Classroom Management, No Problem

It is about this time of year that there is a building sense of anticipation as the shelves of retail stores begin to fill with school supplies. There is a feeling of renewal, of hope, and then there is a feeling of anxiety. But enough about what's going through the teachers' heads, let's focus on students, pre-college students, especially at the secondary level.

My name is Stefanie Saccoman, I coach teachers in a large urban school district and I teach in a university teacher education department. The intent of this blog site is to offer a new approach to classroom management and discipline—so that all of the teachers of America can take back all of the classrooms of America. The goal is to assist educators in creating the conditions for optimum learning. I do not have all of the answers, but I do have a lot of interesting questions.

Classroom management and discipline continues to be the number one challenge of classroom teachers. You'd think we'd have it all figured out by now, wouldn't you? Rather than go on and on about the problem, why don't we dissect it and determine WHY it continues to undermine and often dismantle the careers of smart, well intentioned professional educators. If we take that approach—discovering WHY the problems exist, then we can determine HOW to solve them. We must discover WHY first.

Each day new ideas will be posted, stories told that illuminate why problems erupt in the classroom and myths will be busted. I look forward to an active and productive dialog with the hardest working, often most over-looked professionals in our nation. I know you're not in it for the money, teachers, so it must be the glory—and there is glory enough for all.

This will be the best academic year ever! I welcome all questions and comments. I am here to help.

Stef