Fall 2o14

It Takes Two
Classroom Management Philosophy
By: Sarah Steed
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My Philosophy
My classroom management philosophy has been
composed of my experiences throughout the years, both
good and bad, and the beliefs I have found to create a
safe, interactive, and collaborative environment that
allows my students to reach their fullest potentials. A
place where my students can feel welcomed, cared for,
and accepted at all times. As a teacher it is my job to
shape the minds of the young individuals in my classroom,
to offer a rich, fulfilling education, and to encourage them
to think critically, solve problems by working with one
another, and learn the importance of respecting those
around you.
Spencer Kagon, a man who created the Win-Win
theory on classroom management states, Discipline is
established more satisfactorily when teachers and students
work together from the same side to make decisions
about behavior issues (Charles 206).

Picture taken from Google Images

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One of the five Ps that Kagon came up

with was called The Three Pillars. He named
three pillars that help keep in mind the
importance of working as a team when it
comes to dealing with discipline.
1. Same Side: Were all working to
enhance the school experience for
everyone
2. Collaborative Solutions: Students and
teachers work together to solve
discipline problems
3. Learned Responsibility: Students
develop the desire to behave properly
through practice
Together these three pillars help create
an effective environment where the
teacher can help the student learn from his
or her mistakes and help keep them
accountable for making good choices.

Establishing
Relationships

Spring 2016

The teachers I had that stood out to me as

being the best were the ones that took the
extra step to try and get to know me as an
individual. I will build strong connections with
my students that help create a trusting
relationship. From multiple field placements
Ive been in, Ive noticed that children thrive
better in settings where there is a positive,
uplifting, and trusting atmosphere among the
students and the teacher. Students
appreciate it when teachers compliment
them and provide positive feedback on their
schoolwork. Even something as small as giving
a child a pat on the back, a thumbs up, or a
gentle smile for their hard work, sends them
waves of encouragement that can go a long
way. Acknowledging positive behavior is a
simple way to increase positive behavior in the
classroom and decrease the negative
behaviors. Students love to seek attention from
the teacher and their peers. When students
see other students getting praised for their
hard work, it encourages them to do the
same. Creating a positive atmosphere where
children feel encouraged, supported, and
motivated by the teacher helps create a
trusting relationship between the student and
the teacher.

Every student comes to school with a

Teachers have a tremendous impact on different story. They face many different
students lives every single day. They are
situations at home that can alter their
more than just a figure that stands up in front emotions when they walk into school. As a
of the room. They are a leader, a role model, teacher its important for me to build that
a supporter, and a mentor, in addition to
classroom atmosphere where they know they
being an educator. Every child deserves to can come and leave all their worries at the
know how much they are loved and worth. door. I will have my students confidentially tell
By creating a safe and loving atmosphere
me how they are feeling every morning when
you are opening the doors for a better place they get to school. This will allow me to get a
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Spring 2016

No two people are the same. We all

possess different, unique characteristics that
differentiate ourselves from one another. The
students in my classroom will learn to
acknowledge and celebrate their
differences. They wont be embarrassed by
the color of their skin, their family, the clothes
they wear, the beliefs they have, or the
dreams they aspire to reach. I believe in
creating an environment where a student
feels comfortable sharing his or her
differences and feels accepted by
everyone. Diversity is a big issue that we
encounter in the classrooms. As a teacher
its better to have that open communication
with your students and teach them the
importance of acknowledging our
differences. I will provide activities that give
students the chance to collaborate and get
to know each other. For example, I will have
my students partner up with the person next
to them and find out one new fact about
them that they would like to share with the
class. I will also have my students create a
class book that represents all the students in
the classroom and the uniqueness they bring
to class. Ive seen this done in multiple field
placements Ive been in and its been a
huge success with the students. People look,
talk, and act differently. As a teacher I will
encourage my students
to establish positive
relationships among
their peers in the
classroom and
demonstrate that its
okay to be friends with
people that are
different than us.

One important thing we can do for

our students is showing our respect during
times conflict. As a teacher its my job to
assure that the students in my classroom
are never embarrassed or humiliated,
especially in front of the entire class. I
never want a student to feel like they are
being put on display in front of all of their
classmates. Its important to build strong
relationships with students under normal
circumstance and also sustain them during
times of conflict. Creating a trustworthy
environment will help the students feel
more comfortable and willing to come to
the teacher when they have a problem. I
never want my students to feel like they
cant come to me. My students will know
that I am always there for them.

