Mr.
Holland's
Classroom Management Plan
I believe that creating life long learners is the goal of education. Each student that enters my classroom is part of a generation that gives rise to new aspirations in life and brings a new quest for fulfillment. Every student, in his/her search for greater happiness, desires sound mental and physical health, greater ability in action, a greater capacity to think clearly, increased efficiency in work, and a sense of love and reward from his/her relations with others. Education should (if not aim to) satisfy these desires of the student and bring contentment to his/her life. More specifically, the needs of students include the following:
· Friend's who care for you and you for them
· Fun and challenging things to do
· Having choices and learning how to make choices
· A chance to master skills needed to pursue a dream, for self-advocacy, and cultural interdependence
· Physical well-being
· Status and "cool" reputation
· Unconditional love, someone who will always be your advocate
· Chance to make a difference in someone's life
· Self-actualization
· Having behavior that is guided toward being (and only receiving influences in their environment that are) nourishing, uplifting, and life supporting
As an educator it is my responsibility to create the proper conditions and environment for which these students' needs are met. Part of doing so is having an effective classroom management plan. My approach to classroom management (and theory of teaching) seeks to create life long learners, meet the needs of the students, and to maintain and uphold the total development and full potential of the student.
Effective classroom management begins with developing a community. Communities are made from teacher-student and student-student relationships. Being the most influential person in the classroom, my relationship with each student has a strong impact on the classroom and school climate. The following is a list of activities that I will use to build relationships between the students and myself and amongst the students themselves. These activities help to create a classroom that functions in a supportive, goal-directed manner, allowing students to get to know each other, to develop a feeling of being included, and create diverse friendship patterns.
Teacher-student
relationships:
· Greet students at the door with a smile, handshake, a compliment, or some positive statement. Though it may be just a small instance of acknowledgment, the student enters and begins to associate coming to my class as an uplifting, positive experience.
· Inviting students to eat lunch with me. This time will let students communicate with me outside the classroom in the cafeteria. It will also give me the opportunity to meet with students individually so that I may listen to his/her concerns about personal or school problems, but allow time for me to discuss the student's schoolwork or behavior.
· Arranging interviews. By allowing my students to interview me, they will get to know some of my interests or hobbies outside of the school setting. Perhaps I could bring in my spouse, children, or parents to be interviewed by the class. I know even from my experience as a college student that my teacher seemed more "human" when there was an opportunity for me to learn something personal about my professor. In this manner I could appreciate and relate to him better, being more open to receiving and sharing knowledge.
· Sending letters and notes to students. Students appreciate a personalized letter from the teacher in which he expresses his excitement for the new year or the happiness of having that student in his class.
· Suggestion box. Students like knowing that the teacher cares about their ideas, opinions, and suggestions about the class. This will give me the chance to get feedback on my teaching and provide an opportunity for me to further develop an area of my class or teaching method.
Student-student relationships:
· Interviews- after creating a list of things students would like to know about one another, they interview their classmates. Another way is to have one student at a time sit in front of the whole class to be interviewed.
· Base camp (though would need some administrative assistance) can be a field trip or weekend event where students participate in activities that require team building through trust and getting to know each other. Base camp is a great way for the students to interact outside the school where the barriers between clicks and stereotyping are broken.
· Wanted posters- Students create posters that at the top say 'WANTED' at the bottom say 'FOR A FRIEND BECAUSE,' and in the middle there is a picture of the student. Around the picture, other classmates write comments describing the qualities that make him/her a good friend.
· I-Booklet ; Similar to a personal journal, these booklets are created by the students with each page designed according to particular topic like favorite things to do at night, family, poems, and so on. After the booklets are finished the students can share with one another their small creation filled with interesting facts.
Besides building relationships between students and myself, it is also necessary and important to build a rapport with my students' parents, since they are of course the number one teachers. To do this, I may write a parent letter similar to the one below.
Dear parents,
With the new school year under way, I would like to take a moment of your time to welcome you to high school art and to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Greg Holland and I have been teaching in the District now for some time. I completed my undergraduate degree in Art and Education at Maharishi University of Management.
As an educator, I believe that creating life long learners is the goal of education. Each student that enters my classroom is part of a generation that gives rise to new aspirations in life and brings a new quest for fulfillment. Every student, in his/her search for greater happiness, desires sound mental and physical health, greater ability in action, a greater capacity to think clearly, increased efficiency in work, and a sense of love and reward from his/her relations with others. It is my responsibility to create the proper conditions and environment for these desires to be fulfilled and a place where there is mutual respect, cooperation, and productive learning. In doing so, I have worked with the students in creating a set of guidelines that will encourage and facilitate proper behavior. Besides the normal guidelines like arriving on time and putting away all the art supplies and materials, the students felt it was important to include some of the following: be kind and giving, be truthful, be gentle and calm, be respectful to others (parents, teachers, and elders), be loving and compassionate, be polite and well-mannered, have a positive outlook, observe cleanliness, be persevering, and be unconceited.
I am very excited about having your child in my class and assisting you in guiding him/her to be a successful individual. I look forward to communicating with you concerning your child's progress, special achievements, and any concerns that may arise. Please feel free to contact me for any reason.
Painting by Kelly 12th grade
Along
side the guidelines listed in the parent letter, my
classroom will have some added procedures. Some of these
procedures include: Tardiness, student movement in the room,
signal for student attention, talking during seat work, and
putting away supplies, materials, and equipment. In general
I will have a four-step process for establishing guidelines
or procedures ("rules"). First will be discussing with the
students the value of the rules. Second, develop a list.
Third, get a commitment, and fourth, monitor and review the
classroom rules. I will teach these procedures using
posters, where students make good behavior, good study
habit, safety rules, etc. posters and hang them in the
classroom. Another method will involve Contracts for Success
where students write a letter to their parents listing the
class guidelines and procedures and their plan for success.
After obtaining the signatures of the parents, students
bring their contracts back to school.
Coinciding with "rules" or guidelines is a system of discipline or better yet, a system for maintaining order. Usually, disruptions of school and classroom policies are a result of the student's frustration in trying to meet and satisfy their growth and happiness. So as a teacher, I try to look at educating behavior in terms of giving. The art of behavior is in creating a moment in which the encounter with the student has a real value and a meeting of the two hearts. Just as a mother looks kindly upon the mistakes of her child, it is my role as a teacher to look kindly upon the mistakes of my students because there is an opportunity for me to give the student more kindness and guidance.
Generally I would maintain order in five steps: 1.) nonverbal cue, 2.) verbal cue, 3.) indicate choice student is making, 4.) student moves to a designated area of the room to develop a plan, and 5.) student is required to go somewhere else like the counselor or principal's office to develop a plan. This procedure supports the self-referral development of the student.
Ultimately my approach to classroom discipline would involve appreciating the good qualities of the student, nourish, uplift, support, and guide him/her toward achieving the highest standards, so that the desires and needs of the student are obtained.