I have been doing a lot of thinking about management lately, different management styles, management of classrooms of students, and managing adult groups. I often wonder how those being managed really feel about the various systems in place and if the results intended are indeed the results attained.

Management styles vary as widely as personality types do. One management style I recently encountered was in the classroom of a brand new teacher. It favored the "I want to be your friend and have everyone like me" approach. Predictably, with few management strategies in place, along with a deep-rooted belief that taking a stand on poor behavior or redirecting inappropriate conversations between classmates would lead to students not liking the teacher, this classroom was not functioning as the teacher had intended it to function.

The new teacher had been receiving advice from an experienced colleague across the hall. That teacher fell into the behavior management chart category, where students were overtly pointed out in front of the whole class for inappropriate behavior choices, then asked to make the "walk of shame" to the board to move their name, visually indicating a problem to all. The teacher had used that management chart for many years, yet things weren't going as well as hoped in that classroom either.

Upon having a conversation with students in both classrooms, it was fascinating to hear what they had to say about each management approach. The comments ranged from, "Kids in my room are mean to others, and it worries me" to a fixation on who had to move their name that day and who got extra recess because they didn't move their name.

For many of us, spring break is behind us and the end of the year is looming. That means spring fever may have hit, and with it can often come bumpy behaviors. Students may be anxious if this is their last year at the school, and others are facing a long summer without friends, books, learning, or their beloved teachers. So this is the perfect time to stop and reevaluate what is working and not working in our classrooms and to make some changes to help everyone (the teacher included) end the year on a positive note. 

Which brings me to this wonderful article by Justin Minkel, worthy of being read by anyone who manages people. The article, titled "Distracted by Rewards: Moving Beyond Carrots and Sticks," provides a refreshing viewpoint that helped me refocus on doing the hard work of setting guidelines so children know that "being cruel will not be tolerated." By focusing on creating the intrinsic motivation, students can find the joy of learning without being bogged down by fear of behaviors from peers or having an unbalanced focus on the extrinsic carrots offered for good behavior.

Enjoy!

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