Classroom Management

1. What is your philosophy for managing a classroom and how does that guide you in your practice on a
daily basis?

I believe it is important to hold students responsible for their learning as well as their actions.
When teachers have high expectations for their students, their students will live up to those
expectations. When teachers believe in students, students will believe in themselves. Teachers should
communicate their expectations to their students continually. The expectations should be modeled and
practiced before the students are held responsible for living up to those expectations. Once those
expectations are in place, teachers should follow through the first time a problem occurs. This will
communicate to the students that you are serious about your expectations. It is important to be positive
in your expectations with students. This will give them a greater desire to live up to what you expect of
them. If students are unable to follow a procedure or rule the first time, teachers can simply say, “Let’s
try that again.” This gives the students to correct the mistakes made while ending on a positive note,
and the students will want to follow the rules and have another positive experience the next time.

2. What steps would you take to handle a student who is a consistent behavioral problem for you in the
classroom?

When dealing with a student who has consistent behavior problems, I would first try to make a
connection with that student. I would ask them about their day and what their favorite part of the day
was. Then, I would try to figure out why they are struggling to behave. Maybe the student doesn’t get
enough sleep or food at home. Maybe the student just wants attention whether it is negative or
positive. Once I figure out the reason to the behavioral problems, I would help the student fix the
problem. If the student doesn’t get enough sleep or food, I would meet with the parents to discuss what
could be done. If the student just wants attention, I would give the student positive attention when he
or she is meeting behavioral expectations. Though it may be hard, I would keep a positive attitude
towards the student and tell the student that I know they can succeed. I would help the student come
up with small goals to get them to where they should be. I might have the student plan to make it
through part of a lesson without behavioral problems. After that, I would increase the time to an entire
lesson and eventually a day then a week. This will help the student feel like they are capable of achieving
the goal without being overwhelmed. No matter what happens, I believe it is wrong to embarrass a
student. These discussions should happen in private. The student should never have to change their card
to red or have their name written on the board. This adds to their stress rather than fixing the problem.