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Classroom Management Stance

Jessica Danielle Maninang

Old Dominion University

TLED 360: Classroom Management and Discipline

Dr. Jori Beck

January 8, 2021
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When teaching government and politics, it is unique to other types of social studies

courses as the students interact more with current events that are more likely to influence their

life in a more meaningful manner rather than the past. Although these current events may not

always affect the student directly, they will still in some shape or form affect their experiences.

In my own classroom, I would center my teaching around the students as the content they are

absorbing plays a huge part in their own personal lives in a way that they are able to reflect and

make connections beyond the classroom. Not only does the success of my classroom

management influence the success of my students, but it also allows me to develop my skills as a

teacher (Marzano et al., 2003). Through the physical environment, student-teacher relationship,

and methods of instruction I choose the tools I utilize in managing my classroom allows me to

show my students the important role they hold in their learning as the content they learn

intermingles with their everyday lives.

When I arrange the desks in my classroom, I will adopt a u-shaped arrangement. My

content relies heavily on discussion that benefits greatly from individual opinion, and through

this arrangement it allows for the students to feel more welcome in participating in discussion.

This orientation also allows for the students to easily maneuver in order to work with either pairs

or in their surrounding groups. I will assign seats once I learn more about my students so that

they are seated by other students who may have differing opinions as them. By doing so, they

learn to value each other’s opinion, building on their individual accountability as students

through continued practice of a skill they can apply outside of my classroom (Milner et al.,

2019). This arrangement also allows for room in the center for movement that allows for

different methods of instruction such as doing a gallery walk that rely less on my instruction.

Behind the desks, I would arrange a few options of flexible seating that would be beneficial to
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their classroom engagement as well as prove more comfortable seating options such as a

comfortable lounging chair and small rugs or pillows that the students can place throughout the

room when they are working independently. My choice in desk arrangement sets the students up

in a way that they can build upon their relationships with one another as well as feel more

welcome in the classroom.

When I teach a course that is so relevant to my students’ lives beyond their education, I

find it crucial to allow them more independence in their learning. Teaching government and

politics is a continued process of relating the structure of our country’s government to current

events that the students are often affected by. This would begin at the start of the school year

when we create our classroom constitution where they set the norms and expectations they feel

are important to their learning environment. It would carry to our daily class where I would

allow them to bring forth any current events that are related to the classroom material. It also

allows us to build upon our student-teacher relationship, as these discussions allow me to learn

more about their opinions as well as give them opportunities to build upon their ability to take

what they learn and apply it on a larger scale. By giving students more opportunities to provide

their own opinions that are influenced by their different experiences, my students are able to

build their empathy towards others different from them (Milner et al., 2019).

My classroom management stance relies on emphasizing the growth of my students in

their abilities to connect with one another, connect with the material they are learning, and to

connect with me in a way that allows us to work with another to help them succeed. Classroom

management is a learning process, and it is achieved from consistent practices and by

implementing them into my day-to-day teaching I can learn in what ways I can improve and

create a stronger classroom management stance (Milner et al., 2019). My classroom management
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stance will continue to change as I learn what methods are more influential as I create an

environment where my students have more power in their own learning process.
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References

Marzano, R. J., Marzano, J. S., & Pickering, D. J. (2003). Classroom management that works:

Research-based strategies for every teacher. ASCD.

Milner, H. R., Cunningham, H. B., Delale-O'Connor, L., & Kestenberg, E. G. (2019). "These

kids are out of control": Why we must reimagine "classroom management" for equity.

Corwin.