Management Style and Philosophical Beliefs In a classroom of twenty-plus teenagers or adolescents with varying attention spans, sometimes clashing

personalities, and different interests, it is not only important to have strong classroom management skills, but a consistent approach. In Assertive Teaching, straightforward and consistent rules and consequences are suggested in order for teachers to effectively manage a classroom, but also build a relationship based on respect with their students. This means that teachers must outline their expectations for measurable behaviors and follow through with the consequences they lay out. If teachers are actually going to do this, they need to also have thoughtful, manageable, and appropriate consequences laid out, and communicate them with the students. As a teacher, I want to be fair with my classroom management. I want to entertain the idea that students should be trusted to offer input on the rules, and a dialogue can be had if necessary. I recognize that my primary job is to ensure that students are learning, and in a safe environment to do so. While I have the ultimate authority, I do feel that it is beneficial to make students feel like they have some say in the rules, or at least the power to question and get clarification on why they are they way they are. Its also a simple enough task, I cant see any reason why not to at least have a conversation. Establishing a Positive Classroom Culture Presence is very important in establishing a positive classroom culture. This means more than taking few six days. It also means being at the door or in the hall during passing time. It means being accessible before and after school. It means showing up to football games, band concerts, plays, etc. Being an active teacher outside of learning time will show my students that I am human, and Im not all about my content. It will also, hopefully, show that I support my students in other areas of their lives and that in the classroom, I am still supporting them and have their best interest at heart. That being said, I do not want my classroom to be so rigid in instruction that it doesnt let outside time blend in a bit. I have had teachers in the past spend the last five minutes every Friday asking what our plans for the weekend are. Then on Mondays ask how our weekends went. Ive had teachers find silly YouTube videos and share them with us to make things a little lighter. I think it is important, when you have a few moments to spare, or to make some time to be a bit goofy with students, or find a way to incorporate goofiness into a lesson. We often say that knowing your students and knowing their interests can help us incorporate their personal taste into your approach to content, but I really do think an occasional distraction is appropriate if it doesnt carry us away. I would start the year off with a student survey (Item A) in order to get to know them. Developing Classroom Rules and Procedures I dont want to spend too much time with rules (Item B), as it will take away from learning time. I do feel that it is appropriate to discuss the rules and procedures with students, though. I plan to have a syllabus that outlines rules, procedures and consequences for students, and then we would go through it on the first day of class. I would take the time to read and discuss each rule and each consequence so students can ask their questions. I

recognize, though, that students may not be comfortable with me enough to engage in a conversation or negotiations of the rules. I suppose it might benefit to go over the rules at a later time with students (maybe a month or so into school) and ask which ones they think theyre following well as a whole and which ones theyre confused on. At the very least if students are struggling with a few rules in particular, it might be worth it for me to go over them and ask if students are confused (politely without attacking the class). Something I just thought of, that I might like to try out is having a packet of assignments/tasks/worksheets printed off for each student at the beginning of the week, which will be worked on throughout the week. More thought would have to be put into this, but in thinking about students who are absent, know they will be absent, or moments when the class has finished everything for the lesson that day, I think something like this would come in handy. It would be convenient for students who miss a day because they already have what they missed. Now it doesnt make up for missing the instruction, and I cant expect them to have it completed on time, or work ahead if they do not understand what is being asked of them, so I would still have to accommodate. Classroom Layout Is something really important to consider. Its hard to have a uniform plan for this because different elements of different classrooms are going to restrict possibilities. That being said, I have, right now, an ideal classroom (Item 3). It is a blend of a horseshoe and rows. I had a few teachers in high school who set their classrooms up this way, and it seems to be a compromise between the strict tradition of a classroom set up in rows, and one thats u-shaped for discussions. The classroom in my picture, is much larger than I think many classrooms in reality are. There are thirty student desks in the picture, and still plenty of open space. Thats a bit unrealistic, but in general, I think this set up will work if given the flexibility with space. Some minor details that I think Id like to implement in any classroom is the placement of the teachers desk. I think it should be visible from the hallway, but not right next to the door. I also got the idea to put the clock on a wall opposite the door, if possible, so students arent subconsciously looking at the exit every time they check the time. I also want my room to be user friendly with student access to everything they need to access (missed assignments, extra copies, writing utensils, free reading materials, etc.) in hopes that this instills some independence in the students. Monitoring the Classroom and Responding to Student Misbehavior (Item 4) Im hoping that my rules are ones that will make students comfortable in approaching me with any questions they have or concerns they have. I understand that studentssince Ive been onedont usually read syllabi, or really remember them, so I will do my best to make it clear that I am on their side by addressing a behavior issue the first time it happens. Proximity to the situation as it is happening is probably the best early intervention because it will give me a sense of whether or not the student recognizes what they are doing. Communication is much more critical in handling a situation and should always occur before enacting a consequence. In terms of monitoring the classroom, I think wait time is important. I dont just mean being patient for students to respond to a question I ask or in a

