Philosophy of

Classroom Management

Hopewell Elementary School

Art

Grades K – 5

2016
Shanna K. Calfee
 Hopewell Elementary, home of the Tigers, is located in the suburban

Hopewell community of Cleveland, Tennessee. The current location was

first used in 1921 as a school for grades one through ten. In 1959, three

schools consolidated at this site to serve grades one through eight. In 1973,

seventh and eighth grades were moved to a junior high. In 1980

kindergarten was added. In 2001, Bradley County Schools converted to a

middle school system making Hopewell a Kindergarten through fifth grade

campus. In 2006, a Pre-Kindergarten program was added. Hopewell

Elementary School serves 488 students in grades PK - 5.

The student : teacher ratio of 15:1 is lower than the Tennessee average

of 16:1. Minority enrollment is 7% of the student body (majority Hispanic

and African American), which is less than the state average of 35%.

Hopewell Elementary operates within the Bradley County School District.

HES is also partners with Tennova Healthcare and Candies Creek Baptist

Church.

HOPEWELL PRINCIPLE’S PHILOSOPHY

(Tim Riggs)

My Philosophy on education is very simple! I believe that all children

have the capability of learning. At Hopewell, our teachers use every
strategy possible to insure that our children possess the tools to be
productive leaders of Bradley County and of our Nation. My role as
principal, is to insure that our teachers have the proper tools they need to
be effective educators and to provide a safe, positive learning environment
for our students. I am proud to say that I have a job that allows me to make
a difference in the lives of those students who attend Hopewell. I am proud
to be part of this wonderful school and community!

HOPEWELL MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Hopewell Elementary School, in partnership with home and

community, is to provide the foundation for academic proficiency (as
identified by state standards) as well as a healthy lifestyle, which results in
the development of life-long learning and productive citizenship of our
students.

HOPEWELL VISION STATEMENT

Hopewell Elementary School and community will partner to provide a

meaningful, technologically advanced learning environment where learners
engage in active and collaborative activities designed to meet individual
academic needs and build skills needed to develop unique work and world
views.

HOPEWELL’S DEMOGRAPHICS
 Classroom Rules
A second example of expectations/positive reinforcement to hang on the
walls of my classroom as a reminder for the students.
Classroom Rules
 1. “Can’t” is Not Allowed
2. Be Respectful
3. Be on Time
4. Participate

My rules in the classroom will be fairly general. In an art setting, I

expect everyone to be respectful towards each other, to be on time, and to

participate. There will be one forbidden word in my classroom and that

word is “Can’t.” Once the student is in my classroom they’re never to use

that word simply because it immediately creates doubt, and doubting is

never healthy for an art setting. I know it’s crucial for an artist to believe

in themselves when creating art. I want all my students to believe in

themselves, have confidence, and not let doubt creep over their thought

processes and cripple them. I want respect to become an unconscious act.

Every student will be on different artistic levels, some may even be more

advanced than me, but I want everyone to respect each other’s abilities. We

will have critiques in class and I want everyone to value their peers work

and to only give criticism constructively. That act requires respect and also

models maturity.

I expect my students to be on time. The first few minutes will almost

always be the most important instructional time of the class. During this

time, the students will be waiting in their seats, the activity will be posted

on the board, along with the materials needed, and then I will go over what
is wrote on the board, show an example of the assignment, and then ask if

there are any questions. There won’t be assigned seats unless it becomes

necessary. Students will only be expected to be in a seat and waiting for

instruction, and I’ll also go over this the first day as well. Participation is

everything in an art class. The activities will always be hands on because

we will be using various types of art supplies, which all require

participation. I want every student to be exposed to the different types of

art and this won’t be accomplished if they choose to not participate.

 Overall Classroom Plan

 Fred Jones

I will model my classroom after Fred Jones’s seating arrangement. The tables

will be arranged in a way that helps creates walk ways in between each table.

This makes reaching a student and monitoring for on task work much more

efficient. Jones’s also uses the “Overarching Strategy,” and it says, “Keeps

students actively and purposefully involved in lessons and enable them to

follow directions on their own.” Which is another thing I want to accomplish

in my classroom, for students to be able to focused on their work and enjoy

working at it. Jones also talks about the purpose of discipline. He believes

you need to, “Make it plain to your students that the purpose of discipline is

to help them learn, be successful in school, and have an enjoyable time doing

so.” This is something I want to do for my students as well and believe the

transparency of this will help them to free comfortable in the classroom. Art

will flow more freely when students feel safe in the classroom.

 Harry and Rosemary Wong

I will use Rosemary and Harry Wong’s idea of establishing routine the first

few weeks of class. Every class we will repeat/review a routine before the

lesson begins, just to reinstate the daily routines. This will be done until the

class unconsciously does the procedures on their own. This will take time but

will advance the class in the long run for the entire school year. Simply

because, we won’t have to constantly be stopping our learning to recall a

procedure. One example will be the use of their cubies provided. They will

know to get their tables supplies from their cubies for the day’s activities.

Another example is they will also learn to check the announcement white

board to find the directions they will need to get started in class.

