Aisling Kennedy EDUG781 Dr.

Nicholson Management and Discipline Plan

Throughout the teachings of this course, I have learned a great deal about classroom management and discipline that can further my skills and techniques as a classroom teacher. Encompassed in these ideals are preventative, precautionary measures as well as the ramification response or consequence to misbehaviors. Management is the teachers responsibility and provides structure and guidelines of how things should be done. If classroom management is effective, the procedures and routines ultimately become rituals that the children understand and follow. Conversely, discipline deals with the behaviors and provides guidelines about what should be done in response to impulsive actions and lack of self-control. Classroom management works best when it is explained, understood, reinforced and practiced by students as well as modeled for them. Effective management ensures that the students in that class can flourish as efficient teaching can occur. When students take ownership over their actions, they understand the reasoning and motivation for they do and ultimately will choose to do the right thing. This course has allowed me to formulate a proactive and workable management and discipline plan that will benefit the students in my classroom and ultimately allow them to succeed. At the beginning of our session, we assessed our own initial styles of management. Like many of my fellow classmates, my style most readily associated with authoritative style in which there is some freedom but the teacher is still a strong leader. Upon completing the survey again as our course commences, it appears that I have merely strengthened this style of management for myself. I believe in setting limits and controls but allowing some degree of independence for the students. I think reasons should be given to support the rules and consequences put forth. A

warm, nurturing environment where there is open verbal communication and students feel comfortable to ask and interrupt if they need help is beneficial to their learning. By guiding the students and allowing them to practice their social skills, they will develop communication skills that will help them throughout their lives. I think in practicing this style, the ultimate goal is student learning, understanding and growth. Students gain a sense of responsibility, where they learn that they should follow the rules and neglecting to do so will result in consequences. I feel that the authoritative style follows methods and guidelines that will help students flourish in all aspects of their life. Students have an ultimate goal to fit in in any given environment. They want to please the teacher and need guidelines to follow in order to know they are doing the right thing. I think it is important to create classroom rules using the input of the students because they are the ones that need to understand and follow these rules therefore by creating them it gives them a sense of responsibility. Students, when given the challenge, will more often than not create more rules than necessary so the teacher needs to guide them and help them combine and eliminate unnecessary rules, phrase them positively and gear them towards the greater good of the class. Additionally, as the school year progresses, rules that are continually followed can be eliminated and new ones can be created if need be. Its important to not only display the rules so that the students are constantly aware, but also to ensure that they understand the rules and that there is an understood consistency that the rules apply to everyone every time. In creating a list of rules, it is also important to address what may occur when the set rules are not followed. The consequences, if appropriate, can also be formulated and guided by the students. Ultimately the consequences will be enforced by the teacher, but it is important that the students know what they are and when they will be applied. Consequences need to be consistent, for example if a

first offender misbehaves they must be subject to the same consequence as a repeat offender. I think logical consequences are the most beneficial in that the time fits the crime. In dealing with logical consequences, the punishment is ultimately based upon the rule that was not followed and it makes sense to the student. Furthermore, I think the children that continual follow the guidelines set forth should benefit and receive some acknowledgment as well. It reinforces their correct behaviors and doesnt cause them to act out and become attention seeking and strive for mistaken goals. Students should not be belittled or demeaned due to their actions in front of their peer, even if they are severely acting out, because this hurts their personal self-worth and could ultimately scar them, or in retrospect, it could be the attention they are seeking. Students should be treated with respect and dignity even if that is completely the opposite of the their response to other people. Dont lower to the level of your students, dont let them take control away from you and ultimately have the power. From a teachers point of view, it is important to plan and manage. Plan aspects such as lessons, instruction, classroom environment, group and individual work and manage elements such as social interactions, motivation to learn, and student behavior. The teacher should be responsible for communicating with students and parents, and keeping records of the students progress and abilities. I think it is important for there to be referential power that builds relationships with students. The students should respect and trust their teacher and not feel completely controlled and bossed around. Teachers, although difficult at times, should try their best to be positive towards their students because talking down or using degrading comments towards students is essentially a form of bullying and does not benefit anyone. It is in the teachers best interest to control their anger and frustration with students and take a deep breath and be objective and as positive as possible. The classroom environment is an important

component in effective teaching as it establishes students roles and comfort levels within the room which ultimately influences there produce and behavior. Children should have boundaries and limitations, be it with cubby space or desk usage, but also feel entitled to some sense of freedom. Assigning ownership to a given space forces the students to be more responsible because they are caring for their belongings and showing respect and kindness.

