Every teacher has a way to manage the classroom with most falling into one of two categories:  strict or relaxed. Both can be effective and both have their followers.

“I prefer strict teachers because if you’re relaxed you really don’t get anything done and you kind of have a bad grade in the class,” freshman Brooke Jones said. “Strict teachers are more beneficial because I’ve actually ask them questions and if I don’t understand something, they go through it with me.”

Some teachers believe that a more relaxed environment is better to work with.

“I think it’s better to control your students in a more relaxed way then a more strict way,” Spanish teacher Joe Esparza said. “It’s better that the students listen to you because they want to do things to please you. You should basically develop a relationship with your students to where they want to make you happy. So developing a relationship with the students is more important. It’s easier to have a rapport with students and get them to do what you need them to do based on a positive environment than trying to get them to fear you and to do what you want them to do based on fear.”

However a teacher decides to manage their classroom, there’s one common goal.

“I don’t think it really matters the avenue which you go about controlling or managing your classroom as long as it’s effective and it provides an opportunity for the students to be successful,” social studies teacher ​Marcus Eckert said. “It’s gonna benefit them because whatever avenue you use, whatever method you use, they’re gonna be successful. My students understand the structure and the rules and procedures of the classroom, and so because they understand and know that their are consequences for breaking those, we handle very internally we are a very relaxed classroom, so I think it all goes back to the students success.”