Running head: VALUABLE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Valuable Classroom Management; My Teaching Philosophy

Victoria Reyes
VALUABLE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Valuable Classroom Management: My Teaching Philosophy

When you think of a high school teacher, do you think of a compassionate, hardworking

motivator? Or do you think of a cruel, bossy tyrant? I hope to become a High School Math

Teacher who can create the most within the classroom time. I want to build relationships with

students that can go beyond the classroom. Each individual student learns differently, and it’s all

about caring for each and every one. “There is no ‘best method’ of dealing with discipline in the

classroom; rather there are many different methods for different children in different

circumstances.” (Jones, 2007, p. 14). Fred Jones is a philosopher who believes in creating a

positive classroom environment by supporting students to prevent disruptive behaviors. Fred

Jones documented his philosophy and theories in a book called, Tools for Teaching. This book is

referred to the teacher “bible”; it gives teachers great tools to utilize the best of their classroom

time, create positivity in their classroom and why having valuable classroom management tools

are so important.

I believe individuals learn best by exercising the best use of classroom time within a

positive, managed class. In my own future classroom I will have an agenda on the board to keep

track of time and what specifically we will be working on that day. Students should aim to

maintain a positive attitude when it comes to school work. If a student becomes irritated and

unhappy with a grade the chances to bring the grade back up are minimum because a child will

feel discouraged. Another great tool that helps individuals learn best is by setting guidelines.

Setting guidelines can help eliminate an unruly class. They are not “rules” necessarily, but tools
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to guide students in the right direction. Rules are commands that must be followed, and if they

aren’t, a negative consequence will be associated with it. Guidelines are recommended practices

that strive to set standards in the future. An example would be “Students are encouraged to keep

organized so homework gets done and turned in.” It alleviates the pressure to be a “perfect

student”. Students are not being held against their grade if their backpacks are unorganized, but it

brings responsibility into play as well. Students must be responsible for their own grades.

Guidelines will be enforced in my future classroom by removing cell phones if they are not

followed. Because I will be teaching high school, most students rely on cell phones for their

entertainment. If a student chooses not to follow guidelines after being asked twice, their cell

phone will be taken until the end of class. If the guidelines continue to be broken, an email will

be sent to administration and to a parent.

Fred Jones supports my ideas and morals because he believes in increasing behavior you

do want to see, and decrease behavior you don’t want. Jones deems that each student needs to be

reinforced to make right choices within the classroom. Examples could be managing a student’s

behavior in private rather than shamefully yelling in front of the class. It can be as simple as a

conversation to address the problem. Jones also believes that students need more than just

assignments. In order to keep students interested and motivated they need hands- on activities.

“Jones is a strong advocator for PAT or preferred activity time. This is when students can earn

points to play a fun academic activity…” (Lidgard, 2013, p. 1) In preferred activity time students

are able to take their own responsibility through positive reinforcement.

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I will incorporate Jones’ theory of classroom management by increasing behavior I prefer

from my students, and avoiding behavior I don’t want to see. “The pieces of the classroom

management puzzle fall into three broad areas: Instruction, Discipline, and Motivation.” (Jones,

2007, p.17) By constantly preaching procedures in my classroom, students will follow

instructions. I will remind my class everyday at the beginning of the period what my classroom

procedures and guidelines are. For example: “Good morning class, today will be an easy day if

you choose to follow the guidelines and procedures. First please silence cell phones and put them

away until you finish your bell work. We will review vocabulary and you will have one

worksheet to finish in class or else it is homework. Reminder: cellphones can be out and talking

can happen, after your work is turned into me. Let’s work hard today!” My examples explains

what I expect my students to accomplish. This will start to eliminate distractions which will then

create disciplined students. Students will become aware of the classroom routines and won’t

have to be asked twice to follow instructions. I will motivate my students to follow these

procedures by providing students with an incentive. This incentive doesn’t have to fall into the

negative connotation of a bribe but it can be a healthy incentive to motivate students to work

hard. An example of an incentive I can choose to tell my students is more PAT time. I mentioned

PAT was a preferred activity time in an academic way. If students work hard to complete an

assignment, they will be rewarded with a special PAT. This motivates the students and creates

something to work hard for.

You walk into a classroom and see students diligently working on their assignments, are

you impressed? The teacher is impressed. Some teachers struggle to manage a classroom. Fred
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Jones philosophy is to break down classroom management into three areas; instruction,

discipline, and motivation. If a teacher adapts these theories into her own classroom and creates

improvement, she has created a positive classroom environment for her students. As a future

educator what I hope my students take out of my class is positivity and happiness and to feel

valued.
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References

Jones, F. H. (2007). Tools for teaching: discipline, instruction, motivation. Fredric H. Jones &

Associates; 2nd edition.

Lidgard, S. (2013). Theorists. Retrieved from

https://lidgard-classroommanagement.weebly.com/theorists.html.