Working with
Parents

Working With
Parents
Establishing positive relationships with
the parents in your classroom is one of the
best things a teacher can do. Creating
that closeness with the parents is just as
important as it is with the students in your
room. Some of the best teachers Ive seen
at my placements were the ones that
reached out to the families and built
positive relationships among them. Every
parent wants their child to succeed. They
want to know that when they drop their
child off at school, they are placing them
in the right hands. I believe in the
importance of providing parents with
positive feedback continuously throughout
the school year.

Picture taken from Google images

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Spring 2016

One of my placement teachers once

told me that one of the best things she did
for her students was inform parents about
the wonderful things they were doing in class
on a weekly basis. Parents dread the
moment when a teacher calls home. I want
to call parents on a continuous basis and
share all the wonderful things their child is
doing in class. This will help ease up the
tension of the phone calls, and will make it
easier when I have unsettling news to bring
to the parents. I will also send home weekly
newsletters that inform parents of all the fun
and educational things we are doing in the
classroom. This allows the parents to feel
connected in their childs education and
keeps them posted on upcoming events
they can participate in.

care and are willing to talk to them at

anytime ensures them that you are there for
their child. At the end of the day I want the
parents to know how much I love having
their child in my classroom and the lengths Ill
go to support them and ensure that they are
getting the best education.
A helpful thing a teacher can do for the
parents are incorporating them into their
classroom. I will have parents volunteer to
come in and help out during the day. This
give the parents a chance to see what its
like when their child is at school and help
them get to know all the students in the
classroom. Not only is it important to have
parent volunteers in the room, but also its
important that parents always feel
welcomed on field trips. I will never have a
set number of parents that can come on a
trip. This allows more flexibility for parents to
go on trips they might not have if I had set a
cut off.

Not only is it important to create

relationships with the parents but as a
teacher its also important that family
members and caregivers feel welcome in
your classroom at all times. To ensure this I
will create an open door policy where
parents and caregivers can feel free to stop
by anytime. Whether its for five minutes or
an hour, my door will always be open for
them to stop by. Giving parents that
freedom to stop by whenever they have
time eases up the tension between the
parent and teacher, and allows the parents
to feel comfortable walking into the
classroom at any time.

Rules
I believe in creating a classroom
agreement together with my class. I have
found in my placements that students
respond better when they are part of the
decision process in deciding the classroom
agreement. Together the students and I will
decide how we are going to work together
as a team. At the end I will have the
students all sign their name, representing
that we are all in an agreement on how we
want people to behave in our classroom. A
few of our agreements could be, use inside
voices, be a good friend, and walk with
safety. We will spend a lot of time at the
beginning of the year referring back to the
classroom agreement and going over our
expectations.

As teachers, a positive thing we can do

for parents is offer up our time. I plan on
being as open and available as I can for
both the students in my classroom and their
parents; to ensure that if there are any
questions, problems, or concerns, they know
they can come to me. Showing parents you
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Spring 2016

Jim Fay the founder of Love and Logic

states, "The most critical component of
discipline is the relationship that is built
between the teacher and student (Fay
and Cline, M.D., 1997). It is important to
create an environment where the teacher
and the student work together to solve a
problem. I believe that discipline is best
when students can learn from their
mistakes. When a student does something
wrong, its important that I give them that
chance to learn from it and work through
the problem. Fay states, Love allows
children to grow through their mistakes.
Logic allows children to live with the
consequences of their choices. I want my
students to grow from their mistakes and
learn to accept the consequences that
come along with it. Discipline is only
successful when a student can accurately
learn from his or her mistake. I believe in the
importance of letting students be a part of
the discipline process. Giving them the
choice to make the decision and work with
me to come up with a plan we can both
agree on to help each other out.

the way they were, and why my teacher

wasnt doing anything productive to stop it.
Then it hit me. First, my teacher wasnt
taking the time to identifying the problem
and the students lagging skills. She was
overwhelmed with the amount of issues she
was faced with and began to cope with the
negative behaviors. Second, there wasnt a
positive vibe between the teacher and the
students. I didnt feel like she had built strong
trusting relationship with them. Lastly, the
teachers approach was very strict and left
the students feeling uncared for and
unwelcomed in the room. This type of
teaching was very frustrating for me to
watch. I realized, to be an effective teacher
I need to be someone who can collaborate
with my students and work with them when
there is a problem. I need to be able to
identify the problem and establish guidelines
for my students to follow and be able to
remain firm and loving with theyre
consequences when they misbehave.

