Classroom Confidential -- Chapter 2

What have you learned about eptness?

I love the idea of eptness as Schmidt describes it in chapter 2. I completely agree with her statement about not being able to change the culture of a school, but having the ability to alter and create a desired classroom culture. This chapter really helped me think about how I will be deliberately tailoring the atmosphere of my future classrooms.

In her second chapter, Schmidt describes this idea of eptness as an opportunity to help students feel smart and to realize their potential and abilities. I particularly liked her idea of creating a class resume by listing the contributions that each child makes to the group. I think this would be a fantastic way of showing students how valuable they are and how they have the ability to contribute to the classroom.

What three behaviors will you use and how will you use them?

Schmidt continues on to list ten behaviors that promote a sense of eptness in the classroom. I really liked her emphasis on expectations for students. I completely agree that students will rise to the expectations of their teachers so it's important to believe that your students can achieve a lot. I will use this behavior everyday in my classroom as it will frame the way that I teach and how I help students learn.

Encouragement is another big behavior that I will need to continue working on in order to use it effectively in my future classroom. I appreciate Schmidt's distinction between using encouragement appropriately and using praise. Looking forward, I will definitely need to continue tailoring my use of encouragement in the classroom in order to promote a positive, safe environment.

Finally, Schmidt mentions another behavior that can be used to create a sense of eptness in my classroom. She notes that challenging old behaviors is a way to evaluate procedures that have been used in classrooms for a long time in order to determine whether or not their purpose is promoting academic achievement and promoting creativity and innovation. I had never really thought of this before, but it is definitely something that I will strive to use in the future. As an educator, I need to be on the lookout for ways to keep classroom procedures fresh and exciting.