discussion, I mean patience in getting kids on task. I want to condition students to recognize when it is time to learn by being silent at the front of the class and waiting for things to quiet down. I hope the eventual sense of awkwardness that theyre still chatting and Im standing up front will have an effect on students, but I will not wait more than a couple minutes before signaling them to quiet down. This action, if consistent, should hopefully influence them to get the hang of it early on in the year. I will never yell at the class. My philosophy is to exhaust my resources in handling misbehavior on my own, before asking for outside intervention. I know that many schools have policies, my book suggested, to send students to another classroom for their misbehavior. I understand that sending students to the office is inconvenient and doesnt really come across as punishment, but I think putting the student in another classroom sends just as poor of a message. I dont want other teachers classrooms to feel like punishment, nor do I want to show myself as weaker than another teacher to handle a situation. Additionally, sending a student out of the classroom for misbehavior can make the behavior chronic, interfere with learning due missing out on the lesson, and can disrupt other teachers classrooms. Parents as Partners Many teachers that I had during high school required parent signatures on the syllabus to ensure that they read and know what is expected of their kids. I hope to have a list of parent email addresses and contact information from each student so that I can also send monthly newsletters (Item 5) to keep parents informed on what is being covered. This will serve as initial contact, which I think is important in building a trusting relationship between myself and the parents from the beginning. To prevent the over-involved parents from getting carried away, I will avoid providing detailed calendars with due dates for everything listed. I think its important to encourage students to be their own advocates, and independently responsible for their assignments. Also, Ive noticed in my classroom that students come in confused because their parents said they had something due one day, but they didnt know what they were talking about, and couldnt explain to their parents why they didnt have it done. Parents knowing too much may make it difficult to be flexible and accommodate for things we cant predict when pacing a unit. I believe it is also important to personally contact parents about the progress of their own child before conferences and before anything goes wrong. I hope to email parents throughout the semester with updates on their own child. I will have to pace myself, because I dont plan on doing a hundred emails in one weekend exactly halfway between the start and conferences, but I do think its important to regularly make an effort to contact a chunk of parents at a time with updates This is what we did this week, this is what so-and-so did really well, this is where there is room for improvement, his strengths in class are, etc. Contacting parents for other reasons is necessary as well when students have behavioral issues, or when theyre really struggling with a concept and I think they may need extra help, or some sort of supplementary support. I want parents to recognize that I am an advocate for their children. I think parent teacher conferences should be handled in a similar manner as these emails, but can be much more specific. I feel it is important to have something

tangible to show parents. For example, having a graded essay in front of me that I can point out something students did well or did not so well is important. Then I can explain what is strong or why its just not quite proficient. I also think its important to have some sort of collective summative data to show parents where their child is and where the other students are. If I sense that a parent is overly invested in their child being the best, I may refrain from sharing that with them, and instead note the students individual progress. If I sense that a parent doesnt really care where their child is, Id try to be enthusiastic and praise the students strengths.