Procedure
s A procedure that I have seen in one

I went on a May term to Rosebud,

South Dakota. During my time there I got
the chance to work in a Pre-k classroom. I
was placed in a classroom that was very
chaotic and a teacher who didnt have
the best grip on her classroom. I remember
observing the classroom and being
astounded by the amount of problems I
saw on a daily basis. I constantly watched
as kids misbehaved and the teacher
sending them to corners of the room to
think about their behavior. I couldnt
understand why these students were acting

of my field placements that I will

incorporate into my classroom is the
behavior chart. All students will start in the
middle of the chart on ready to learn.
Throughout the day based on their
behavior students can either move their
clips up to good choices, way to go, and
exceptional, or they can move their clips
down to think about it, teachers choice,
and call home. When the teacher tells the
students to move their clips they must go
up to the chart and move it themselves.
This allows them to be accountable and
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Spring 2016

make the right choices for themselves. If

students refuse to move their clip, then the
teacher will have to move it down two
times. At the end of the day the teacher
has students bring over their binders and
she highlights where their clip landed. This
allows the students and their parents to see
on a daily basis how they are behaving in
class. Students who have their clips on the
lower end of the spectrum are pulled to the
side and asked to tell the teacher why their
clip is so low. This allows the teacher to talk
with the student personally before they are
dismissed and evaluate how the student
can improve the next day. Students whose
clips land on exceptional get to pick a
practical prize; show and tell, teacher
chairs, snack during reading time, door
holder, or line leader.

next. For instance, often a young child will

miss their mother or father and become
homesick and start to cry. One technique
you could use to calm them down is to
show them the schedule and point to
where we are. They can see for themselves
that their mom or dad will be there very
soon. This also eliminates the students from
constantly asking the teacher whats
coming next. Instead they can go over
the schedule and look for themselves.

Every day students walk into my

classroom with a clean slate. Yesterdays
events are in the past and everyday is a
new day. I begin my day by greeting them
at the door with a huge smile on my face,
welcoming them into the classroom. They
will put up their backpacks, turn in any
homework into the homework bin, move
their meal cards to the correct lunch
choice, fill out the feelings chart, and work
on the bell work in their journals. Once all
the students are situated I will invite them to
the carpet where we will go over the class
schedule, calendar, and the weather. This
helps the mornings become less chaotic
and provides a routine they can expect
when they walk into my room.

Picture taken from Google images

Similar to the morning routine, I will also

implement a departure routine. The
students will help clean up at the end of the
day. To encourage them I will play a game
called magic trash. I will pick one or two
items in the room that need to be cleaned
up. Students will clean the room hoping to
win the magic trash. Students will go back
to their tables and wait to be called to go
get their binders. They will bring their binders
up to the behavior chart so I can highlight
their behavior for the day. Then they will get
their backpacks and be seated on the
carpet and wait to be dismissed.

I believe in having a set, visible,

schedule that the students can follow. Its
easier when students know whats coming

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Spring 2016

Classroom Layout

On Fridays I plan on having friendship

circle at the end of the day. The students in
my classroom will tell the person one
positive thing about the person sitting
next to them in a circle. We will go
around and hear everyones positive
statements. I want my students to learn
to appreciate others around them and
look at the positive side of things. By
establishing friendship circles, students
create a caring atmosphere and learn
to look out for their classmates.
A big problem that many teachers
encounter throughout the day, are
students constantly asking to use the
bathroom. I will encourage my students
to use the bathroom during lunch and
recess and when it is an appropriate time
during class. If they need to use the
bathroom, they must ask the teacher. Only
one student can be out at a time and they
have to move their clip on the bathroom
chart to show that they are in the
bathroom. It is important that I know where
my students are at all times. By creating the
bathroom chart it will help eliminate
disruptions and allows me to know whos
out of the room.

