HilaryMacMaster

ProfessorA.Hewson
EDUC5903
October28th,2014

ClassroomManagementPhilosophy

Classroommanagementisacrucialpartofteaching.Itisastrategythatallteachershave
ineffect,butwhenlookinginfromtheoutside,aclearclassroommanagementstrategymaynot
bevisible.Effectiveteachershaveaclassroommanagementplanbuiltintotheirroutinesso
seamlessly,thatitmaynotseemliketheyhaveoneatall.However,itistheseteachersthathave
awaytohandleanyproblemthattheymayencounterthroughouttherunofadaywithoutgetting
stressedoragitatedbystudents.Theyaretheteachersthatareabletocontroltheirclassroomsin
akind,yetfirmmanner,andhardlyeverlosetheircomposure.Studentswhohaveteachersthat
valuetheimportanceofclassroommanagementbenefitfromthestructureandproceduresthat
theyexperienceintheirschoolenvironments.
Classroommanagementisavarietyofdifferentpracticesthatteachersuseintheir
everydayroutinesandproceduresasawaytocreateamoreeffectivelearningenvironment.
Therearemanydifferentwaysthatateachercanbuildandmaintainapositivelearning
environmentandonemainwaytoensurethattheclassisapositivelearningenvironmentisto
buildasenseofcommunity.Theteachercanshowtheimportanceofbuildingacommunityby
celebratingallofthestudentsdifferentnationalitiesandcultures.Todaysschoolsarediverse
andfilledwithstudentswhocomefromallareasoftheworld.Asaneducator,building

communityinaclassroomshouldincludecelebratingandexploringdifferentethnicities.When
studentsfeelthattheirowncultureornationalityisacceptedintheirclassroom,thestudentswill
feelasenseofacceptanceandpeace.Thisisalsoagoodopportunityforteacherstoshowtheir
classthatdifferentculturesareimportanttoembraceandunderstand,ratherthanignoreand
segregate.Aclassroomcommunityisakeyelementinclassroommanagement.Ifaclassroomis
lackinginasenseofcommunity,thestudentswillnotfeelconnectedwitheachotherwhichwill
leadtoanincreaseinhostilityandmisbehaviour.Teachersneedtostrivetobringstudents
together,ratherthanallowingthemtodriftapart.
Teachingstudentstotakeresponsibilityisalsoanimportantfactorineffectiveclassroom
management.Understandingthatactionscomewithconsequencesthataresometimesnegativeor
canleadtounwantedoutcomeswillencouragestudentstothinkmoreabouttheirownactions.
Settingrulesandexpectationsinyourclassroomiscrucialifteacherswantasenseofmutual
respectwithintheirclassroom.Whenestablishingyourclassroomrules,itisimportanttomake
surethatthestudentsfullyunderstandwhattherulesareandwhattheconsequencetobreaking
theseruleswillbe.Itisalsoimportantforteacherstoavoidhavingalonglistofthedreaded
DONTSandNO.Changingtheformatoftherulestosoundlessnegativeandencouraging
willmakethestudentsfeelmorewelcomedintheclassroom,ratherthanthefeelingofbeing
controlled.Askingthestudentswhatrulestheythinkshouldbeaddedtotheclassroomrulesis
alsoastrategyteacherscanusetohelpthestudentsbegintotakemoreresponsibilityfor
themselves.Byhavingthestudentschosewhatrulestheyfeelimportanttofollowandhavethem
explainwhytheyareimportant,thiswillincreasetheownershipfortheirownactionsiftheyfeel
theyaregoingtobebreakingtheirownrulesthattheyestablishedasimportant.Beingableto

