Petr Holubar

Trish Engelhardt
March 23, 2016

Management Plan
Part I
Physical spaces are important in our every day lives. They are also very important in education,
in classroom culture and classroom management. Physical spaces have a voice, they can be
inviting and comfortable, they can be inspiring, they can be cold. My ideal classroom will inspire
learning about world cultures and learning through art, music and all of the senses.
Since I am expressing myself on a theoretical level, my classroom has lots of large windows.
Natural light is important for our minds and bodies, it lessens the barrier between the outside
world and the classroom. After all, I want to connect the classroom learning to the reality outside.
Art is an expression of a culture, a window into its soul and I would like to expose my students to
a lot of different styles and mediums. I would like to go beyond the posters featuring various
famous landscapes and artists, I want to have instruments in my class, tapestries, clothes, objects
of every day use that may be different from ours, I want to have music playing and a slideshow at
the ready with examples of visual arts. I would love to teach through food and different cuisines,
although I realize that will be next to impossible in most school districts, due to health and
sanitation regulations.
I also think it is important to change the classroom ambiance as frequently as possible. I want my
students to be stimulated by their environment and that cannot happen if it always stays the
same. Of course there will be some limitations to the changes, but I envision various themes
throughout the school year.
The actual setup of my classroom (fig.1) reflects my philosophy of a student-centered education.
This teaching style is very hard to implement in a classroom where all the desks are in rows,
facing the center of this micro universe - the teachers pedestal. I have been in classrooms that
were arranged in a similar way before and the main difference that I noticed in this type of
setting was that groups did a lot of the teaching among themselves - as questions arise, some
members of a group have answers, opinions and discussion begins. In my ideal classroom, most
of the furniture would be mobile so that it could be arranged in different ways for different
purposes.

Fig 1
I am a staunch proponent of digital humanities and I embrace technology in the classroom. I see
no need for stacks upon stacks of paper for handouts and assignments in my class. Digital texts

are easy to manipulate, share and they facilitate collaboration among students (and they save a
few trees). Most school districts have their online platform setup (such as Blackboard) and from
my limited experience in the PSD I can assume that this resource is very underutilized. Digital
classrooms are flexible and always available, they are also very much in line with the 21st century
workplace. My goal is to go completely paperless for assignments and homework.
In this spirit, I will require all graded work to be turned in digitally which also allows for easy
tracking (when, what time was work turned in), feedback (can be instantaneous) and grading (a
lot of on line programs allow for auto-grading). I plan on having deadlines for graded work, but I
also want to give my students opportunities to correct their work, resubmit, or submit work past a
deadline should a valid reason exist.
I will also require ALL homework to be turned in, regardless of absences. Homeworks, however,
will be structured to introduce or reinforce a theme or concept, and as such, late submission of
homework will carry a penalty of 10%. Absences that are medically or personally necessary
(excused absences) will not be penalized if turned in late.
Tardiness is disruptive and I will discourage it any way I can - I envision having a 3 strikes
policy in place - we are all late at some point for some engagement, I dont want to enforce rules
that I would not be able to adhere to myself. However, 3 times is a significant enough pattern in
my mind, that deserves attention. I will take the opportunity to assign extra homework
assignments.
As far as time management in my class, this can vary significantly depending upon the length of
the class. At Rocky Mountain High where I currently enjoy my practicum has classes that are 90
minutes long. I dont know any adult who would have an attention span of 90 minutes, much less
a teenager. These blocks have to be divided into smaller segments that shift modes of input to
keep students interested. During a traditional 45 minute class, these shifts still need to happen,
but in a much faster succession. In either case, I would like to devote maximum time to discussion

and collaboration, in a world language class that looks like a conversation most of the time.
When we talk, we learn about each other, we learn from each other, we build relationships and
we grow our language skills. The 4 Cs of language instruction are all intertwined with
Communication.
Routines are good for the young and developing mind (and for a beginning teacher). Routines
dont necessarily mean a repetition of the same thing, they provide a framework for an otherwise
diverse instruction. For example, we might have a routine of a music segment in my Spanish class
- but we may sing one day and listen to music the next. We may sit or we may dance. It could be
a childrens song or a classical piece. The only unifying and overarching quality of such music
segment would be an exposure to culture different from our own and exposure to language other
than our own.
In essence, my routines will follow the 4 Cs in the following manner: Warm up at the beginning
of class - we may discuss cultural or current political events, we may be talking about personal
issues, or anything that grabs students attention. I would like to have the students responsible for
selecting a topic and prepare several questions or comments in advance to have a guided
conversation. After warm up, I want those activated brains to either review information, or
absorb new information. Following review/lecture we need to get up and take a mental break music, drama, yoga, games - the key here is to keep things fresh (I recently witnessed my
cooperating teacher showing the kids a shin box exercise - it turns out explaining how to
correctly perform an exercise requires a very developed vocabulary). After mental break, I would
like to devote time to practice in a creative manner - theatre, improv, group conversations. To
finish a lesson, I want my students to write - to cement the new knowledge and utilize it in a
written form.

