Respect. This is one of many things that I'm nervous about as a pre-service teacher. Right now I'm the leader of an after school program for 4th and 5th grade boys and girls. The biggest problem in the classroom is that they don't respect any of the other leaders, including myself. They run around and do what they want to do. I've tried to enforce the rules, but they don't seem care about the consequences. Don't forget, this is just an after school program. I can't imagine what I'm going to do when I have my own class.
I think this may be something that plagues all pre-service teachers getting ready to start their student teaching. I want my students to respect me because they know I care about their future and their learning. I also want them to understand that they can't walk all over me. I don't want to be the teacher that uses yelling and empty threats as a way to control the classroom.
This is why I have made it my quest to discover ways that could help me to gain control of a classroom, respectfully. I was wondering if anyone had any strategies, activities, ideas, or book suggestions that could help. Thanks for listening.