Management Training

I graduated from NYU in 2002, with a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Upon graduation, I felt prepared to begin my career as a teacher. It wasnt until my first day, however, that I began to doubt how really prepared I was. When I stepped into my first classroom, management immediatelybecame an issue. No matter what I tried, I felt like I couldn't control my fourth grade students. I was stunned because this had never been an issue during my undergraduate studies. When I student taught, I was working in the best districts in Manhattan. The children there never displayed behavioral issues. Now, however, I was in South Jamaica, home to 50 cent, biting my fingernails. I didn't know what to do.

At NYU, teacher preparation included learning about John Dewey, Howard Gardner, and other educational theorists. While these are critical components of our pedagogue, so too is classroom management. I have stood before classrooms of children with so much knowledge to give, but when I couldn't get them to listen, it was meaningless. In my opinion, you can possess infinite knowledge of educational theory, but if you have no management they are useless. Why then don't teacher certification programs provide better management training?