Philosophy of Discipline

Students come to school each day bringing several life factors that they may already deem as punishments. As teachers, we have an opportunity to improve both social actions and understanding. The evident problem where students deviate from consistent attendance and eventually avoid participating in their own education can be altered by building strong relationships with students and practicing inclusivity, proximity control and restorative opportunities within the classroom.

In the beginning of my teacher transformation, I had this notion that there needed to be a clear written acronym that enlists all of the appropriate behaviors for students. Perhaps this idea was something I attained from education classes in college. I now realize that, historically, rules and guidelines have enumerated in many other forms. Teachers should be utilizing their position to demonstrate, communicate and sometimes enact expectations. All of this begins with building appropriate relationships. Students will not know what is expected unless they are consistently reminded by teacher demonstration, vocal instruction, and social cues. As educators, we must lead by example, and exemplify empathy when necessary. Life is complicated for students, and portraying an understanding that one must truly meet Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs prior to being able to learn, shows students that their teachers care about them and the content matter. Building this sort of understanding in the classroom garners mutual respect.

Additionally, when students do depict inappropriate behaviors, it is pertinent that educators exemplify an opportunity for students to restore themselves and “right” a “wrong.” These opportunities to make change rather than receive punitive action show that teachers have empathy for all parties and understand what must be done in order to make every person feel valued in a situation. Students are human and have needs that often come before the ability to absorb content. After all, teaching is hard, but growing up is harder.

Incorporated Ideas

Some methods work better than others when it comes to successful learning and retention. Here is a list of some of the learning tools I have recently used to build an LFS (Learning Focused School) Environment.

• Ozobots, Breakout EDU(Virtual/In-class), Edpuzzle, Flipgrid, StoryBoardThat, QR Codes, Google (Slides, Docs, Sheets, etc.), VR, Gimkit, Kahoot, Factile, Giphy, Yeti Microphone, Code.org and Social Media

GROWTH: In order to experience growth, YOU ARE…

Genuine

• Be yourself. Don’t be a follower. Take control of your learning experience.

• The way you act determines the path you will continue down.

Respectful

• Increase your efficacy as a learner by raising your hand, demonstrating appropriate behavior, listening to instruction, caring for school/teacher property, and being an active learner.

• No Bullying: includes, but is not limited to name calling, mean-spirited teasing or taunting, taking and/or hiding a classmate’s property, touching other classmates without their consent, disrespecting diverse opinions, and any behavior that aims to negatively impact a classmate’s dignity. If this occurs, apologies and proactive friendship can mend many burnt bridges.

Organized

• Turn assignments in on time. Utilize time management skills to complete projects. Come prepared for class each day.

• Use a planner to keep track of events, assignments, and time allocation for activities.

Welcoming

• Accept and embrace diversity and idiosyncrasies for what they are and lead with careful understanding/listening. Help maintain equitable education every day. Participate on a daily basis.

• This also involves making those speaking feel like they are heard by resisting technological distractions.

Thinking Critically

• Attempt to be open-minded and avoid confirmation bias. Create diverse solutions to questions or ways to express complex ideas. Embrace multiple perspectives. Make informed decisions with every life aspect.

• Use the Socratic Method: ask questions.

Honest

• Be wary and avoid academic dishonesty: Cheating, Plagiarism, Fabrication, Deception, and Complicity.

• If you are struggling or need anything, tell me. I am here for you.