Reflect and Connect Task 1

At the end of my level one internship, I had to come up with questions that I want to inquire more about in the field. Out of the three wonderings I decided upon, one stuck out to me the most. That wondering is, "How can I balance classroom management with maintaining a loving, caring relationship with my students?". This is important to me because I want to maintain a positive relationship with my students. Students need love, and they are more likely to listen to someone they like, compared to someone they hate. One problem I can foresee happening would be if students would get too comfortable with me that they lose focus in the classroom. I want my students to keep up with the directions and procedures given to them. According to Levin and Nolan (2014), teachers displaying referent authority has students' best learning in mind, and the students behave better because they have a positive relationship with their teacher. I want to inquire more about the balance of referent authority and classroom management in the field. When I can find that balance, student learning will be increased.