for a teacher to connect with his or her students, I feel that the student-teacher relationship is as critical as a student having the proper materials for class. Without this special relationship, a student is much more likely to zone out from a classroom discussion and simply look to get through the class. After observing several teachers at Abingdon High School, it was evident to me that the teachers that connected the best with his or her students had a more engaged class with better overall class participation. I watched several times as Mrs. Smith shared life lessons with her freshman class about some things that werent necessarily on the

Barnett 2 syllabus. By doing so, she may have lost five minutes to discuss the Roman Empire, but she gained a level of respect from her students that allows her to teach without having to attempt to capture the students attention. Instead the students have invested and respect what Mrs. Smith has to say, because she took the time to invest in them. Another pattern that I observed in several classrooms at Abingdon High School was the difference between a teacher that accepted that students are very social and those who attempted to deny it. In other words, the teachers who attempted to have completely quiet classrooms tended to have more trouble with students behavior, while teachers who attempted to funnel their classs social nature into productive classroom discussions seemed to be more efficient. After a few observation days, it was easy to see that students are masters of developing a conversation quickly while a teachers back is turned. I feel that rather than try to control these conversations during a lecture, it makes more sense to allow your students to become a part of your discussion. By including the students by making a lesson interactive or relating a topic to an easily recognizable figure can give students the opportunity to talk, but also in a productive way. This technique also allows the students to feel as if they have a voice within the classroom and have the chance to learn out loud.Once a teacher allows students to become part of the lesson, all they must do is funnel a conversation to a particular point in the curriculum. I was very blessed with my first observation placement. Mrs. Smith was a tremendous teacher and has my upmost respect. She teaches in a manner that includes everyone in the classroom and there is no doubt that her students learn and retain vast amounts of knowledge after leaving her classroom each day. I hope to connect with students the way that she does and, be able to funnel a conversation the way that Mrs. Smith does when I have my own classroom someday.