“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” ― Hellen Keller

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EMILY KLAUKA

Relationships and teamwork are two main components of a successful

classroom.

I believe that for a classroom to work successfully there has to be relationships built, and a sense of community. When I envision my classroom, I see it as a family. A positive and safe environment where everyone feels comfortable being exactly who they are.

I have grown up around sports. I have always been a part

of a team, and as far as I am concerned “teamwork makes

the dream work.” I fully plan to implement this idea into my

classroom. I want my class to feel comfortable and foster

collaboration. I want them to see the beauty of teamwork

and the relationships that form from working together as a

team.

I relate my philosophy of behavior management to Alfie Kohn’s for several reasons. When someone sees my classroom, I want them to see discussion and collaboration between students. I envision a constant buzz of activity as my students work. I envision myself constantly working with students. Kohn says that in an effective classroom, “The teacher would be hard to find” (Charles, 68).

Another way that I envision myself using Kohn’s philosophy is by having “purposeful clutter” (Charles, 67) within the classroom. I want to have as many materials as possible in the classroom for my students. I was in a field placement where the room was always cluttered with papers and other materials. However, there was a system to all of the clutter, and the students knew this. I believe that the students got a lot out of having the opportunity to learn with all of these materials accessible.

Another theorist that works well with my personal behavior management philosophy is, Marvin Marshall. A part of Marshall’s philosophy states that students should be given the opportunity to reflect on their actions. Some examples of this could be, “Does what you are doing help you get your work done?”, “If the situation came up again, what would you do?” and “Is what you are doing helping you get what you want?” (Charles, 165) Giving students the opportunity to reflect and answer these questions is a great way to form a genuine relationship between the teacher and student. It also shows the student that you care about them and that you want to help them, rather than just punish or yell at them. I do not envision myself as a yeller or scolding my students. I think it is important to give students the opportunity to reflect on their decisions and

communicate their decisions with the teacher.

After reading Lost at School by Dr. Ross Greene, I learned about the theory that, “Behind every challenging behavior is an unsolved problem and a lagging skill” (Greene, 60). I couldn’t agree more with this statement. I fully plan on trying to find the reasoning behind a student’s behavioral issue. I believe that a student does not misbehave because they want to be punished, but because they are not sure or confident of the appropriate behavior. I plan to communicate and teach skills to my students that they may be lagging in so that they may improve in their challenging behavior.

Giving students a chance to learn and improve the proper behavior rather than just be punished will help with relationship building and will help the students education experience.

The Expectations

Below are some examples of rules or “expectations” that I would have in my class:

1. Treat others as you would like to be treated.Rationale: I want this to be the basis of my classroom. If students and teachers can follow this rule the class has the potential to run smoothly. Respect is an expectation of mine. If I want my classroom to be a community, there has to be respect.

2. Listen to the speaker.This is another rule focusing a lot on respect. The rule applies to listening to the teacher and to other students. This is an important skill to have in the classroom and in life in general.

3. Be safe. This rule covers a lot of things in the classroom. Some examples of this would be: walk, sit properly, be responsible with classroom materials. The classroom needs to be a safe environment for everyone.

ExpectationsI plan on having my rules set in place before the first

day. However, I plan on going over them on the first day

and making sure that all students agree. After that, I

would have all the students sign it like a contract. I

believe that having this contract would help set a

community atmosphere in the classroom. I do not want to

have a lot of rules. I need just a few broad rules that all

the smaller rules can fit under. I think a lot of rules can

get overwhelming, this is why I do not want to have too

many of them. I plan to have the rules posted in the room

where it is easy for everyone to see and accessible to the

students.

Above is an example of how I picture my rules or “expectations” being displayed in my

classroom. They should be easy to see and aesthetically pleasing for the students.

“Nevertheless, no

school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children's best interests. Parents have every right to understand what is happening to their children at school, and teachers have the responsibility to share that information without prejudicial judgment.... Such communication, which can only be in a child's interest, is not possible without mutual trust between

parent and teacher.”-Dorthy H. Cohen

Working with ParentsI believe communication is a huge key when it comes to working with parents. Having a good relationship with the parents of your students will make teaching much easier and enjoyable. Here are some ways that I plan on communicating and working with the parents of my students: 1. Friday Folders. You can send things home every weekend

with anything that you want the parents to see, and a simple behavior report. The parents can then sign and return it on Monday.

