Max Crimp

EDUC 302-303
Prof. Terpstra

Leading and Managing a Classroom Learning Community

All of my students deserve a great education. No child should be left behind
in their education due to race, gender, religion, or any facet of life that can separate
people in our society. All people deserve to be treated equally; why should this differ
when it comes to their education? Our role in the world is to be teachers as well as
learners. No one person has all of the answers; this is why we must rely on each
other to learn everything there is to know about the world.
A thirst for knowledge is what drives us as a society. Without knowledge, we
are nothing. Striving for this new knowledge unlocks doors that otherwise would be
sealed shut. All knowledge is worth knowing, and it is important that I as an
educator provide as many means as possible to obtain this sought-after knowledge.
The purpose of learning is to gather this knowledge and effectively use it for the
betterment of our society. As an educator, it is my job to learn as much knowledge as
I possibly can and then teach that knowledge to my students in various ways that
account for all styles of learners.
The conditions that best facilitate and support learning depend on the group
of students that you are presented with. Your style of teaching will depend entirely
on the group of students of which you have the pleasure of teaching. However, each
of these classrooms will need to have an atmosphere that encourages learning in a
positive way (p. 421-431, Woolfolk). In my classroom, I want questions to be asked
and thoughts to be spoken. Yes, sometimes a student will ask a silly question or
will answer something incorrectly. To me, thats okay. This means that the students
are engaging in the learning and that they feel comfortable making mistakes. When
both the students and the teachers are confident that no judgment will be passed if
someone asks a questions or has a comment that someone else may disagree with,
this provides an exceptional classroom community, which is what John Dewey
strove for and I also want to try and obtain in my own classroom (p. 70-76, Oakes,
Lipton, Anderson, Stillman). I want my students to feel comfortable expressing their
opinions regardless of their race, gender, religion, social status, disability, etc. All of
my students have a voice, and one that deserves to be heard.
I also want my classroom to be able to provide a fun, exploratory space
that caters to all students interests. This means that I need to watch out to not
crowd areas and create unnecessary traffic areas. These areas are areas that are
heavily used and could be a potential problem if not addressed in a timely manner
(p. 50, Froyen, Iverson). I want my room to have lots of educational opportunities
while also maximizing the area that can be used for physical and psychomotor
activities.
In my classroom, I will provide a safe, positive, encouraging learning
environment for all of my students. I will provide a classroom that builds
strong, lasting relationships that help each other to prosper, even in difficult
circumstances. The students will build strong relationships with me as a teacher
but also between each other as students. My goal is for these students relationships
to go beyond the classroom. If a student is having trouble outside of the classroom, I,
along with the rest of their classmates, should be there to support and help them in
any way that we can (covenant).
In my classroom, I will provide multiple means of representation for all
of my students. Not all of my students will learn the same, so teaching all of them
the same just doesnt make any sense. I will also know that every student learns
in a way that makes them who they are, and I will respect that and try my best
to create a learning environment that caters to all of their educational
strengths. However, I will also hold students accountable by asking them to step
out of their comfort zone and try new and innovative learning strategies. The
students in my class will be expected to try their best at expanding their horizons
and trying new things that may make them feel uncomfortable. The students will
also help each other learn. By this, I mean that the students will help a student who
is struggling if I am busy helping another student. My goal is to create an
environment where students can help each other learn and an environment where
the students can depend on each other for help (content).
In my classroom, I will behave in a way that sets an example for the
students that I teach. I will refrain from passing judgment, and I will promote
a positive learning environment that makes everyone who is present in the
room comfortable and excited to learn. The students will follow my lead and will
hold each other and me accountable throughout the school year. At the beginning of
the year, I will sit down with the students and discuss with them what they believe
good classroom behavior looks like. If you are going to involve students in setting
rules or creating a constitution, you may need to wait until you have established a
sense of community in your classroom (p. 425, Woolfolk).We will decide as a class
what punishments or repercussions will be had due to poor behavior. This way, the
students can start to govern themselves and hold each other accountable for their
behavior (conduct).
As for specific rules and routines, I look forward to finding out how the
students believe that a good student behaves inside and outside the
classroom. I will provide the students with a few explanations of what I believe a
good student will behave like, such as: being conscious and courteous of others,
willing to help others, having a positive attitude regardless of the circumstances,
and putting forth a valiant effort to better their own and others learning on a daily
basis. Now these are only a few examples, but I want the students to decide for
themselves what they believe how they should act. I think it is important for
students to be free thinkers that think for themselves; someone else should not
dictate all the rules. If the students learn to think for themselves and are viewed as
someone who can decide for themselves what behavior is acceptable, that is a
victory in and of it itself.
Consequences and rewards will be handled in a similar way. Again, I want
the students to take the initiative and make some decisions on which
consequences accompany which behaviors. Obviously, I will have the final say in
most situations on what the consequence should be, but I like the idea of the
students holding each other accountable. If the students hold each other
accountable for their own actions, I believe that misbehavior will become more
personal, and then, hopefully decrease. When it comes to rewards, I am not sure
where I stand. On one hand, rewards can be an effective way to promote good
behavior. On the other hand, rewards can be seen as a prize for good behavior. At
that point, is the person behaving well because they want to, or simply because they
can receive a tangible prize? The conclusion I have come to is this: reward
exceptional behavior, not expected behavior. If you see someone in your
classroom that is showing exemplary behavior, it is a time to reward him or her. If it
is a behavior that is expected to be done, then you should not reward it. I could
perhaps have a jar that I fill with marbles when I see students showing exceptional
behavior, and when the jar becomes filled, I could reward the students with
something such as an extra recess or a movie.
Essentially, I do not want the classroom to be mine, but I would rather the
classroom be ours. I want my students to be excited to come to the learning
environment, and allowing the students to have ownership of their own learning
environment will motivate them in a positive, fulfilling way. When the teacher and
his or her students are on the same page and have a level of respect that cannot be
broken, great learning can occur.








Reference List
Froyen, L. A., & Iverson, A. M. (1988). Schoolwide and Classroom Management: The
Reflective Educator-Leader (Third ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merill
Education, Prentice Hall, Inc.
Oakes, J., Lipton, M., Anderson, A. & Stillman, J. (2013). Teaching to change the world
(4th ed.). Boulder, CO: Paradigm.
Woolfolk, A. (2010). Educational Psychology (11
th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Merrill.