There is another sense, also, in which the problem of management is a general one. The effect of class management on the pupil’s life is profound. The school coöperates with the home and often outweighs the home in determining the pupil’s ideals of social life. These ideals are not so much matters of intellectual training as of social habit. The influence of a teacher over his pupils is often due quite as much to the way in which he manages the class as to the subject-matter which he teaches.
A social situation can often be anticipated and conditions can be prearranged so as to direct all the participants into lines of activity which are desirable. In considering classroom organization it is important that we recognize, first, the possibilities of prearrangement. The more experienced a teacher becomes, the more he can anticipate situations.
Second, there are forms of class organization which facilitate social coöperation, such as arranging pupils in line. This is recognized outside the school, and it is a common practice to arrange people in line, when, for example, they are securing tickets. The management of groups of people can best be carried on by the adoption of such forms. There need be nothing artificial about the forms if they are not overdone. The skillful teacher often uses formal routine to keep the class moving as a unit.
Third, there is no social group which does not at times profit by a critical review of situations after they are over. Punishment is meted out by society to those who have failed to conform to social demands. On the other hand, rewards are given to those who have promoted in conspicuous ways the interests of the group. Both punishments and rewards are to be recognized as educative devices, and should be used in the school only when they are such. The future welfare of society is what should be in mind in every expression of judgment on past performances.
Briefly put, social management deals first with conditions before the group comes together; second, with the forms necessary while the group is together; and third, with the rewards or punishments which should follow an act in the interests of future behavior.
Examples of anticipatory arrangements are not difficult to find. All the material equipments of the school contribute to class management. The division of the building into small classrooms provides for the division of the school into manageable groups. The arrangement of seats and the precautions against the noise and distraction which result from the shuffling about of furniture are further examples of preparation in advance for the management of classes.