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Classroom Management Philosophy

James Diekmann
EDTE 265
Professor Teja
May 21, 2023
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At the beginning of each school year, a teacher must introduce a new set of students to

his or her classroom and set the tone for how the class will operate. A lot is riding on the first

day, the students will be making their first impressions of you and how you plan to run your

class. Ideally, I would like to show students that I am lighthearted and engaging while still

setting an expectation on how I would like them to behave, and how this class will be run.

I think the first thing I would like to do with my class is ask for their names and engage in

conversation with them. The rules and classroom etiquette can come later. I would like to get to

know them a little and see where they stand on my subject. I believe a proper, fun introduction

like this is very helpful in setting a positive tone going forward. Often on the first day of school,

students are bombarded with syllabi and classroom rules first thing. There will be time for that

later in the class or maybe even the next day. To me, forming a connection with my classroom is

the first priority of the year. This will aid in class conversations and comprehensive learning

down the road. I also want them to see me as a human person who can be trusted and be talked

to without fear of upsetting me. After this is done I will likely tell them some basic rules and

expectations for the semester, but I would like to keep that brief and I feel they won’t even fully

internalize rules if too many are thrown at them at once.

The following day will include a more comprehensive overview of the rules and what I

expect from each student. I will try to be as clear as possible here so there is minimal confusion

going forward. As I would like to be a history teacher, I believe a short ungraded quiz would be

beneficial to gauge where students are in what they know about the year’s subject. This will help

me plan lessons to fill in gaps they may have from previous teachers and to avoid retreading

ground.
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My lesson plans will typically involve a day of overviewing a chapter and setting the

stage for the time period we are working in. I would like to research new and interesting ways to

get this information across to students and I probably will switch this plan up frequently. I will

also try to have at least one video available to watch each week that explains the subject in a

different medium for children who respond better to videos. I would also like to have a

discussion day where we look over primary or secondary sources and discuss their relevance in

class. This discussion will hopefully allow the students to personally connect with the material

and I will really encourage meaningful conversations here to strengthen not only their

understanding of the subject but also our classroom community.

I believe that it is foolish to have a 55-minute class period and expect to teach for 55

minutes. To over plan a lesson is to constantly feel like you are behind when you run out of

time. Students will always push against teaching for a full hour even if they don’t realize it. I

plan to build in 5-10 minutes of dead air in my classroom to use however I see fit. This really

helps create a less stressful environment for both the teacher and students. Some time for student

discussion or mere chatter can be beneficial for morale and a student’s readiness to learn. This

time in a way, is expected to be “wasted” in a technical sense, but I feel it is still beneficial as

long as it does not get out of hand.

When it comes to loud students, I would like to take the approach of waiting patiently in

front of the classroom for the students to quiet down. However, I know I will not always have

the time or patience for that so I will probably also adopt or invent an action or phrase to

announce that I want my students to pay attention to me. I believe that building up a good

relationship with students comes in handy when you want them to quiet down because if they

like you, most will feel guilty to continue talking. In my experience, a kind teacher is treated
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with kind students. I do not want to result to yelling or personally calling out students, but I

know that there are times when teachers are seriously tested in their patience.

My classroom management philosophy involves me attempting to create a calm

respectful and fun atmosphere that students enjoy being in. Students will hopefully feel

comfortable with their teacher and want to engage with my lesson plans. My policies are

designed to promote this image and use mutual respect between students and teacher to work

effectively. It will obviously take some field testing and time to perfect these methods, but I

know I can do this.