Classroom Management, Part 4|Mr. Mark's Classroom

Hey friends. Welcome to Mr. Mark’s Classroom. My name is Mark Jones. I am excited to share with you another great tip about classroom management today, because I’ve got several of my own teachers who are really trying to make a great classroom even better. Sometimes we all need a little encouragement with some things to do. The first tip today that I want to tell you is, boys and girls need choices. They need choices.

Here’s what happened. This has been years ago. We had a fourth-grade class that did a lot of writing. Then they announced we’re going to have a great project, we’re going to build a newspaper. And the kids were like, “Oh, more writing. We always do writing.” Te sick of it, and complaining they didn’t want to go.

I had had some different directors go in with those teachers, and try to help. They came back saying, “Those
women are impossible. They want to write everything.” So, I did what every good children’s minister does…he sends his wife…to be the director. She came back and she said, “You know, those ladies are very sweet and all,
but I can’t work with them.” I said, “Why not? I just don’t get it. Why can’t you work with them?” And she said, “Well, they don’t want to do anything, but write. Every activity we ever have has to be about writing, that’s a little gross. Where are the markers? Where’s the crayons? Where’s just the games?” She said, “They don’t do any of that. And I’ve tried and tried.”

So, I finally put it all together. These three ladies, retired school teachers, they loved writing. They thought all children should practice their writing, cursive, and they were all auditory learners. Reading and writing -it’s great stuff to them. It’s so much fun. The idea of having a newspaper that they built, you know, for a whole
month. Woo. That was great stuff. No, it was not. There are some children who like that, but not all. Because you’ve got children who are visual learners, and they want to be expressive with art, they want to draw. You have children who are just collaborators, and they want to work together in relationships, and you have children who want to work alone. You have some who want to work and do musical things or acting. I mean, there’s just so many different ways and methods that we can bring into this. So, I want to challenge you to provide choices, and the choices might not be the kind that you would like to do.

It seems like we rarely have drama with our methods in our classrooms. Anytime it comes along and there’s parts to read, and costumes to put on, I mean from first grade to pre-K, they love it. I challenge you to think about how you could bring into this, some choices for these kids. So, whenever we are working through our Bible study, they’re really getting to enjoy several things that they like. So maybe you don’t have the exact same thing at every table, but you’re letting them make the choices. And that’s a big deal.

Also, I would say, be sure to see if you can get a man in your classroom. It’s a big deal. I see a lot of children
who don’t have a positive male role model in their life, and it’s too bad. Even the pastor’s kids, the son or the daughter, it’s good for them to have a man in the class and someone who’s not just the head thumper, which by the way we don’t thump heads, but someone who is not just there for discipline or for his deeper voice. That’s not what I’m talking about. He’ll do that anyway, because that’s just what adults do. But someone who actually will work with the kids, who will build relationships with them, who will teach the Bible, who will say, “This is what I believe. This reminds me of when I did this.” They need to hear how a Christian man operates. Even if you have to go out and enlist one to come in and be in your class, give him a few responsibilities at a time. Coach him with what you want him to do. Because as it turns out, men like to be successful, and we want to know if we’re doing it right. If we’re not doing it right, say it, because we want it to be right. We want to try new things, and sometimes we go a little too far, and you have to go, “Oh, that’s dangerous.” And that’s okay, you can mention that too. We don’t mind. There will be a great respect that these men will give to you, and that the children will see in their lives.

So, enlist men to serve in your ministry, they need to have that kind of a role model. It might just validate the pastor’s child, and validate dad like, “Oh, my dad is not the only one that believes this stuff. There’s more people like him.” Because there are, or maybe it’s the child who doesn’t have a role model, and they’re like, “Oh, this is what a Christian man is. I like this. I think I choose that.” It goes back to both ways. It’s really a big blessing.

I prayed a long time for my church in Chickasha, that I would have a man in every single classroom, preschool through children. I was so glad the year came when there was a man serving in the bed babies all the way through the preteens. Sometimes there were multiple men in each class. Even now, I’m so blessed to have classes where two men teach, and there’s not a lady and I would like those ladies too. But that’s so cool to see so many men invested in children’s lives. It’s a big deal. Tell them how much you appreciate them, and what a big difference it makes, because that is so great. Give them choices and then partner them up with some men who will also speak into their life and encourage them.

I hope you’ll try a couple of these things. I’d love to hear what’s going on with your ministry, and how it’s
going. By the way, you can see all of this on the YouTube channel, Mr. Mark’s Classroom, or listen on iTunes. Really just subscribe in iTunes. It’s all free, all of it, and let your friends know. If you don’t mind, leave us a rating because other people are also going to hear about it, and see it that way in their searches. That’s
cool because our community is growing and building, and all the more to see children come to Christ because of people who are getting encouraged and equipped in teaching children the Bible.

Listen, your life and ministry, it’s a gift. So, go and make it count.