PHILOSOPHY OF DISCIPLINE
Theresa A. Wheeler, ELE 443
Professor Sheri Aspito
3 December, 2009
Edited August 23, 2011
Edited April 1, 2013
Theresa A. Wheeler, ELE 443
Professor Sheri Aspito
3 December, 2009
Edited August 23, 2011
Edited April 1, 2013
Ideal Classroom Environment
My ideal physical classroom environment would look like more of a traditional seating arrangement in a modern classroom. The classroom itself would be warm and inviting, displaying the student’s work in a creative and uncluttered manner. I feel that group seating in younger grades can be distracting; however my goal would be to have the classroom arrangement as flexible as possible to meet my needs and that of the students. Traffic patterns would be well planned and clutter-free. My desk would be a place where I could keep my things on and behind and would not be disturbed by the students as I remain active throughout the room. All the materials and supplies that the students use would be accessible to them and everyone would know where things are and when they are allowed to access them.
The ambiance of the classroom would be one of organized activity in a peaceful environment. Students would feel safe both physically and emotionally and they would be free to think, learn, and express themselves. They would be both respectful and respected. Classroom rules and procedures would be very clear and consistent and would include respect for people and their property. They would be something that the students had taken part in creating and could own. Students would know what was expected of them at any point during the school day and would actively participate in classroom activities. Students would also be familiar with the consequences for following and not following expected behavior, and discipline would not be random or chaotic because I would have a plan for my reaction when a student breaks a rule. The students would realize that when they make the choice to disrespect people or property, they also make the choice to accept the consequences. I feel that if these things are clear and consistent, then it will make the classroom environment much healthier for the teacher, and the students. This would allow me, as a teacher, to not have to react to such behavior by scolding the student, giving a “punishment,” (which leaves the possibility of being inconsistent) or just ignoring the behavior all together. Preferably, having such procedures established would shift responsibility to the student – if they choose to behave a certain way, then by default they choose the consequences that follow. I would be the facilitator of consequences chosen by the student, and therefore they would take ownership of their actions and the results. Finally, the classroom would be a place of not only intellectual growth, but that of social growth as well. Students would not only respect each other, but would support each other and learn to genuinely care for one another. They would be encouraging towards one another, rather than critical, and this would stem from the example I provide for them of kindness and charity.
Connectedness
Through many years of working with children as a babysitter, nanny, youth leader, volunteer; tutor, and teacher; I have realized that children are constantly testing two things: (1) Am I valued / accepted? and (2) What are my boundaries? I feel that being consistent in both areas, affirming a child’s worth and acceptance while still maintaining solid boundaries and expectations, is essential to good classroom management. And, ideally, each student should feel that they have a special connection to the teacher - this is important to developing an atmosphere of mutual respect in the classroom -students that feel cared for will usually care more about their involvement in the class. Therefore, in addition to maintaining good academic records on every child, I also believe it is important to be aware of some personal facets of each student, such as birthdays, hobbies, personal interests, favorites (color, food, etc.), and family situation. Most of this information can be collected during the first few days of school by simply having the kids fill out an "All About Me" worksheet – they can share the information with you and the rest of the class as an introductory activity. More personal information such as family situations can be obtained through conferencing with the students, their parents, and other faculty, such as previous teachers. A teacher’s goal should be to make at least one personal connection with each student every week. This can be as simple as leaving a little note of praise for a good grade or an act of kindness you noticed, or asking about a sick family member, baseball tryout or new pet. Additionally, being aware of situations going on in a student’s life, such as a divorce or death in the family, will allow you to understand fluctuations in a student’s behavior and/or academic performance. For example, one student during my student teaching experience tended to act out more after spending every other weekend with his father, whom his mother explained was sometimes verbally abusive. Knowing this allowed us to be pro-active and act more sensitively toward the student at those times. Some other examples where this personal information is helpful would be not celebrating the birthday of a student who is a Jehovah’s Witness or motivating a struggling reader who really likes Spiderman by finding a Spiderman reader for them to read. When students feel connected and appreciated, motivation increases, along with learning.
