Philosophy of Classroom Management

My Philosophy of Classroom Management

Managing a classroom environment needs to first take into account the students. To an extent, students' individual lives, backgrounds, beliefs, cultures, and home languages all influence how they will view and behave in the classroom. Where change can occur for how students view themselves and others is through how I, as a teacher, create a warm and welcoming classroom that students feel comfortable being themselves in. Making this classroom happen will start with me on the first day of school and how I get to know my students. First impressions are important because everyone unconsciously begins judging others based on their appearance and mannerisms before they even say anything. I will be warm and welcoming to everyone who is both in my classroom or walks by my door in the hallway.

Our public education system needs to provide equality of educational opportunities for all of its students as well as proficient instruction for teachers based on care theory, educational essentialism, and perennialism. This will allow educators to teach students from a diverse range of backgrounds more astutely. My expected area of expertise is as a high school English and psychology teacher. I also endeavor to become a track and field and cross country coach for high school athletes. Public education is a gateway into the world of learning through which students can have new experiences and gain knowledge through culturally proficient instruction; however, because not all students come from equal backgrounds, some students may require additional help and attention in order to benefit and learn from a class. When measuring academic achievement, it can be difficult to measure how accurately a student knows the material by looking at standardized test scores. The goals of education cover a broad range of areas that have different motives. For greater equality of opportunity, students need more individualized attention so that they can stay on track to succeed in the classroom and ultimately life. This is especially true for English language learners and special education students because they can be overlooked as assets to the classroom. ELL and special education students all bring their own unique strengths to the classroom which they can contribute to the class when given the opportunity. I will work with ELL students and their families to make sure they all know what my goals and expectations are for them and how I will help them learn.

I have learned more about learning, how to learn, and of course, what it is like to be a teacher over the course of my teacher apprenticeship semester. Some of the most important ideas, concepts, and theories I want to take into account in my classroom management are restorative practices, social emotional learning, and fostering a growth mindset in students. According to Weissberg’s Edutopia article, Why social and emotional learning is essential for students, there are five points of social emotional learning. These key parts of social emotional learning as a teacher are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. Using all of these in the classroom will show students that I care for their well-being as well as how they are doing in my class. There is a connection between restorative practices and fostering a growth mindset in students' lives. Restorative practices, as discussed in chapter 6 of Smith et al. 2015 explain how being proactive with student’s learning involves knowing those who need extra support and making a plan to keep them on track. For example, students who feel that they are not smart enough to be in my English class have succumbed to a fixed mindset. Students such as these will need extra support and interventions to shift their thinking to a growth mindset. I will in turn need to check my biases and not give ELL students too easy of work simply because they are still learning English. Rather, I will help them to use translation tools and learn vocabulary words which will help them become stronger English speakers and learners.

Bibliography

Smith, D., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2015). 6 Creating the Mindset for Restorative Practices. In Better than carrots or sticks: Restorative practices for positive classroom management. essay, ASCD.

Weissberg, R. (2016, February 15). Why social and emotional learning is essential for students. Edutopia. Retrieved O8, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-sel-essential-for-students-weissberg-durlak-domitrovich-gullotta.