Establishing how a teacher wants his or

her classroom to look like is a very important
part of their teaching. It creates the type of
environment they want their students to work
in. For my classroom, my students will be
seated at round tables. I want students to be
able to collaborate and talk with the people
seated around them. This allows for a lot of
group work, projects, and activities where
students will be able to work with the people
seated at their table. My desk is located in an
area where I can see everything in my
classroom. This allows me to keep an eye on
It can be very challenging to get all of
the students while they are working. I have a
your students to cooperate and form a
Square rug at the fun of the room that will be
single file line. To help I will have students
get in line and follow silly things that I do like used for whole group time when Im
introducing a topic, reading a book, or going
tapping my head, waving my hand,
over the morning calendar, schedule, and
shaking my foot. This will allow me to see
the weather. This is an area where we can
whose eyes are on me, and whos not
come together as a class. In the back corner I
paying attention. Every day I will have
also have a rug. This is the reading area.
different students be the line leader and
Students can feel free to go over to the
the door holder. Students love to be given
reading area when they need a quiet place
responsibilities. This will encourage my
to read. I also will have a kidney table set up
students to behave in line so they can be
the door holder or line leader the next day.
One of the most important things

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in my room that allows me to pull groups

of students aside to work with.
Technology is a huge part of
education today. I will have a
projector/smart board that I can use to
teach my lessons. In one of my field
placements my teacher did the bulk of her
lessons using a smart board. I was blown
away by all the creative things she could
do with it. I will utilize technology as much
as I can in my classroom. This gives
students the chance to experience
technology and learn more about it. I will
also have a designated play are in my
classroom. Student will learn the
appropriate things to do during play and
the importance of cleaning up after
themselves.
I believe in creating an environment
that helps students be successful in the
room. I want students to have access to a
wide range of materials that can help their
education. The layout for my classroom will
be accessible for all students and easy for
them to get around. It will be a place
where they can focus, learn, and enjoy
education.

Motivation
Ive sat in many classrooms where the
students seem uninterested, unmotivated,
bored, and wishing to go home. Thats not
a very fun situation to be in. As a teacher
its our job to motivate our students to
want to be at school. You could be a
decent teacher and be able to stand up
in front of the class and teach the
material, but if your students arent
engaged and motivated in what you are
teaching, what good are you doing your

Spring 2016

students? I believe one of the best things you

can do for your students is create an
enthusiastic and engaging atmosphere that
motivates them to get excited about the
material you are teaching them.
I am a very hands on learner. I believe
that one of the best ways you can learn is by
diving in and experiencing it for yourself. I will
plan activities that the students in my
classroom can get excited about and actively
participate in. Often times, students get very
antsy, and have a hard time sitting still. I will
implement a lot of movement activities in my
teaching. My hope is that students will feel
more motivated to learn when they arent
sitting at a desk with just a pencil and a piece
of paper.
Another way I will motivate my students is
by giving them the freedom to make their own
choices. Allowing students to decide things for
themselves gives them the freedom and the
opportunity to explore something they are
interested in. I want the students in my class to
be able to use their own imaginations and
explore things they want to learn about. Giving
students that chance to help make decisions
in your class can be a huge blessing to you as
a teacher. Students in your class might have
ideas you didnt think about that could help
create an engaging education for them. I
want my students to be engrossed in the
material Im teaching. If I know a lot of the
students are kinesthetic learners in my room, I
will allow them to help come up with an
alternative method that will help them feel
excited and enthusiastic about the material
Im teaching.

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Spring 2016

Being a teacher has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. I knew
someday I would be the one standing up in front of the room. Today I am a more
well rounded, understanding, supportive, and optimistic teacher because of the
experiences Ive had and the beliefs I have found to create the best classroom
management for my students. Teachers often dont get enough credit for the hard
work they put in every day. We are here to influence our students lives. Its up to us
to decide how we want our students to be educated. Through my classroom
management philosophy I have created an environment where teams are built,
relationships are strengthened, minds are grown, and our hearts are nurtured. I will
provide a place they feel safe. I will be a person they can trust. I will make a
difference in the lives that I teach.

Permission was given for this photo

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Spring 2016

Citations
, C. M. (2014). Building Classroom Management (11th ed.). N.p.: Pearson
Education Inc.
Fay, J., & Cline, F. (2006). Parenting with Love and Logic. N.p.:
Pion Press.

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