Classroom Disciplinary Rules & Consequences
I like the card-changing system for students, especially in grades K – 6. In this system, there will be a wall space where each student’s name is next to a small pouch containing a green, yellow, orange, and red card. A student will be told to change their card when an infraction occurs. It is important for the student to change their own card so that they are taking ownership of the change and directly relating it to the behavior that caused it. Each day the cards will be reset to green. The teacher should keep a record of each student’s color at the end of each day, which will be useful for documenting behavior patterns for yourself, as well as parents and other faculty.
My ideal physical classroom environment would look like more of a traditional seating arrangement in a modern classroom. The classroom itself would be warm and inviting, displaying the student’s work in a creative and uncluttered manner. I feel that group seating in younger grades can be distracting; however my goal would be to have the classroom arrangement as flexible as possible to meet my needs and that of the students. Traffic patterns would be well planned and clutter-free. My desk would be a place where I could keep my things on and behind and would not be disturbed by the students as I remain active throughout the room. All the materials and supplies that the students use would be accessible to them and everyone would know where things are and when they are allowed to access them.
The ambiance of the classroom would be one of organized activity in a peaceful environment. Students would feel safe both physically and emotionally and they would be free to think, learn, and express themselves. They would be both respectful and respected. Classroom rules and procedures would be very clear and consistent and would include respect for people and their property. They would be something that the students had taken part in creating and could own. Students would know what was expected of them at any point during the school day and would actively participate in classroom activities. Students would also be familiar with the consequences for following and not following expected behavior, and discipline would not be random or chaotic because I would have a plan for my reaction when a student breaks a rule. The students would realize that when they make the choice to disrespect people or property, they also make the choice to accept the consequences. I feel that if these things are clear and consistent, then it will make the classroom environment much healthier for the teacher, and the students. This would allow me, as a teacher, to not have to react to such behavior by scolding the student, giving a “punishment,” (which leaves the possibility of being inconsistent) or just ignoring the behavior all together. Preferably, having such procedures established would shift responsibility to the student – if they choose to behave a certain way, then by default they choose the consequences that follow. I would be the facilitator of consequences chosen by the student, and therefore they would take ownership of their actions and the results. Finally, the classroom would be a place of not only intellectual growth, but that of social growth as well. Students would not only respect each other, but would support each other and learn to genuinely care for one another. They would be encouraging towards one another, rather than critical, and this would stem from the example I provide for them of kindness and charity.
Connectedness
Through many years of working with children as a babysitter, nanny, youth leader, volunteer; tutor, and teacher; I have realized that children are constantly testing two things: (1) Am I valued / accepted? and (2) What are my boundaries? I feel that being consistent in both areas, affirming a child’s worth and acceptance while still maintaining solid boundaries and expectations, is essential to good classroom management. And, ideally, each student should feel that they have a special connection to the teacher - this is important to developing an atmosphere of mutual respect in the classroom -students that feel cared for will usually care more about their involvement in the class. Therefore, in addition to maintaining good academic records on every child, I also believe it is important to be aware of some personal facets of each student, such as birthdays, hobbies, personal interests, favorites (color, food, etc.), and family situation. Most of this information can be collected during the first few days of school by simply having the kids fill out an "All About Me" worksheet – they can share the information with you and the rest of the class as an introductory activity. More personal information such as family situations can be obtained through conferencing with the students, their parents, and other faculty, such as previous teachers. A teacher’s goal should be to make at least one personal connection with each student every week. This can be as simple as leaving a little note of praise for a good grade or an act of kindness you noticed, or asking about a sick family member, baseball tryout or new pet. Additionally, being aware of situations going on in a student’s life, such as a divorce or death in the family, will allow you to understand fluctuations in a student’s behavior and/or academic performance. For example, one student during my student teaching experience tended to act out more after spending every other weekend with his father, whom his mother explained was sometimes verbally abusive. Knowing this allowed us to be pro-active and act more sensitively toward the student at those times. Some other examples where this personal information is helpful would be not celebrating the birthday of a student who is a Jehovah’s Witness or motivating a struggling reader who really likes Spiderman by finding a Spiderman reader for them to read. When students feel connected and appreciated, motivation increases, along with learning.