Espaol 3, Sala 350, Lunes - Viernes 9-9:50

Bienvenid@s a la clase de Espaol 3! I am excited to spend time with you this semester. This an
advanced language course that will focus on the following four main categories:
1. Communication - lets taco bout it! This is why we humans exist, this is what we live for,
this is what we want to do all the time - communicate. I will guide you towards an improved
level of interactive, interpretive and presentational mode of communication (big words - big
rewards).
2. Culture - lets look beyond the sombrero! I will fight stereotypes and ethnocentrism every
day - together we will engage in deep cultural explorations which you students will help shape
by sharing your personal interests and curiosities.
3. Connections - Spanish is not more important than math (and vice versa), I will encourage
us to build on your knowledge from other classrooms and other disciplines, dont be surprised
if our class turns into a chem lab or a health class, it turns out molecules behave the same
way in Spanish as they do in English.
4. Comparisons - most of you are probably native speakers of English. You will be surprised
by how much you will learn about your own language in my Spanish class. We will compare
structures of the two languages to help us understand the inner workings.
What you need to do:
1. Attendance/Tardies You need to be here. Without you, there is no class, without you its
just me talking and thats silly. Exemplary attendance will be rewarded with extra credit.
Unexcused absences are just that - unexcused. I will be sitting down with you after 2
unexcused absences to determine the consequences. Late arrivals are disruptive to everyone
and will not be tolerated should they be a regular occurrence. You have a free pass for 3
tardies of 5 mins or less per session (20 weeks) - after that, you will be assigned extra
homework in a format that will benefit the rest of the class (presentation, guided
conversation) and I will be sending a letter to your parents.
2. Participation: You need to be HERE. Present. In the moment. Focused. That means you
need to participate in conversations, ask questions, offer opinions and solutions. You are your
classmates biggest resource. Participation is an integral part of your grade. Overall,
participation makes up 8% of your grade, which in most cases will mean a difference of a
letter grade. I will require you to speak at least once each class, in your group, or in you entire
class, communication is why we are here and even though it may be uncomfortable at times,
your efforts will be rewarded through better scores on your tests and quizzes. You need to take
risks. Speak. Talk. Converse and make mistakes. You are trying to master another language
and thus you are brave souls who do not fear ridicule. you are ahead of the pack already by
taking this course. Did I mention you need to speak?! You will self assess your participation:
I contribute several times during every class discussion. (A) I contribute at least once during
virtually every class discussion. (B) I often contribute to class discussion. (C) I occasionally
contribute to class discussion. (D) I rarely contribute to class discussion. (F)

3. Tests/Quizzes: In-class tests will be assigned to assess your progress in my class. It is

important that you take these on the date that they are due. Tardies on test days will be
treated as unexcused absences. However, if you have an excused absence, you will be given
the chance to take the test on another day. This day needs to be arranged with me as soon as
you return to school following your absence. Online quizzes will have a date range that will
give you some flexibility. After the assignment locks on the due date, you need to see me and
make arrangements for a make up. See grading for assignment categories and their grade
weight.
4. Homework: Do your work. I will not assign busywork for homework. I have put a lot of
thought into your assignments and I assure you there is a method to my madness - I ask you
to trust me on this one. Homework is due on the assigned date before 8 AM. I will require
you to turn in all of the assignments, it is to your benefit to turn them in on the suggested
date. Late homework is accepted for full credit for excused absences. Unexcused absences can
still turn in homework late with a 10% penalty.
5. Housekeeping policies:
No cellphone use during class. Use laptop for class related searches and assignments.
No electronic/digital translators. You may use wordreference.com as your dictionary.
Bathroom breaks - only one student is allowed to use the restroom at a time. Ask permission.
Plagiarism/cheating - Unacceptable, an automatic zero on an assignment.
S.O.S. - If you feel that you need help in my class, please talk to me in person.

Grading
4 Unit projects - 100 pts each = 400 pts

Participation - 80 pts

8 Mini quizzes - 15 pts each = 120 pts

Total - 1000 pts

4 Vocabulary presentations = 50 pts each = 200 pts

4 Unit tests (grammar) - 50 pts each = 200 pts
Extra credit: Zero unexcused absences and zero tardies - 50 pts.
Standard Grading scale: 90%-100% A; 80%-89% B; 70%-79% C; 60%-69% D; Bellow 60% F.