Download Beginning Philosophy

Amy Parks
Beginning Philosophy of Classroom Management and Discipline
My philosophical belief of the purpose of teaching is to have students memorize
information for a test, but it is for the students to store information in their long term memory.
To do this, students must be exposed to the material in numerous ways. Each student is not
simply just an auditory, visual, or tactile learner. I believe students are all of those. The more
sensory involved in the learning process, the more the content is stored in their long term
memory. I want my students to leave my classroom with knowledge that will last them a
lifetime. That is the sole purpose of education and what is the result of good teaching.
Effective teachers use proven research-based practices that are used by thousands of other
teachers (Wong, 2009, p. 2). To promote long term memory storage of the content I teach in my
classroom, I believe in these seven strategies developed by cognitive psychologists—repeat,
repeat, repeat, use multiple ways to present information, think of relevance, emotion, and
meaning, integrate stories that trigger emotional reaction, use scenarios and assimilations that
access previously learned subject matter, break the objective into bite-sized lessons, and prompt
my students for “active retrieval” of background knowledge (“Enhancing Long Term Memory,”
2015).
A good teacher not only considers all types of learners and instills long term memory
storage into their students, but considers all types of socioeconomic, racial, and religious
backgrounds. To do this, I will build relationships with each of my students. On the first day of
school, I will greet my students at the door. They will make a poster that is all about them using
magazine scraps, markers, foam letters, and any other materials I can find. I will post their
posters in the classroom. The purpose of this is to build a sense of community and individuality
starting day one. This will also give me the chance to learn about the different hobbies and
likenesses of each of my students. I want to learn what they like not just for relationship
building, but to spark their interest in learning. By bringing in elements that the students enjoy
into learning new material, they will want to learn it.
My ideas about classroom management are influenced by my sociocultural background
because I grew up in a rural, strict, Christian school and I identify as White. According to the
National Center for Education Statistics, 82% of teachers are white and 74% are female.
Specifically elementary school teachers, 89% are female. Contrary to the teaching staff, the
student population is highly diverse with 50% of it White which is predicted to lesson to 45% in
the next decade, 15% Black, and 25% Hispanic (Cassetta, G., & Sawyer, B. (2015). How does
my identity and the diversity in my students I will teach influence my classroom management
ideas? The answer is how it could hinder me from building relationships with my diverse
students. It is a lot easier for teachers to connect with students that look like them (Cassetta, G.,
& Sawyer, B. (2015). Many teachers deny this but it is a proven social issue. Additionally,
students that come from diverse backgrounds are more likely to be exposed to traumatic events
or lifestyles caused by living in poverty (Cassetta, G., & Sawyer, B. (2015). . As a result, those
students who have or do experience trauma have behavior in the classroom such as anger and
hyperactivity. White middle class students tend to grow up in more stable, safe environments
resulting in more positive behavior. Naturally, teachers build closer relationships with those
students because of their mature and intelligent behavior rather than with the students with anger
and hyperactivity (Cassetta, G., & Sawyer, B. (2015). . This causes a divide between not only
the class, but also the students will notice. Being aware of these things, I will be extra cautious
as to how I change how I interact with certain students with certain backgrounds and behaviors.
Another factor about diversity is that I wasn’t exposed to it throughout all of my schoolyears. I
was deprived of this important chance to learn about other cultures. To prevent my students
from this lack of experience, I will include and celebrate different cultures within my lesson
plans.
It wasn’t until 8th grade that I entered a rural public school.
My classrooms were
traditionally set up—rows of desks resulting in very limited social contact. Social contact was
not encouraged and the teaching was always conducted as a teacher-centered lecture. I was very
chatty as I got older in elementary school which resulted in me missing a lot of time of recess or
getting pulled out of class instruction which was quite humiliating.
That same treatment
followed me into high school, as well.
These factors influenced me into encouraging social contact in my classroom. I think I
missed out on a more effective learning experience by not having social contact. Not only does
learning improve in a social contact setting, but also behavior will, too. If I was given more
opportunity to talk during class, I think that I wouldn’t have been punished to the same extent.
Since I will encourage social contact, I will not have the highest degree of control in my
classroom. Although there will be times I will conduct a whole-class instruction, I want to keep
that minimal. I didn’t enjoy long, boring lectures as the teacher just rambled in front of the
classroom. I want my students to have ample opportunities to “turn and talk” and engage in
group projects. I want my classroom to be more student-centered as they will have opportunities
of choice and interaction. If at any time I feel I am losing control such as the class is off topic, or
is getting too loud, I will do a call and response that will get my students back on track.
The goals of a classroom management plan shouldn’t just be to maintain control of the
classroom. Management should also ensure students’ sense of safety, community, and wellbeing. Students crave structure and structure is only possible through management. I will
implement classroom management during the first days of school by practicing the rules and
procedures using interactive modeling. Using these techniques will ensure that I will have a
smooth and time efficient school year by setting the tone of what I expect of my students from
the very beginning.
Positive reinforcement is the discipline approach I will utilize in my classroom. I will
focus and reward positive behavior instead of just addressing and punishing bad behavior. Often
times students who do behave are overlooked, causing the bad behavior to outshine the good.
Focusing more on the good behavior creates a more positive learning environment. Each time I
notice a good behavior, I will put a ticket on the student’s desk. Each time I notice a wrong
behavior that’s continual; I will take away a ticket. Whoever has the most tickets by Fun Friday,
gets to choose their “fun” station first. The stations will have activities they don’t normally do
such as Play-doh. The rest of the students with ticket(s) will join that person by dividing
amongst the stations. If a student doesn’t have at least one ticket, they will not be permitted to
participate in Fun Friday.
I really liked the “Finding Your Marigold” article. If you plant a marigold beside most
any garden vegetable, that vegetable will grow big and strong and healthy, protected and
encouraged by its marigold. The same idea of a marigold can be found in any school. I hope to
find at least one Marigold that can help me grow into the teacher I aspire to be. Additionally, I
really appreciated “The Power of Our Words” because I learned the five important rules of
teacher language—be direct and genuine, convey faith with children’s abilities and intentions,
focus on actions, keep it brief, and know when to be silent (Denton, 2015, p. 12). Use of this
positive teacher language will provide students with precise feedback to reinforce my
expectation and specifically address good behavior.
I learned a lot about what not to do in my practicum. I think seeing it first-hand solidified
it even more. I quivered every time she would yell at the students.
I felt confused and
overwhelmed the majority of the time. I couldn’t even imagine how they felt having to be there
all day. My philosophy is the complete opposite of everything I observed in my practicum. The
students in that loud, chaotic environment are stressed and in turn, aren’t learning as much as
they could. The goal of my classroom management philosophy is for students to enjoy learning
and look forward to coming to school every day.
References:
Cassetta, G., & Sawyer, B. (2015). Classroom management matters: the social-emotional
learning approach children deserve. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Denton, P. (2015). The power of our words: teacher language that helps children learn. Turners
Falls, MA: Center for Responsive Schools, Inc.
Enhancing Long-Term Memory: 7 Strategies For eLearning Professionals Christopher Pappas –
https://elearningindustry.com/enhancing-long-term-memory-7-strategies-elearningprofessionals
Gonzalez, J. (2013). Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers . 1-4.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: how to be an effective teacher.
Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong.