Steven Wolk – Hearts and Minds found in Educational Leadership. Sep2003.

In ‘Hearts and Minds’ Wolk makes a case for democratic classrooms where the teacher focuses upon making what and how they teach ‘integral … to developing their relationships with students’. He also suggests that classroom management and student discipline work together ‘and is … central to the curriculum and classroom experience’. ‘The best discipline is a good curriculum’.

Wolk discusses several avenues (see the article for specifics) to get to know your students better and the students you. However, an onus upon ‘making the classroom fun’ is not the way to go. He states that ‘Classrooms and curriculums must be interesting, intellectual, critical, creative, purposeful, communal and highly relevant’. One needs to create ‘transactions’ among all of the participants. The curriculum needs to be culturally relevant to students’ lives, reflect the world as it is, and be supported by material that fits better with their cultural backgrounds and their different learning styles.

Finally, teachers need to have their students see them as real complete people too, not just role players.

Education For All – Chapter 9

Education For All was the primary focus for Prof190 class time during this session. The PowerPoint presentation is an excellent account of this chapter of the government document. The presentation is found here: https://russ5200.tripod.com/managing.ppt.

Paul Deir – Finding Ms. McArthur: Which Way to the Secrets? Found at: http://www.educ.queensu.ca/Prof-190-191/teaching-professional-resources/Ms-McArthur.doc

This resource presentation has not been shown as yet in the Prof190 class. It describes a community classroom based approach to a well functioning classroom in such a way that teachers can readily establish and operate in a highly positive way, focused upon their students and their students’ learning in a safe, caring environment. This presentation is worth reviewing before your first placement but is more concentrated upon how you should approach your own management with your own class.