Abstract

-------------------------------------------------
The article “Classroom Management Strategies for Difficult Students: Promoting Change Through Relationships” by Mary Ellen Beaty-O’Ferrall, Alan Green and Fred Hanna focuses on teachers building relationships with students as a means of classroom management. Teachers must be aware of the emotional and physical changes adolescents are facing, their culture, and family background if they are to build a positive relationship with their students. Building positive relationships also take into consideration of having clear learning goals and serving as a positive role model.
Teachers of middle school students are often faced with the task of dealing with negative student behaviors that impact the educational environment of the students. In addition to the negative behaviors the research of the Carnegie of Council on Adolescent Development 1995) states that students in middle school often lose interest in the academics, which adds to the problems that middle school teachers face in the classroom.
One way of combatting the negative behaviors of students and their lack of interest in school is to build positive relationships with the students. Teachers must take a personal interest in their students and work towards developing relationships with their students. To build a positive relationship with students teachers: * Need to have empathy. They must try to see things through the eyes of an adolescent. (Hanna, Hanna, & Keys, 1999). * View the negative behaviors as a positive. An example is if a student is manipulative, tell the student he/she has a way of influencing others. * Must not bring their own negative issues into the classroom by reacting negatively to the students’ behaviors. Teachers need to be aware of what behaviors cause them to become upset and to allow students to trigger these negative behaviors. * Need to know the culture and family background of the students. This will allow the teacher to understand some of the behaviors of the students.
Teachers may be able to develop a positive classroom environment if they take the time to develop positive relationships with their students. Students may be more willing. It is important that teachers are given the opportunity to learn and apply strategies to help them build positive relationships with their students.