The key to a good teacher is not always the most knowledge on a subject, nor is it always the most up-to-date information on any given subject. There is a great deal more to the "good teacher"ÃÂ that in this age of the emergency credential often gets overlooked. Before the knowledge can even be attempted to pass from teacher to student, a complex framework of rules, procedures and other classroom organizational procedures must be set up. This is an idea passed on from teacher to teacher over generation, but it is also an idea that Fredric Jones has made the basis for his many theories on the art of teaching.
Jones argues that without a proper structure and framework, the vast majority of classroom time is wasted. When teachers do not have a framework set up, students take advantage of gaps in instruction by socializing, talking, or just generally being disruptive.
Teacher in primary school in northern Laos
Teacher with students in Benin classroom
Jones CemeteryThis time, when added up over the course of a semester, accounts for a large portion of the school year. The key to putting that time to its best use lies in a positive classroom structure relying on discipline. Jones has divided this structure up into four distinct areas, the first being classroom structure.
The arrangement of furniture in a classroom plays a big part in the classroom structure. The amount of goofing off is directly proportional to the distance of the teacher's desk from the students. That being said, according to Jones the fist element towards a successful classroom structure is room arrangement. Once the classroom has been arranged in the desired manner, a series of both specific and general classroom rules must be established, and a list of classroom chores is to be created. These two items are put into place to create the...