manageaclassroomalsoincludestheabilitytodiscussimprovementwithyourclass.Ifaserious
issueariseswithinyourclass,holdingaclassroommeetingisaveryeffectivetooltoimplement.
Classroommeetingsareawaythatteacherscanconnectwiththewholeclassandtalkabout
importantissues,eveniftheissuehasonlybeenaproblemwithafewstudents.Ifstudentsare
awarethattheirpeersaredisapprovingoftheirbehaviour,theymaybemoreinclinedtothink
aboutwhattheyaredoingandstopbeforethesituationbegins.Classroommeetingsarealsoa
greatwayforteacherstoteachtheirclassmutualrespectandcommunicationskills.Iftheclass
feelsthateveryoneislisteningtothemandtheirideas,theywillfeelliketheiropinionsare
valuedandthattheirteacherandpeersrespectthem.Teachingstudentstheexpectationsofa
classroommeetingatthebeginningoftheyearwill alsoaddtotheeffectivenessofthewhole
process.Havingthestudentsunderstandtheimportanceofaclassroommeetingandhowto
respecttheirpeersinameeting,willestablishamoreeffectivewayofholdingmeetings.These
meetingscanbeusedasawaytoaddressthingslike,bullying,behaviourexpectation,butcan
alsobeawayfortheclasstocommunicatewiththeteachers.Inthesemeetingsaneffective
teacherwilllettheirstudentsbringconcernsandissuesupinthemeetingasawaytohavetheir
voicesheard,andjustliketheteacherexpectsthestudentstolisten,theteacheralsohastolisten
tothestudents.
Ateacherwhopracticesmindfulnessintheclassroomisalsohasgreatersuccesswith
classroommanagement.Thecomplexfeelingsofanxietyandstresscanaffectastudentfroma
veryyoungage.Expressingthesefeelingmaylooklikeanoutburstortantrum,buthavingaplan
tohandlethesesituationsishowateacherwitheffectiveclassroommanagementskillsknows
howtohandletheseissues.Stressandanxietyisaproblemthatstudentsmayhaveadifficult

timeovercoming.Whenchildrenbegintoexperiencetheseemotions,theycanusemanyoutlets
thatcanbeconsiderednegativeandteachersmayfeellikethestudentsaregivingthemahard
time.Itisalwaysbesttostaycalminthesesituationsanddiffusethesituation,ratherthan
jumpingtoconclusionsaboutthechild'sbehaviourandpunishingthem.Whenconfrontedwitha
situationlikethis,addingthemotto,thischildisnotgivingyouahardtime,theyarehavinga
hardtimeintoyourbehaviouralplanwillhavepositiveoutcomes.Stayingcalmandhavinga
plantohandlethesesituationsinplacewillgivethestudentpositivereinforcement.Gettingto
therootoftheproblemisalwaysthemostimportantplacetobegin.Teacherscandesignasafe
spaceintheirclassroomwherethestudentscangotobringtheirfocusback.Oncethestudent
whoisexperiencingtheanxietyhasbeenbroughtintoacalmandrelaxedstate,thatisagood
timefortheteachertothentalkthestudentthroughwhattheywerefeelinganddiscusswhatkind
ofemotionstheyfelt.Thesestudentswillbenefitfromfeelingasenseofcomfortintheirown
classroom.Anotherstepthatteacherscanincorporateintotheirdaytopromotemindfulnessis
practicingyogaandmeditationintheirclassrooms.Modelingdeepbreathingisasimpleand
considerablytimeefficientandeffectivewaytohelpchildrenrefocusandletgoofstress.The
classdoesnotevenhavetoregroupormovearoundtheroomtodothis.Ifteacherscansensea
heightenedfeelingofanxietyorstresswithintheclassroom,theycanquicklyturnthelightsoff
andmodeldeepbreathingexerciseswiththeclass.Thispracticewillprovidethestudentswitha
quickbreakfromwhattheyaredoingandbringthemintouchwiththeiremotions.Yogawill
providethesamesenseofrelaxationintheclassroom,butwillrequiremoretimeandspaceto
haveallstudentsparticipate.Havingadesignatedtimeforstudentstofocusontheiremotions
andbeingintouchwiththemselvesisanothereffectivetoolinclassroommanagement.

Classroommanagementisnotonespecificpracticetosetinplace.Itisalsonotone
generalruletosetinplaceandexpectyourstudentstofollow.Effectiveclassroommanagement
isavarietyofpracticesthatteachersneedincorporateintotheirclassrooms,whetheritbe
buildingasenseofcommunity,mindfulness,orholdingeffectiveclassroommeetings.Allof
thesepracticesareimportantforteacherstoremember,andontopofitall,teachersshouldstrive
tobeconsistentwiththeirstudents.Consistencyisakeywaytohelpstudentsbenefitfrom
classroommanagementpractices,aswellastheteachers.