Responses to Chapter 3 & 4 Fires

One thing I really liked about this chapter (3) was the fact that it discussed that classroom expectations need to be reiterated again and again. You cannot as a teacher expect to go over your procedures once --even if you do have them hanging on the classroom wall-- and expect students to remember them all year. I think educators often forget that students have a lot of things going on in their lives, and sometimes they just need a reminder.

Similarly, I think that in chapter 4 one of the main points stressed was the fact that creating a successful classroom environment involves a teacher's constant attention; we cannot "give up" on students.

Also, I thought it was important to note that the book puts special emphasis on not subconsciously developing student "crutches"-- those students whom you call on most frequently just to keep the class moving because you know they will have the right answers. We constantly need to be encouraging all students, of all levels of understanding, and part of that is by not developing favoritism or even accidental habits like that.