Philosophy of Classroom Management

In my classroom, each student has the right to come into our room and feel comfortable

to learn at their highest potential. As the classroom teacher, it is my role to set expectations that

keep students safe, respectful, and responsible. I strive to create an environment for students to

be able to maximize their learning and have their knowledge thrive. Classroom management is

created by both the teacher and the students.

In my classroom, I see myself as a role model to my students, but my students are equal

to me and we work together to make our classroom function positively. I believe that we are all

in this classroom to learn together because the students teach me while I teach them. Managing

the class by offering roles such as the classroom helper, the library helper, and line leader to

students is a strong way to build trust and allow the students to take responsibility in the

classroom. I believe that shared roles are a positive management skill to incorporate into a

classroom and I will implement this practice into my classroom.

It is critical to build positive and respectful relationships with each student in the

classroom. Getting to know student hobbies, stories, favorite things, and every detail about a

student builds trust and can lead to a stronger classroom management style. As the teacher, the

students will respect that I took the time to get to know them more personally, and this should

help build positive classroom management skills. Classroom management is how the class

functions smoothly and classroom management is set by the teacher and students alike. Together,

we are a team to make our class the best that it can be.

On the first day of school, it is my goal to sit with the students and create our classroom

rules and expectations. I believe it is important to have the students be a part of the decision
making in order to give the students a sense of ownership. Allowing the students to take part in

creating rules and expectations also allows the teacher to remind the students that they agreed to

the expectations when they helped create them. After we have our rules and expectations written

together, I will have each student sign our paper, acknowledging that they agree to follow the

expectations that our class has come up with. One important rule when building expectations is

to avoid the word “no”. For example, if the students say, “No talking back to the teacher”,

together we could adjust that and write “Use kind words towards everyone” because it puts a

more positive perspective on the expectation.

Throughout the first couple days of school, my role will be to practice routines and

expectations in my class until the students have them correct. Students will continuously practice

the procedures until they can do the procedure 100% of the time, and I will not hesitate to remind

my students that if they cannot follow our classroom routine, we will need to keep practicing it.

Throughout the year, routines will most likely need to be practiced occasionally such as after

long breaks or even after a weekend, but students should quickly remember the routine’s

expectation.

In the classroom, I want my students to be aware of behaviors that they are doing

wonderfully. In my student teaching experience, our class has a “Beat the Teacher” board. When

the students are acting appropriately, staying on task, sitting quietly, they earn a classroom point.

However, if the students are disruptive, talking over me, off task, or not following expectations,

the teachers get a point. If the students beat the teacher with points over a certain period of days,

they get a reward that is voted on by the students. If the teacher wins because the students were

not behaving properly all day, then the class needs to start over with earning their points towards

a reward. I do believe good behavior should be recognized, which is why I will incorporate this
activity into my future classroom. I also like this activity because it is a visual representation for

how students have been behaving throughout the day.

Some routines that I will enforce in my classroom are how to come into the classroom in

the morning, how to line up, and how worktime should look. It is important to practice routines

because when the classroom loses their routines and procedures, it can be very hard to get them

back and continue successful classroom management. If I notice my students are not meeting the

expectation of a routine, we will practice it over and over until the students begin demonstrating

the routine again with no errors.

The expectation for the morning routine is that the students come into the classroom and

put all of their things away including coats, books, and papers. The students will mark what their

lunch choice is and sit down at the front of the room to wait for class announcements. If there are

no class announcements, students will choose a book to silently read until it is time for our first

content area. There should only be 10-15 minutes between arriving at school and beginning our

school day depending on the school district. This routine will be done daily, and if one part of the

routine is difficult for students, we will stop and practice that specific part multiple times in a

row in order for students to remember the routine expectation.

The routine for lining up to leave the classroom will be to make sure the students have

everything on their desk or table put away, the students are sitting quietly, and they wait to be

called on before lining up. If students run to the line or are talking in line, I will remind them that

they must have forgotten our routine, and they will go back to their seats and try again when they

show me they are ready. I will follow through with this expectation because the students are role

models for other classrooms and need to be good leaders.

 The routine for worktime is one that I will need to follow through with multiple times a

day. In my student teaching classroom, students are expected to get their work once the teacher

calls their number. The students get their work from their cubby and return to their seats. If

students do not return to their seats right away, they must put their work away and try again.

They will continue trying to get their work and return to their seat until they have mastered the

routine. Once the students are working, they should not be talking, but if they are, I will move

their spot. If the student continues to talk in their new spot, I will find a place of isolation for the

student such as working on the floor, in the workroom, at a back table, or anywhere that the

student will not be sitting near another person. If this continues to be a problem for specific

students, they will practice the routine of getting their work from the cubby and going straight to

a spot where nobody will be around to talk to.

One final routine expectation that students will need to follow is the time it takes to

transition between subjects, recesses, or any other transition points in the day. I will use a visual

timer for students to see. I will set the timer at 3 minutes and start it once I announce that it is

time to clean up. Students will be given three minutes to clean up and transition into the next

activity. If they have not transitioned by the time the timer goes off, the teacher will earn a point

on the Beat the Teacher board which is a classroom management tool.

I will work to manage my student’s behaviors through conversations with the students

and their parents, but if the students continue their behaviors then disciplinary action will be

taken. Students will be disciplined if they are talking back, not working in the classroom, or

being disrespectful. In the classroom that I am student teaching in right now, my cooperating

teacher and I have a few procedures that we follow when a student is not working or is being

disrespectful. We have worked to manage various behaviors, however, if a student is still not
following the expectations they will be disciplined. If a student is not following instructions or is

talking back to the teacher or peer, there is an expectation that student has five seconds to make

the right choice in the situation, or I will bring them aside and talk with them about their

behavior. After the first time that I talk to the student about their behavior and the behavior

continues, the next step would be to lose minutes from recess. If the student does not care to lose

minutes from recess and continues their behavior, I will have the student call home. If the student

calls home and continues to be disrespectful, the student will work in the office and talk with the

principal until he or she can handle being in the classroom again. Students need to be disciplined

appropriately and only given one chance to make the correct decision. Overall, in my future

classroom I am going to need to determine multiple different behavior plans because one single

plan will not work for every student, so I will work to personalize the plans depending on the

student. I will communicate the plans with the parent or guardian, principal, school counselor,

and peers to ensure consistency.

When I enforce, and students follow the classroom rules, procedures, and expectations,

our classroom will run incredibly smooth. With my philosophy and management plan, I have

gained classroom management skills and the students will have gained a calm and enriching

learning environment. As the teacher, I strive to create a calm, safe, and knowledgeable

environment for my students and this will be done through my effective classroom management

strategies and my philosophy of classroom management.