Philosophy of Classroom Management

The definition of management is the process of controlling people. This is not a fitting

definition when used in the term classroom management. Glasser’s Choice Theory demonstrates

the idea that the only behavior that we can control is our own. I believe that in order to have

effective classroom management a teacher must accept the idea that they can not control a

student, but rather influence them to regulate themselves by providing the student with intrinsic

motivation. Teachers can accomplish this by developing a sense of community within a

classroom where the teacher is an integral part and through specific intentional strategies. In this

paper I will state my philosophy of classroom management, the importance of communities in a

classroom, and specific strategies that can be used to implement my model of classroom

management.

Classroom Management

My philosophy of classroom management is centered around the ideas of a self regulating

approach where students gain an intrinsic motivation for their actions rather than rely upon

extrinsic actions. This starts with Gordon’s idea of problem ownership. Since students are the

only ones that can control their behavior, this involves students taking responsibility for their

actions and responsibility for changing their behavior. Coloroso believes that the best way to

teach students these values is to avoid autocratic practices such as harshness that removes the

student’s dignity. Corloroso’s model of Inner Discipline explains the idea of a democratic

approach called a backbone teacher where a teacher advocates creative and responsive activities

while using natural and reasonable consequences (Manning, 2013). Using real-world knowledge

and concepts leads students to have a true understanding of their actions and why each action is

encouraged and prohibited. This practice of a self-regulating approach involves more front-
loading at the beginning of the year to reinforce the ideas of inner discipline, but as students

accept the ideas of problem ownership, discipline becomes less of a problem. There are two

methods that I will use to achieve this goal: community within a classroom and teaching

strategies.

Community

Group dynamic is a concept that is explained by Redl and Wattenberg. This is the idea that an

individual’s behavior can affect the groups behavior and vice versa. This is supported by the idea

of positive peer relations where bad behaviors are detoured by the group (Manning, 2013). I refer

to this idea as positive peer pressure. Even though this is a behavioral approach to classroom

management I believe it can place intrinsic values within students. This is a common occurrence

within sports team, know as team mentality, where individuals are detoured from acting in

negative ways because they believe it is better for the team that they act in a positive way.

Kohn’s ideas of “beyond discipline” emphasize the importance of communities in a classroom.

Kohn moves beyond the behaviors and instead emphasizes the important of satisfying student

needs. He states that a student must feel free, belongingness, and competence. In order to achieve

these needs, a student must be part of a community. Freiberg uses the terms tourist and citizen to

best describe roles in a community. A tourist acts passively and lacks feeling or real

participation. A citizen is an active participant who feels as if they genuinely contribute to a class

(Manning, 2013). As students learn to cooperate and contribute they can achieve cooperative

learning, and maximize their learning by working together.

Strategies and Practices

Having an idealistic goal for classroom management is important for a teacher to plan, but it is

hard to implement within a classroom. There are certain strategies and practices that teachers can
use to accomplish their goals of classroom management. There is an infinite amount of strategies

to attain classroom management, but I will list a few that I believe are important and will be very

signifigant in my lessons. Kounin describes many active strategies that a teacher can use to

influence the dynamic of a classroom which affects classroom management. This coincides with

Ginott’s idea of a teacher being the influential element in the classroom. Having proper teaching

techniques such withitness and avoiding things such as overlapping or jerkiness are very

important in a teacher’s lessons (Manning, 2013). If a teacher does not have a smooth

momentum throughout the class, the students will not only be unable to learn, but act out

accordingly. Passive strategies similar to Jones’s use of body language are also very important.

Even using techniques such as standing near students and moving around a classroom are very

powerful in developing classroom management.

My philosophy of classroom management is the illustration that students self-regulate

their own actions by involvement in a community and teacher support through explicit actions.

As a teacher it will be my job to learn the best practices to impact this outcome. There is no

unique answer to fit all teachers, therefore teachers must find different styles and strategies to fit

them best. Every teacher is different and therefore every teacher is unique. Uniqueness is a

teacher’s best way to reach students because of the nature of the quality. I encourage all teachers

to keep finding different ways they are unique and use this in order to better reach their students.
 References

Manning, M.L., Butcher. K.T. (2013). Classroom management: models, applications, and cases-

third edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.