Behavior Management Philosophy Paper

Monitoring and facilitating student behavior and learning is an extremely important aspect of education. In order to be an effective teacher, I feel it is necessary to implement a specific behavioral plan with clear guidelines for the students. I plan to involve the students in the creation of a safe learning environment. Namely, I plan to teach my students how to respect authority and one another. My main goal regarding behavior is to train my students to be responsible and respectful students in and outside of the classroom.

Throughout my classroom management course at the University of Northern Iowa, I have been able to research and learn about several different theories on classroom management. Of the theories and practices I have learned about, there are several which I hope to implement into my teaching and classroom management skills.

One strategy I particularly like comes from Canters’ Assertive Discipline theory. Canter proposes that there are three types of teachers including, hostile, nonassertive, and assertive. I hope to be an assertive teacher in that I will be confident, clear, and consistent in following through with the management plan. Another positive strategy comes from Nelson, Lott, and Glenn. They propose that teachers use classroom meetings to facilitate a positive environment and give everyone a chance to speak. I also hope to use Glasser’s plan of holding students accountable for their own decisions. Another strategy that I found to be helpful comes from Jones’ positive classroom discipline plan. Jones proposes that teachers start every day with specific routines. This way, students know what is expected and are able to stay on task. A final strategy which I think will facilitate a positive classroom environment comes from Richard, Gerwin, & Mendler. They encourage teachers to be respectful of their students by treating students with dignity and giving students hope that they can be successful.

There are also several strategies, which I do not plan on implementing in my classroom. For example, Jones’ model insists on using incentives often with teaching. I feel that too many incentives reduce a student’s inner drive to learn. I also do not plan on using Nelson, Lott, and Glenn’s plan of having classroom meetings twice a week. I feel that this is unrealistic and uses too much valuable instructional time. I also do not plan on using Nelson, Lott, and Glenn’s plan of having classroom meetings every time there is a conflict. I think building community is important, but there are times when conflict needs to stay between the students directly involved. Another strategy I will not likely implement is Glasser’s suggestion of promising students they will never fail. I think that if students are allowed to retake a test as many times as necessary, they are given the idea that there is no idea to work hard. A final strategy I do not plan on using is Glasser’s suggestion of only teaching students what is on the test. I feel that this limits students and teaches them that the only point to learning anything is to pass a standardized test. I would prefer to teach my students in a way so that they will value all knowledge and want to learn for the sake of learning.

I plan to help my students understand and follow expectations by following through and holding students accountable. If they do not meet the expectations and guidelines, there will be consequences. I also plan to allow the students to help in the initial setting up of guidelines. This will build classroom community and foster student responsibility.