Classroom Disciplinary Rules & Consequences
I like the card-changing system for students, especially in grades K – 6. In this system, there will be a wall space where each student’s name is next to a small pouch containing a green, yellow, orange, and red card. A student will be told to change their card when an infraction occurs. It is important for the student to change their own card so that they are taking ownership of the change and directly relating it to the behavior that caused it. Each day the cards will be reset to green. The teacher should keep a record of each student’s color at the end of each day, which will be useful for documenting behavior patterns for yourself, as well as parents and other faculty.
I have found that with students in the primary grades, just having their card changed is enough motivation; I have seen 4th and 5th grade students break into tears at having their card changed from green to yellow! However, there may very well be students who are undeterred at a card change alone. In this instance, I would also extend certain privileges to those students who remain on green. These can be very simple and should be focused on more positive rewards for students remaining “green”, rather than emphasizing negative “punishments” for those on “yellow” or “orange”. Here are some examples:
- When students line up to go somewhere: those whose cards are green may line up first, then those on yellow, then orange, then red.
- During reading time on the rug: students may only use a pillow from the back of the room if their card is on green.
- When a student gets to pick a helper for something like a classroom job or passing out a birthday treat: tell them to pick someone whose card is on green.
- Various other classroom privileges: when a student asks to do something extra like being chosen to deliver a welcome card to a new faculty member, ask them if their card is green, and allow them to do so only if it is.
It is important to not keep students from learning experiences due to their card color, only “fun” non-educational tasks. Another idea would be to divide the class into two groups, and compete for which group can stay the “greenest” all week. This will add the aspect of positive peer pressure and is especially effective in older students when you make it girls vs. boys.
The card-change system should be applied as a consequence to most classroom rule infringements. This includes, but is not limited to the following behaviors:
- Dishonesty
- Disrespectful or disruptive behavior (including not paying attention / not participating in lessons)
- Incomplete or late homework
(Decide if students will be allowed a first offence or not, but be consistent for each student)
- Unsafe behavior of any kind
- Not following classroom procedures
- Disobeying school rules and policies
Students should be given a warning by telling them to stop/modify their behavior or they will have to change their card, and if the behavior continues, they should be told to change their card. Students do not need to have more than one warning: if you warn them 2-3 times, that only teaches them that they have 2-3 times to continue misbehaving.
Along with the changing of one’s card, certain behaviors should be met with additional responses. Homework that is not completed should be finished during free time but not recess time, since that is against the law. Abuse of a privilege such as having a water bottle at one’s desk should result in the loss of that privilege; disrespectful and hurtful behavior towards others should result in a conversation with that student, regardless of what color card they are on.
While this system should mostly remain a form of positive reinforcement, there does need to be a consequence involved when students get to the levels of orange and red. When a student is at the level of orange, there should be a loss of free recess time (having the student walk during recess) and conferencing with the teacher to create a behavioral contract. One way to carry out the recess aspect is to allow students to go to recess based on their card color – Students on green will start their recess at the regular time, those on yellow will walk for 5 minutes, those on orange will walk for 10 minutes, and those on red will walk for 15 minutes. Many teachers may hesitate to apply this recess progression if means that they are losing planning time or their own lunch time, however the benefits will far outweigh the detriments; not to mention that it is the teacher’s first and foremost responsibility to do what is best for the students. When a student reaches the red level, the student should understand that it is serious business. The principal may want to be notified, but note that a good teacher will not use the "principal's office" as part of normal classroom discipline - although always an available advisor, it should not be the principal's job to do the classroom management for the teacher. The parents should also be contacted when the student reaches red, and the student should conference with the teacher again to discuss the breach of their behavioral contract that they created when their card reached orange. One of the top common traits of highly effect teachers, regardless of educational philosophy, is that they have high expectations of and encourage their students, so during the conferencing the teacher should review expectations and encourage the student, displaying a genuine belief in the student’s ability to succeed in improving their behavior, and setting specific behavioral goals with the student.
