Running Header: Classroom Management Philosophy

Classroom Management Philosophy

Shay Pearce
Arizona State University
PPE 310
27Sep2015

My belief on managing my class is simple. It will be built upon two requirements respect and
trust. I will trust and respect my students and I will not just expect but demand the same out of

Classroom Management Philosophy

them, both for myself and toward each other. Every other behavioral issue comes back to a lack
of one or both of these things. All other policies will be built upon this foundation.

Engagement of the student body can be an issue but I will handle this by starting each day
telling the students about what they will need for the day and what they can expect to be doing.
In this manner, there is no confusion and there are no unpleasant surprises. I must also set the
example of enthusiasm and engagement every day for my students. If a teacher is hum-drum
about the start of class, it only follows that the students will be as well.

As collaboration is a vital component of scientific research, so too is it an important component

of a science classroom. To this end, I will often allow students to arrange their desks into duos or
quads, depending on the assignment, so that they can work together as true teams. While I like
the idea of dedicated individual desks for certain elements of learning such as testing, reflective
study, and teacher-student discussions, I think that the greater amount of time spent in the
classroom should be applied to students helping each other achieve success. My ideal classroom
would have individual desks that are easy to move about in order to accommodate all learning
scenarios.

I have already seen though my internships that most schools have rigorous policies in place to
handle students who misbehave. I have also witnessed the power of respect and trust in allowing
a teacher to curb behavior violations before they become serious. To this end, my policy will be
to allow one verbal warning to the student to cease the behavior. A second violation will result in
a brief meeting after the class to discuss what needs to happen next. Any third violation will
result in immediate refocusing of the student into whatever behavioral policy the school has
deemed appropriate and put into place.

Conversely, student successes should and will be celebrated. Student project work will be on
display at the back of the classroom for a week after assignments have been graded unless a
student can expressly explain why they would rather have their work be kept private. Students
who perform well in class during discussions will be told on the spot that their participation is
appreciated regardless of the correctness of their answers again, to establish trust and respect
and personal successes and other issues of importance such as birthdays will be acknowledged in
class.

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The safety of any science classroom is of particular importance. Students will prove that they
are disciplined enough to engage in laboratory experiments though a series of safety
demonstrations during the year. Students will also be expected to keep their backpacks out of the
isles between the desks and ideally, there will be a row of hooks or a spot along a wall for
students to stow their backpacks in order to avoid tripping hazards. Another safety measure I
find extremely important is to establish a zero tolerance policy within my own classroom for
bullying and harassment.

Again, trust and respect will govern every policy I put into place within my classroom. Every
point made here has its beginnings in in trust and respect, and I believe these two foundational
pillars are the most pivotal and important of all.

Classroom Management Philosophy

References
McConnell, K. E. (2014). Health for Life. Human Kinetics. Inc.

Classroom Management Philosophy