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http://www.ascd.org/publications/classroom-leadership/sept1998/A-Democratic-Approach-toClassroom-Management.aspx The students and I also structure our time to create a democratic setting. As described in the opening vignette, we begin every day with an open-agenda class meeting. We all depend on this meeting as an opportunity to communicate openly with one another. That students help identify discussion topics, including nonacademic topics such as basketball scores, is important because it helps to foster the classroom community and draw students into the group. Students also use class meetings to stay informed about what their classmates are doing in their research and to learn from one another.
Curriculum Connections
I also give students opportunities to make important, meaningful decisions about the curriculum. In doing so, students feel more ownership of their accomplishments, more in control of their education, and more responsible for their academic successes. The students and I form a partnership as we work together to determine what and how we will learn. Students are quick to recognize this as a unique opportunity, and they know that it relies on their active and mature participation. During the first week of school, the students and I established that we would base our themes on questions and concerns they had about themselves and their world. This made our work inherently interesting, relevant, and most important, not imposed by the teacher. At the same time, we also discussed the "givens" in our curriculumthe topics we had to study no matter what. For us, the givens included the geographic regions of North Carolina, the Middle East, and Africa. In addition, we have specific math and grammar curriculums. Because research, lessons, and activities all revolve around one theme, the curriculum is cohesive. I use separate subject areas as tools to help students further their understanding of the main theme. At the start of each unit, the students and I generate a web with the theme in the center. We then brainstorm specific concepts to explore and activities to complete. We also negotiate deadlines and expectations for student work. My expectations for student productivity are high. When working on projects, students decide how to manage their time, and they know they must manage this time effectively. They spend much of their project time each day researching concepts associated with our current theme, often using the time to visit the school library, explore the Internet, go on field trips, conduct phone interviews, write surveys, and work with data. Sometimes project time involves everyone working on assigned activities, such as science labs.
The Results
The work that my students engage in is meaningful and relevant to them. What's more, they are empowered to create and fulfill their own learning goals. They also put ideas of democracy into practice when they share their opinions and participate in making the decisions that affect them. This is an all-encompassing approach to classroom management. Instead of a separate discipline plan, individual accountability and appropriate behavior are integral components of our entire approach. Our classroom cannot function successfully unless all students actively and maturely participate, and my students recognize this. They often encourage one another to stay on task and remain focused. My role is to maintain high expectations for the entire class as well as for each individual. The positive classroom climate that results from this approach makes this a rewarding place to work. And perhaps more important, it prepares students to participate actively in our democracy.