2. Sending home a monthly newsletter. This will allow me to communicate with all parents at the same time. This will include things like what events are going on in the school and classroom. I can tell parents the units that we are working on and therefore what they should expect for the month.

3. Email. With the world becoming so reliant on technology, email is a great way to communicate with parents. It’s quick and simple, but can get the job done in many circumstances.

4. Cell Phone. I plan to share my cell phone number with parents. I understand that this can be personal and some people disagree, but I feel that is an easy way to connect with parents. This lets parents know that I am real and keeping myself available at all times for my students.

I think it is very important

that students are motivated

to learn. Here are some

ways that I plan to enhance

student motivation in the

classroom:

•Respect. I want to have a

very strong mutual respect

between my students and

I. I had a field placement

experience where the

teacher used this as part

of her behavior

management policy. I saw

it to be very effective in

her classroom. I believe

that this respect will cause

my students to do their

best work for me and stay

motivated because they

know that I am committed

to giving my best work to

them.

•Preferred Activity Time.

This is a part of Fred

Jone’s model of behavior

management. By using an

incentive that is geared to

the whole class, it will help

keep them accountable for

themselves and for each

other. Working for a

common goal is another

great task for team

building and community.

•I believe that using some

kind of visual behavior

management tool would

help with student

motivation. I would love to

use something similar to a

stoplight (clips start on

green and have to be

moved to yellow or red

depending on behavior).

There will also be

consequences for having

to move your clip. Students

would not want to move

their clip and lose things

such as ten minutes of

recess or have a note sent

home, and this is why it

could be an effective

motivator.

•Intrinsic motivation. I

believe that students have

a natural desire to learn.

They just need to be in an

environment that fosters

this desire. A way that I

plan to develop this

environment is by

modeling my personal

passion of learning. I

believe the more they see

their teacher excited and

liking school, the more

likely they are to enjoy it. I

also want to create

engaging lesson plans that

students want to be a part

of. I believe with the

intrinsic motivation

combined with the extrinsic

motivator of the preferred

activity time, students will

be able to reach their

maximum potential when it

comes to motivation.

Enhancing Student Motivation

Daily Procedure:

These are a few procedures that will be helpful for everyday life in the classroom.

Turning in homework

Using the bathroom

Entering the class appropriately

Walking in the halls

End of the day routine

Emergency Procedure:

These are procedures that students will need to know for emergency situations in the school.

Fire Drill

Tornado Drill

Lock-down Drill

Procedures

Procedure is a very important aspect of behavior management. Being proactive about

teaching and introducing procedures will be beneficial in the long run. If you are able

to intensively teach students what they should be doing, you hopefully will not have to

do as much later in the year. I want my students to be prepared and know what they

should be doing as soon as possible, rather than teach as I go. Below are some

examples of procedures that I will have in my classroom. This includes both school

emergency procedures and general room procedures.

Classroom Arrangement

Rationale

The set up on the left comes from Fred Jone’s behavior management theory.

This works great with my behavior management philosophy because the

students are set up in groups where they will be able to collaborate. There is

also a clear path for me to be accessible to all students. This accessibility will

help me communicate and stay close to my students. The other diagram is of a

circle rug, comfortable furniture, and a kidney table. This set up will also

amplify the sense of community in my classroom. The circle time will allow for

relationships to grow in the class and allow for a comfortable area for students

to meet, read, collaborate on assignments, etc. I had a field placement where

both of these setups were used. It worked very well for the teacher and the

students to get around and build a sense of community.

Citations

Charles, C.M. Building Classroom Discipline. 11th ed. N.p.: Pearson Education, 2014. Print.

Greene, Ross W. Lost at School. New York: Scribner, 2008. Print.

Jones, Fred. Teaching Tools- Fred Jones. N.p., 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://www.fredjones.com/>.