In conjunction with the Canter Model of Assertive Discipline, I agree that rules need to be positively phrased. I find likeness to this model because the overall ideal is to act in an authoritative manner, express confidence in the students abilities and provide rules. In doing so, individuals can act in their best interest and express themselves without fear of mockery. I applaud this method for giving the teacher the right to teach, have a controlled class and be able to ask for assistance, while acknowledging that they must maintain control of the class. I am slightly cautionary in demanding compliance from students while also asserting them the right to choose their own behavior. Following this method, the students cannot stop you from teaching and likewise, they are entitled to the best possible education. By being assertive, the ideal types of response to conflict, the rules are clearly defined as are the consequences for noncompliance. I believe this assertive technique is extremely important to produce a well function classroom as there is a means to an end. The idea of having a social contract in place to ensure understanding is also ideal and recommended. Discipline hierarchy is ideal in that you as the classroom teacher should be responsible for the reprimanding and guiding the students, however further action must be taken if there is a continual offense as the same response or punishment because less effective. I differ from the Cantor model in that there are no excuses ever because kids will break instead of bend if there

are severe and harsh rules. Different kids need different things, and if something can be simply resolved by conversation or mediation, I think it is best. As I mentioned, I think it is important for there to be a limited set of guidelines, as in approximately 6 rules as well as 6 consequences, because the more that exist the less effective they each become. By repeating and reiterating the rules, students are provided with continual gentle reminders of what they should be doing. Discipline with Dignity is also an important component of my plan in that children should not be humiliated and ridiculed in front of their peers. I think it is important to uphold their self-worth and reprimand on an individual and personal level while continually promoting their desire to learn. Discipline with Dignity has three sections which are prevention, action and resolution. This model is proactive and prevents misunderstandings and discipline problems. My model ideally follows the same measure where the students explicitly know what is expected of them and therefore can choose to follow or misbehave. In following this, students have a sense of ownership over their class, know and understand the expectations and consequences. As a means of prevention, the teacher needs to not only be aware of the students but also of themselves as an individual. The teacher must know what learning and teaching style they use, what bothers them and have the ability to teach to the students strengths not their personal comfort level. By being true to yourself, your class will connect more personally with you and have a desire to be involved and fit in. As the teacher, you must be knowledgeable and know what you are teaching and how you will be doing so. By being preventative, you alleviate your own stress and the stress that is felt by your students. By establishing and enforcing a social contract, the students have a written agreement upon which they can build, and the students have structure to guide their actions and behaviors. This makes the contract auditory, written and discussed. The students need to know the rules and the consequences which should be clear and specific. Consequences

should not be a punishment and should be set up in stages while still preserving the students dignity and ultimately providing them with the motivation to change. Therefore consequences that have not been taught, cannot be implemented, because its not fair and eliminates the students understanding. Dreikurs Model points out that all students want is recognition and their misbehavior is due to their attempt to attain it. I think following this concept and in order to eliminate misbehaviors, children that are doing the right thing must also be acknowledged. Positive reinforcement for good behavior, promotes the continuation of the desired action. Dreikurs emphasizes that discipline should not be punishment which merely teaches them what not to, but rather should help the student ultimately impose limits upon themselves. This model puts ownership on the student and leaves them responsible for their actions because they know the rules and consequences and facilitated in creating them. This model idealizes a democratic type of teacher in which the students help in decision making, yet order is still maintained. The teacher has strong leadership and guidance, yet also establishes a class where the students are motivated from within. I think a class needs order and limits, firmness and kindness, and a bit of sour and sweet. The teacher is in charge of a balancing act where the students get to make decisions and be involved, but also a strong sense leadership from the teacher. By acknowledging misbehavior as mistaken goal, teachers can act in ways that do not reinforce them and strive to encourage students efforts. Ultimately, I could pull and take from all aspects of the various models. The management and discipline we discussed all have great concepts and guidelines, but still need some tweaking. When a perfect balance of management and discipline is met, the other models will become obsolete, and the perfect ideal one will flourish.