Philosophy of Classroom Management

MiKayla Kasparian
Every person is entitled to respect regardless of their age. Showing my students that I
respect them as people is key to running a successful, happy classroom. This means that my
classroom management is never punitive or used to embarrass or belittle students. Knowing my
students, what assets they come into the learning space with, what they need, and what I can do
to assist them to be their best selves in my classroom is vital. It is also incredibly important to
know myself as an educator and know where I draw the line for a certain behavior. Non-
negotiables such as “bullying of any form will not be tolerated are agreed upon by the group at
the beginning of the school year. Communicating these expectations early and clearly to my
students assures that I achieve the behavior goals of my classroom. When these expectations are
not met, there are clear and related consequences. For example, while teaching at Washtenaw
International High School I had the students create a list of expectations for themselves and for
their teacher at the beginning of the year. We brought this list up frequently, and when behavior
seemed to worsen I would bring up this list of expectations and ask if any of it needed revision.
Being a reflective educator and being willing to change my approach based on the student or
group of students assures a caring and safe classroom environment.
Most classroom management issues can be fixed within the classroom, by analyzing what
I as the teacher can change about my lesson or classroom management, or what needs to be
communicated to the students. There are times when it is necessary to call in administration, but
this should be used only for serious issues. One thing that can help keep this respect in line is
forming classroom routines that are repeated often so students know what they're going to be
doing when they walk into your classroom. This doesn’t mean my class is monotonously
repetitive- it is important to structure class so that there are a variety of different types of
activities that require different activity levels. A class should not consist entirely of lecture or
silent work- kids need a chance to talk with each other and learn collectively. I keep lectures
short and sweet, and independent work is dispersed among more collaborative activities. When I
ask for silence, I expect for my students to respect that and will not allow side conversations.
However, demanding silence for an entire class or even half of the class every day is the fastest
way to set students up for failure to meet my expectations.
 It is also important to give really clear instructions in a step by step, organized way.
When students get confused or don’t know what they should be doing, this is where they get
distracted and “misbehave.” I make sure to reflect on my instructions- are they clear? Are they
step by step? Did I write them down somewhere or did I give them once orally and expect every
student to remember? These are principles that are part of universal design and help all students,
including those with special needs or who are learning English.
Finally, it is important to remember that I teach small humans with emotions and part of
my job is modeling and teaching how to manage those emotions. Students cannot leave behind
their true selves and experiences to come into my classroom and be just a student. Emotions
such as anger, fear, sadness and joy are a part of my classroom. Teaching my students how to
appropriately manage these emotions is part of my job, and I do this by modeling that I too have
emotions and talking about them and how I manage them. During the worst of the pandemic
while teaching on Zoom I spoke openly to my students about how difficult staying at home and
teaching online was for me and we took three to five minutes at the beginning of each class to
do a breathing or journaling activity to enter class in the right headspace. I did these activities
along with my students and we talked about how they made us feel and how not every activity
was going to work for each student. Now back in person I still use these strategies and model
how to deal with big feelings such as sadness, stress, and anger. Trauma informed practice is
incredibly important to me, and the students in school now have faced a lot of trauma.
Overall, for me classroom management is about communication and respect. I think
every teacher needs to talk to their class, talk to their students one on one, talk to parents about
positives and concerns, and talk to their colleagues for support. Teaching is at its core a human
centered profession and so talking to my students and my team is my first recourse for making a
plan or solving any issues. So long as my students know I respect them and only want the best
for them, we can work through any challenges that may arise as a team, with the help of
counseling staff, parents, or administration as needed.