Number One

Summary of Content

Mary Barnas of Marietta College uses research performed in 1971 by Baumrind to address classroom management issues such as attendance. She calls this “Parenting Students” and relates it perfectly to parenting styles also developed by Baumrind, Black, and Edwards based on three styles of parenting: authoritative, permissive, and theocratic. She put each of the teaching styles into effect and noted the outcomes. Interestingly, part of her goal was to find a style that not only worked for the students, but was best for her. If she was uncomfortable with a style, yet it yielded results, she was determined to modify it to fit herself as an instructor. Her conclusion was an amalgamation of styles based on the maturity level of the students in the class and various trial and errors. A downside to this approach when applied to a middle or high school would be unpredictability and lack of overall structure until the “desired level” is attained.

Significance to Course

Adjusting your teaching style to fit the class yet retaining your personal style is an important skill for teachers to master. Using these parenting models for examples in her classroom she was able to “tweak” her teaching style drastically, yet in the end come up with a style that fit everyone’s needs, and remained true to herself and her needs as a teacher. Continually running into the same studies (Baumrind, Black, Edwards) in research materials lends further credence to the initial studies, providing me with further indication that these techniques might be useful for application to my overall management style.