Above all, it is absolutely crucial that the teacher maintain a calm and positive disposition. Physical discipline is absolutely unacceptable, although I have seen and heard countless stories of teachers pulling or pushing a student somewhere, or grabbing something off of them. This is not only ineffective, but could lead to serious ramifications for the teacher or even the school. Discipline should never be a reaction from a frustrated teacher, but rather a consequence to a choice that the student has made. The teacher should display a disappointment that the student has made a poor choice, but should not dwell on that choice or make the child feel “bad” – rather they should immediately move toward encouraging the child to move on from their poor choice to making better choices, displaying a genuine belief in the child’s ability to do so.
Pro-active Preparedness
A good teacher will minimize classroom distractions by having engaging lessons that they are well prepared for. Lessons should flow from one activity to the next, and should include meaningful activities, whole group responses, wait time in questioning, varied instruction for diverse learners, and keep all students actively engaged. The teacher should have a plan for interruptions; students know what to do during free time (work on any unfinished work, read, etc.). Like behavioral expectations, classroom procedures should be well-established, rehearsed and often reviewed. Students should know when they are allowed to talk, sharpen pencils, get up to get supplies, get a drink, use the restroom, or ask a question.
Students should know what to do upon entering the classroom at the beginning of the day. I would preferably set up coat and backpack storage away from the entrance, and have the students take attendance, lunch count, and copy their homework (written on a dry-erase weekly homework chart) in their homework notebook/folders, and then either read or work quietly on unfinished work.
I have found that having supplies, obtaining supplies, and sharpening pencils are common classroom distractions. I would use a “stoplight” system for letting students know when certain behaviors are acceptable. (This could be a picture of a stoplight, but I think it would be really cool to get an actual stoplight). When the “light” is on red, students should remain in their seats and pay attention to a lesson being taught – this would be a time of direct instruction. There would be no talking, pencil sharpening, etc. during this time. A yellow “light” would indicate that students may get up to sharpen their pencil, get supplies, use the restroom (1 boy & 1 girl, regulated by hall passes), talk to their neighbors about assignment-related things, and raise their hand to ask me any questions, as long as I was not working with another student or group. A green “light” would indicate that students were free to talk quietly among themselves as long as they continued to work productively and to raise their hand or approach me to ask or show me anything. .
Students would be allowed to go 2 at a time to get supplies and 2 at a time to sharpen their pencil, I would have 1 girl and 1 boy restroom pass as well as a sign-out sheet, 1 “hall pass” to be used for other things such as a student taking something to the office, and a separate pass kept at my desk for any student that needed to go to the nurse’s office. If there was not a water fountain in the classroom, I like the idea of students keeping a water bottle at their desk. This is healthy, it would minimize interruptions, and of course any student abusing this privilege would lose it. In addition to crayons, markers, glue sticks, scissors, etc., I would keep both scratch paper and lined paper stocked with the supplies, as well as extra pencils. If pencil “disappearance” became a problem, (as it often does) I would institute a trade or payment system. During my student teaching, I allowed students to trade me one of the very popular “silly bracelets” for a pencil, and when they returned the pencil, they got the bracelet back. This worked well and the same could be done with a dime or quarter exchange. I also found that having a good pencil sharpener (or two!) is very important, and as early as my first week of student-teaching, I immediately purchased one!
Communication
I have always been able to develop a good rapport with children, their parents, and/or my faculty peers and supervisors. I believe this is because I place a high value on communication on all three levels. It is very important that the students are always very clear about what is expected of them at any moment, and that consequences are carried out consistently throughout the classroom. This will create a sense of fairness in the classroom that essential to good classroom management.
A good teacher knows that parents play a vital role in a child’s education. It is imperative that parents understand what is expected of their child and what their role is in the educational process. In every grade, especially the younger ones, instructions accompanying homework should be very clear and specific. Teachers should not assume that students will remember assignments or instructions. Having a website that parents can look at daily is a fantastic tool, and a weekly newsletter should be sent home highlighting what students are learning and doing to keep parents informed and involved (remember, in many districts, not all parents may have access to the internet). Having opportunities for parents who are able to, to volunteer in the classroom is a great way to encourage parent participation. The more involved parents are, the better, therefore every attempt should be made to engage and encourage parents.