 Ron Morrish

On the first day of class, I will follow Ron Morrish’s idea of establishing the

classroom rules with the class. The class will not make the rules up but they

may give their opinions, however, they will know that the set rules will not

change due to their opinion. I believe this is also close to Fred Jones’s idea of

discipline, in the part of being transparent with the students about the rules,

why they are there, and the overall goal of them is the help the students grow

as individuals. Morrish also had the idea of a “Re-Do,” and this is where

when a child makes a mistake or acts un-accordingly, the instructor addresses

the problem right then, talks with the child in how it was wrong, makes sure

the child understands, and then allows the child to correct the wronging.
There is no punishment involved here, just correctly. This allows the child to

learn from their action instead of taking in a punishment which will only

focus on the negative. I want my classroom to be a positive place and

therefore would rather use “Re-Dos” than punishments.

 During lessons I will monitor for…
Engagement, enthusiasm, interest in the subject, quietness, talkativeness,
attention spans, personalities, types of learners, staying on task, routines,
reading levels, learning disabilities, appropriate discussions, the
distractors, excitement for the content, and friend groups.
by…
 The engagement of the class and participation
 Asking Questions
 Asking for Volunteers
 Free seating in the beginning, no assigned seats yet
 The overall atmosphere of the class

 Evidence to Gather to Reform the Next Day’s

Instruction

 Collecting data on each class to help recall them all separately

  The overall feel/atmosphere of each class
 Participation
 Engagement/no interest
 Talkers – Class participation wise v. chatter

 Evidence I Will Have to Know the Students are Ready

for Learning
 Students should have a basic knowledge already about shapes and
colors, which are taught in Kindergarten.
 IEP’s
 State Standardized Test Score

Individualized Plan

Students whom may need extra assistance in class will be aided

according to their IEP. I will have an extra table near the teacher desk for

the student(s) that may need to work best by themselves and also they’re

closer to my desk where I can assist them more effectively. They may even

sit amongst the rest of the class if they choose so and if it works well for the

rest of the table. I will also have computers in class for their use. Every

project or assignment I give, I will have a separate modified one ready. I

will re-work it to however I feel it fits the student(s) who need it best. I

will also have the daily directions or announcements already posted and

printed on a sheet of paper for the student(s) to hold and see.

  Modifications will be given to students who need them. An

example for a “Doodle” art project including black ink and color
is:

Students will be able to pick from a template that has very light/thin
outlines on it. It will almost be like “connect – the – dots,” and this is just
to help the student begin their doodle, by connecting the dots on their own
and building a confidence in their work for them. I will also have color
scheme example available for them as well. They may pick which one they
want to use. These students will also have to be able to give explanations
for why they chose the colors they did, what appealed to them about the
colors. These explanations do not have to be detailed descriptions, they can
be simple answers. I will also have inspiration videos readily to help the
visual learners grasp the technique more too. I will also allow students to
help and encourage our special needs student(s). They may sit with
him/her or check on them often depending on their comfort levels.

Personal Classroom Plan

I know that as a teacher, I am just a stepping stone in children’s lives.

I know that I also have a role as being a follower of Jesus Christ that I am to

live Christ in front of my students. During the time I have children in class,

I want to be able to raise them up mentally, educationally, and emotionally.

One of my favorite verses that comes to mind and I also fall back too is 2

Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and
self-control.” I believe and see this being the theme in an education setting.

I know that the brain can’t function well if there is fear, so we must overcome

fear and push it out of our classroom. I know that it takes power and

determination to see the finished the product and to shoot for it. I want this

power and determination for my students, and will do whatever it takes to

help them accomplish their goals. I want my students to respect one another

and their instructor and this requires love so there will be harmony in our

atmosphere. And lastly with that verse, self-control. I want my students to

know self-control in their actions, words, comments, and daily livings.

Unfortunately, as an instructor at a public school, it is illegal for the

instructor to talk about God in the classroom. I understand this, and I still

know that I can live model my life after Christ for my students in the

classroom. It is not forbidden in schools to be Christ like, and this is my

personal plan for my students. My overall goal is to help and push these

students to succeed, become maturing individuals, and give them a hope for

their futures.
 Posting Classroom Rules

I will have the classroom rules posted on the walls in class. This will

help be positive reinforcement in class. They will be located at the entrance

of the room, at the sinks, at the supplies, and at the cubie areas. These are
not meant to be negative in anyway but to help the students see, know, and

remember what I expect from them. I will also tell them that by following

the simple class rules, it will help the flow and overall atmosphere of the

classroom. Going over the class rules will also be part of the Harry and

Rosemary Wong establishment in the beginning of the school year where the

routines are rein-acted daily. This also helps build ownership in the

students too because they will have to take responsibility for their actions,

and they won’t be able to ever say they weren’t aware of the class rules.

Parent Involvement
 I will have parent – teacher conferences with any parent desiring to

have one or any student in need of their parent coming. I believe

communication is essential in any environment and relationship building. If

there is a parent – teacher conference set up for a child having discipline

problems, I will look for any positive remarks to give to the parent(s) just

so the focus of the meeting will not be entirely centered on the problem. I

believe it’s best to start with the positive, move to the problem, then talk

about improving the problem, while giving in positive reinforcement and

hope. I believe this helps the parent understand, and feel more at ease for

the problems their child may be causing.

I also believe it’s awesome to have parent – teacher conferences with

parents of children who are excellent. I know that giving praise when it is

deserved will encourage and motivate those students whom always follow

the rules to keep making the better choices.

 Parent Involvement

Here’s an example of a form I will use to send home with the students.