Introduction
Classroom management is an important part of any teaching process; at schools, however, it becomes even more important, as the school’s purpose goes beyond simply giving academic knowledge. In our paper, we will discuss three articles addressing legal and ethical issues (namely, the issues of rights and responsibilities) related to school teachers, students, and parents, and consider the implications of these issues for classroom management.
Implications for the Teacher
In her article, Allen (2010) addresses the issue of classroom management and its relation to unwanted behaviors. The author observes that classroom management is not only about keeping discipline, but also (and mainly) about organizing educational activity, maintaining and facilitating the learning process (Allen, 2010, p. 2, 9). At the same time, failure to create proper educational environment seems to “promote or permit” unwanted behaviors at school (Allen, 2010, p. 8).
Therefore, classroom management is crucial for preventing disruptive and abusive behaviors (not only among students, but also between students and teachers) and not allowing for the abuse of children’s rights. In fact, the teacher’s responsibility is not limited to teaching the subject only; they must provide a personal example of a dignified, ethical person, and create an atmosphere favorable for hard study and mutual respect. Legal responsibilities are to prevent the abuse of children’s rights and create a safe learning atmosphere.
Implications for the Student
Bayer (2004) views “classroom incivility as often emanating from the synergy between the incivilities of students and the incivilities of faculty members towards students” (p. 77). The researcher asserts that students have, among other rights, the rights: to get proper instructions from a teacher who is interested in teaching; to have a “just, fair, respectful, and non-authoritarian classroom environment”; to express their own opinion; the right to confidentiality (Bayer, 2004, p. 79-80).
On the other hand, it is the students’ responsibility to learn behavioral norms of the academic environment; to provide good environment for other students, not to harm them and not to disrupt the teaching / learning process; do the academic tasks given by their teachers. Therefore, students also may contribute to classroom management. Teachers’ classroom management should be built in a way that doesn’t allow for abuse of students’ rights, and enables the learners to get the necessary studying information and proper instructions.
Implications for Parents
According to Minkle, Sheridan, Moorman Kim, Ji Hoon, and Koziol (2014), parents’ involvement in schooling can have a great effect on their children (p. 528). Even though both parents and teachers often feel uncomfortable while interacting with each other, congruence in parents-teachers relationships leads to much lower quantity of behavioral problems and might, in some cases, lead to better academic achievements (Minkle et al., 2014, p. 527, 538, 540).
Therefore, it is the parents’ responsibility to develop good and productive relationship with their child’s teachers and to take part in the process of schooling. It means that the parents should have the right to get involved in the process of their child’s education.
Conclusions
The fact that teachers are responsible not only for academic education of children, but also for their personal development, means that we should not only plan lessons as academically educational, but weave into them some elements that would develop the students’ social skills and promote mutual respect. The teacher should provide a personal example of a good person, showing dignity, reasonableness, impartiality and high intellectual skills.
The fact that students must learn the behavioral norms of the academic environment means that teaching these norms should also be included when the teacher plans how to manage their lessons. And, finally, the positive effect of parents’ involvement in the educational process means that teachers should also endeavor to facilitate this involvement and explain its importance to parents. These implications will need to be taken into account by us when planning our future lessons.
References
Allen, K. P. (2010). Classroom management, bullying, and teacher practices. The Professional Educator, 34(1), 1-15.
Bayer, A. E. (2004). Promulgating statements of student rights and responsibilities. New Directions For Teaching & Learning, 2004(99), 77-87.
Minkle, K. M., Sheridan, S. M., Moorman Kim, E., Ji Hoon, R., & Koziol, N. A. (2014). Congruence in parent-teacher relationships: The role of shared perceptions. Elementary School Journal, 114(4), 527-546.