Collaboration with other teachers is one more key to successful teaching. I have found it to be extremely beneficial to work in a school where collaboration is highly valued. Ideally, there will be a unified environment throughout the entire school. Teachers should always be supportive of other teachers, never competing for approval of students or superiors. They should pull from each other’s experiences and learn from each other’s successes and failures. A teacher should speak well of other faculty to their students and any concerns a teacher might have should be addressed in a positive and encouraging manner with that faculty person. Teachers set an example of how to treat one’s peers by treating their own peers with kindness and respect.
- When students line up to go somewhere: those whose cards are green may line up first, then those on yellow, then orange, then red.
- During reading time on the rug: students may only use a pillow from the back of the room if their card is on green.
- When a student gets to pick a helper for something like a classroom job or passing out a birthday treat: tell them to pick someone whose card is on green.
- Various other classroom privileges: when a student asks to do something extra like being chosen to deliver a welcome card to a new faculty member, ask them if their card is green, and allow them to do so only if it is.
It is important to not keep students from learning experiences due to their card color, only “fun” non-educational tasks. Another idea would be to divide the class into two groups, and compete for which group can stay the “greenest” all week. This will add the aspect of positive peer pressure and is especially effective in older students when you make it girls vs. boys.
The card-change system should be applied as a consequence to most classroom rule infringements. This includes, but is not limited to the following behaviors:
- Dishonesty
- Disrespectful or disruptive behavior (including not paying attention / not participating in lessons)
- Incomplete or late homework
(Decide if students will be allowed a first offence or not, but be consistent for each student)
- Unsafe behavior of any kind
- Not following classroom procedures
- Disobeying school rules and policies
Students should be given a warning by telling them to stop/modify their behavior or they will have to change their card, and if the behavior continues, they should be told to change their card. Students do not need to have more than one warning: if you warn them 2-3 times, that only teaches them that they have 2-3 times to continue misbehaving.
Along with the changing of one’s card, certain behaviors should be met with additional responses. Homework that is not completed should be finished during free time but not recess time, since that is against the law. Abuse of a privilege such as having a water bottle at one’s desk should result in the loss of that privilege; disrespectful and hurtful behavior towards others should result in a conversation with that student, regardless of what color card they are on.
While this system should mostly remain a form of positive reinforcement, there does need to be a consequence involved when students get to the levels of orange and red. When a student is at the level of orange, there should be a loss of free recess time (having the student walk during recess) and conferencing with the teacher to create a behavioral contract. One way to carry out the recess aspect is to allow students to go to recess based on their card color – Students on green will start their recess at the regular time, those on yellow will walk for 5 minutes, those on orange will walk for 10 minutes, and those on red will walk for 15 minutes. Many teachers may hesitate to apply this recess progression if means that they are losing planning time or their own lunch time, however the benefits will far outweigh the detriments; not to mention that it is the teacher’s first and foremost responsibility to do what is best for the students. When a student reaches the red level, the student should understand that it is serious business. The principal may want to be notified, but note that a good teacher will not use the "principal's office" as part of normal classroom discipline - although always an available advisor, it should not be the principal's job to do the classroom management for the teacher. The parents should also be contacted when the student reaches red, and the student should conference with the teacher again to discuss the breach of their behavioral contract that they created when their card reached orange. One of the top common traits of highly effect teachers, regardless of educational philosophy, is that they have high expectations of and encourage their students, so during the conferencing the teacher should review expectations and encourage the student, displaying a genuine belief in the student’s ability to succeed in improving their behavior, and setting specific behavioral goals with the student.
Above all, it is absolutely crucial that the teacher maintain a calm and positive disposition. Physical discipline is absolutely unacceptable, although I have seen and heard countless stories of teachers pulling or pushing a student somewhere, or grabbing something off of them. This is not only ineffective, but could lead to serious ramifications for the teacher or even the school. Discipline should never be a reaction from a frustrated teacher, but rather a consequence to a choice that the student has made. The teacher should display a disappointment that the student has made a poor choice, but should not dwell on that choice or make the child feel “bad” – rather they should immediately move toward encouraging the child to move on from their poor choice to making better choices, displaying a genuine belief in the child’s ability to do so.
