The Emperor - The Card of Classroom Management

I am pretty excited for this week's post because I feel that the Emperor is a great card when it comes to teaching. Last week's post was all about nurturing and it had a real maternal quality to it, but this week it's all about the art of classroom management.

As teachers, but especially as new teachers, we often struggle with classroom management. Some of us, like me, start off overly strict and really take the saying "don't let them see you smile until June" to heart. This can lead to division in the classroom and create a "them against me" mentality. While others try to take a more relaxed approach and come off more like a friend, which can have it's own unpleasant consequences, like the first time you have to say no to a student and they feel completely betrayed by their "pal."

But whether you have a problem with classroom management or not, we can definitely learn a lot from the Emperor. First of all, this is a card that represents authority, control, and leadership. As the leaders with the ultimate authority in our classrooms, we need to make sure that we lead in a fair and balanced way. It can be very easy for your classroom to turn into a dictatorship if you are too rigid or a completely chaotic situation if you are too lax. The Emperor is here to remind you about what it means to be a good leader.

When you think about rulers from history or fairy tales, the most beloved and successful ones were the ones who loved and cared for their people and who wanted what was best for them. Being a ruler is a huge responsibility and it isn't about being the ones with all the power, but about being the one who uses that power for the good of the people. So ultimately, being a leader is about being of service to others. And in our case, we need to be of service to our students.

Since we are the ones in control, we do need to do our best to maintain order in our classrooms so that students can feel safe, secure, respected, and valued. We can't be so hostile that students are afraid to speak to us or are afraid of making a mistake for fear of being screamed at or embarrassed, yet nor can we be so permissive that it is practically a free for all and no learning is taking place.

It's all about leading with dignity. Think about the people you respect and admire that are in a position of power. The ones that come to mind for me set high expectations and make them clear. They are also willing to lend a helping hand and offer advice and guidance if I get stuck. They smile a lot and approach challenging situations with positivity and a sense of humor. They are able to think outside the box in order to solve problems. They make others feel at ease and are good listeners. They delegate tasks fairly and don't overburden others with unmanageable amounts of work. These are the attributes of a good leader.

Now take a moment to think honestly about yourself and ask yourself the following questions:
Do I assign too much homework? Too little?
Do I yell at my students or threaten them to get them to comply?
Do I let my students get away with talking while I am talking?
Do I never smile or crack a joke? Do I joke around to often almost to the point of being inappropriate?
Do I make sarcastic remarks when I am annoyed? Do I pretend not to hear or see a student saying or doing something they shouldn't?
Am I harsh when I confront students? Do I not confront at all?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it may be time to evaluate your leadership abilities. Try to set some goals for improvement and work on them until they become habits.

For example, when I first started teaching, I believed in assigning homework over breaks because that is what I had experienced as a student (even though I hated it, and if I'm honest, I usually didn't do it or a did a crappy job on it the night before it was due). Not only did I assign work, but I usually assigned them a book to read on their own with a ton of comprehension questions to answer. Then I would be totally incensed when students either didn't turn it in or turned in low-quality work. This would lead to major power struggles because they would be mad at me for assigning a ton of work when they wanted to have fun and I would be mad at them for not doing what I told them to do. This is not good leadership at all. I had to take a step back and evaluate my practices. And you may or may not agree with this, but I stopped assigning work over breaks. Why? Because I feel that everyone deserves a break - the students and me. And now that I am a parent, I see it from a new perspective. When my sons are in school, I won't want them bogged down with work over breaks because then I will have to yell at them to get work done or it will just take time away from the time I want to be spending having fun with them. So now that I don't assign work over breaks, I feel it is win win for everyone. I also stopped giving homework every night including weekends. Now I give homework 2-3 times a week and it is concise and more important MEANINGFUL. Homework shouldn't be about keeping students busy after school. It should be about having them think about the material and having them work with it independently. If people are interested, I teach ELA and I would be more than happy to share the types of homework assignments I give. Sure I still have some students that refuse to do homework, but the majority of my students complete homework for me now.

So if you want to work with the energy of the Emperor card, you really need to assess your leadership abilities and determine if you are a fair leader or not. It's not about wanting to be loved, it's about developing a classroom climate that is built on respect. The more respect and care you show for your students while maintaining order, the more they will respect you and do the work you assign. Classroom management can be one of the toughest parts of teaching besides time management, but if you can get a handle on it, it will make your life easier and you will find true joy in this profession.

All my best,

Amy