Teachers that were part of the Armstrong program came from across the state to Bloomington to work with future teachers, who made up the audience at the panel discussion.
The discussion was titled “Building a Positive Classroom Community” and focused particularly on ?classroom management.
“How you manage your classroom is as important as the topics you cover,” said Jim Lang, current high school English and journalism Armstrong teacher.
The Armstrong Teacher Education Program awards teachers recognized for their educator excellence and provides funding so winning teachers can pursue their own professional development projects in Bloomington or at their home schools. The 10 award recipients from this past year made up the discussion panel, each giving examples of unique teaching techniques and methods for the student audience.
Once each member of the panel was given the opportunity to address the audience with one of their personal innovative teaching techniques, participants were divided into smaller sections within their focus of teaching. Each section focused on classroom management concerns in the varied age groups of grades.
Under the realm of classroom management, such topics as parent relationships, sound-volume management in the classroom, the implementation of new teaching methods and bullying were all brought up for discussion.
Each break out session was set up as a Q&A format. Two Armstrong teachers were in each section to answer any questions and erase any concerns the future teachers and/or current student teachers had.
“Don’t be afraid to try new things. All it takes is one student to change the dynamic of a classroom,” fifth grade Armstrong teacher Eric Ambler said.
One of the major concerns of the participants was the ability to both please the parents and do what is best for the student at the same time. Education students were concerned about wanting to tell their future students their parents were wrong in any ?situation.
“You create a community in your classroom and that needs to include the parents,” Ambler said. “It’s really important to be proactive with ?communication.”
All Armstrong teachers shared anonymous situations about difficult students and their parents’ relationship in dealing with the issue. All names were changed in the stories to ensure privacy during the discussion.
One teacher gave an example of a rather aggressive student that kept creating a difficult learning environment in the classroom. The boy’s father is in prison and his mother is not in his life, forcing him to live with his great-grandmother, who does not maintain much interest in the boy’s ?education.
The teacher started a technique with the boy, pulling him aside each day and giving him a firm handshake.
The boy was taught that a good handshake involved the combination of concise eye contact and a firm grip.
After almost a week of this exchange of a handshake, the boy started initiating the shake and found a way to maintain his ?composure during class.
This example, and similar scenarios, helped expose the education ?students to potential situations that they may find themselves in.
The Armstrong teachers’ goal is to help the future teachers become the best possible assets for their students to flourish to their personal best.
“It is very easy to give almost too much as a teacher. You got to give yourself ?limits,” Lang said.
The Armstrong Program will have an Exemplary Work Conference in April for future teachers to once again gain insight and ask pressing questions related to their future careers ?within the classroom.