Pro-active Preparedness
A good teacher will minimize classroom distractions by having engaging lessons that they are well prepared for. Lessons should flow from one activity to the next, and should include meaningful activities, whole group responses, wait time in questioning, varied instruction for diverse learners, and keep all students actively engaged. The teacher should have a plan for interruptions; students know what to do during free time (work on any unfinished work, read, etc.). Like behavioral expectations, classroom procedures should be well-established, rehearsed and often reviewed. Students should know when they are allowed to talk, sharpen pencils, get up to get supplies, get a drink, use the restroom, or ask a question.
Students should know what to do upon entering the classroom at the beginning of the day. I would preferably set up coat and backpack storage away from the entrance, and have the students take attendance, lunch count, and copy their homework (written on a dry-erase weekly homework chart) in their homework notebook/folders, and then either read or work quietly on unfinished work.
I have found that having supplies, obtaining supplies, and sharpening pencils are common classroom distractions. I would use a “stoplight” system for letting students know when certain behaviors are acceptable. (This could be a picture of a stoplight, but I think it would be really cool to get an actual stoplight). When the “light” is on red, students should remain in their seats and pay attention to a lesson being taught – this would be a time of direct instruction. There would be no talking, pencil sharpening, etc. during this time. A yellow “light” would indicate that students may get up to sharpen their pencil, get supplies, use the restroom (1 boy & 1 girl, regulated by hall passes), talk to their neighbors about assignment-related things, and raise their hand to ask me any questions, as long as I was not working with another student or group. A green “light” would indicate that students were free to talk quietly among themselves as long as they continued to work productively and to raise their hand or approach me to ask or show me anything. .
Students would be allowed to go 2 at a time to get supplies and 2 at a time to sharpen their pencil, I would have 1 girl and 1 boy restroom pass as well as a sign-out sheet, 1 “hall pass” to be used for other things such as a student taking something to the office, and a separate pass kept at my desk for any student that needed to go to the nurse’s office. If there was not a water fountain in the classroom, I like the idea of students keeping a water bottle at their desk. This is healthy, it would minimize interruptions, and of course any student abusing this privilege would lose it. In addition to crayons, markers, glue sticks, scissors, etc., I would keep both scratch paper and lined paper stocked with the supplies, as well as extra pencils. If pencil “disappearance” became a problem, (as it often does) I would institute a trade or payment system. During my student teaching, I allowed students to trade me one of the very popular “silly bracelets” for a pencil, and when they returned the pencil, they got the bracelet back. This worked well and the same could be done with a dime or quarter exchange. I also found that having a good pencil sharpener (or two!) is very important, and as early as my first week of student-teaching, I immediately purchased one!
Communication
I have always been able to develop a good rapport with children, their parents, and/or my faculty peers and supervisors. I believe this is because I place a high value on communication on all three levels. It is very important that the students are always very clear about what is expected of them at any moment, and that consequences are carried out consistently throughout the classroom. This will create a sense of fairness in the classroom that essential to good classroom management.
A good teacher knows that parents play a vital role in a child’s education. It is imperative that parents understand what is expected of their child and what their role is in the educational process. In every grade, especially the younger ones, instructions accompanying homework should be very clear and specific. Teachers should not assume that students will remember assignments or instructions. Having a website that parents can look at daily is a fantastic tool, and a weekly newsletter should be sent home highlighting what students are learning and doing to keep parents informed and involved (remember, in many districts, not all parents may have access to the internet). Having opportunities for parents who are able to, to volunteer in the classroom is a great way to encourage parent participation. The more involved parents are, the better, therefore every attempt should be made to engage and encourage parents.
Collaboration with other teachers is one more key to successful teaching. I have found it to be extremely beneficial to work in a school where collaboration is highly valued. Ideally, there will be a unified environment throughout the entire school. Teachers should always be supportive of other teachers, never competing for approval of students or superiors. They should pull from each other’s experiences and learn from each other’s successes and failures. A teacher should speak well of other faculty to their students and any concerns a teacher might have should be addressed in a positive and encouraging manner with that faculty person. Teachers set an example of how to treat one’s peers by treating their own peers with kindness and respect.