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Summary Of The First Day Of School By Rosemary Wong

Decent Essays

Our reading for this week is from the uniquely formatted book written by Harry and Rosemary Wong titled, “The First Days of School; How to be an Effective Teacher.” The focus section of our reading is based in Unit C of the text, which focuses of Classroom Management. Chapters 11-16 were read, and these chapters focus on the topics of how to have a well managed classroom, effectively preparing the classroom, how to introduce yourself to students, seating arrangement/assignment, starting a class, and the proper timing and execution of taking roll. Essentially each chapter of this text follows the same format. There will be a few paragraphs discussing what “effective teachers” would do followed by a few paragraphs about what “ineffective teachers” …show more content…

Wong’s breakdown and creation of graphic organizers solidified the “AHA” moment/topic. The knowledge boxes show some of the core characteristics that will create a strong Classroom Management climate. One set of characteristics that stuck with me was the discussion on effective teachers that are ready. Effective teachers will have the work, classroom, and themselves ready before the first day of classes. Wong was smart by comparing a teacher’s classroom with a restaurant because having a mental image of a nice restaurant experience can solidify some of the characteristics Wong is stating for a well managed classroom. Wong throughout the chapters will often compared to other topics in order for readers to compare characteristics. For example, Wong states that the three most important words for a painter, pilot, chief, and teacher are “preparation, preparation, and preparation.” One topic that Wong focuses on that I never thought about was the importance of preparing the classroom, seating format, and seating assignments. Wong spends a whole chapter on discussing the effective procedures associated with seating arrangement/assignment. One note that is stated at the beginning of this chapter that created an “AHA” moment is, “How the class reacts to your first directions will be an indication of how students will react to your directions for the remainder of the year.” This idea really motivated me to focus on the “effective teacher” characteristics in order to create a positive response from my students. The last thing I want for my students is to have a bad experience on their first day in my classroom, so this book provides plenty of high quality information, practice characteristic, and tips that will help me create an enjoyable and purposeful Classroom Management

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