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Running Head: CLASSROOM PHILOSOPHY

Classroom Management Philosophy and Procedures

Marete Snortland-Pich
University of Mary

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Classroom management is the best tool a teacher has in his or her teacher toolbox. But
what is needed for good classroom management? How does a teacher create classroom
management in his or her own classroom? Truly classroom management and how it is instilled is
completely up to the teacher and what he or she is comfortable with and believes. A teacher
needs to decide what their philosophy is, how they want to create procedures in his or her
classroom, and what those procedures are. It truly is different from class to class, but all teachers
need a plan.
I believe the most important traits in a good teacher are patience and empathy. When it
comes to managing a classroom, I believe it is very important to get to know all of the students,
as well as find positive ways to motivate every single one of them. This takes a lot of time and
empathy, as sometimes the students are not as trusting as others. But, if a teacher takes the
necessary time to build that relationship, I believe the classroom will run much more smoothly
than if the teacher just built his or her own assumptions in their head of who their students are.
Jim Fay, the author of Love and Logic states in the preface of his book, Relationships are
the foundation of teaching. Kids work harder and behave better for teachers they like. Does this
mean a teacher should make sure all of their students like them no matter what? Yes and no. I
believe teachers should strive to have positive relationships with their students, but not at the cost
of allowing students to have complete control in the classroom. Teachers need to be a good
example to their students and show them how to properly behave through modeling. If students
misbehave, the teacher cant just let it slide. He or she needs to put that behavior back on the
student and ask questions like what could you do differently next time or what other solutions
can we make to solve the problem that is more positive? If students are taught to reflect on their
actions, they will learn from their mistakes.

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Sometimes situations may arise that cause a teacher to lose their cool. Many people
assume that if a situation becomes that extreme, the student should be brought to the principal. I
do not agree. I think that if a teacher is that angry at something a student has done, they should
wait to address it until they can calm themselves down. Unless a student is at risk of physically
harming him or herself, or others in the classroom, the teacher should be able to control the
students in the classroom. For example, sometimes students talk back and it can be difficult to
not feed in to the behavior or pass it off to someone else to handle, but its best to address it when
it can be logically dealt with. The teacher should inform the student that they will address that
behavior at a later time and then the teacher should take time to reflect on the best way to handle
the situation.
I really love reflection questions with students, as it makes them seriously consider their
actions. Really, the best way to handle any situation is what works best for the teacher and his or
her philosophy. My most comfortable method of addressing behavior that I see unfit is to help
the child reflect. As someone who is working towards becoming an Early Childhood Special
Education teacher, I know how important it is to use every available opportunity to teach my
students anything and everything. When children are young, they need to be taught proper
behavior because they may not know any better. I believe the easiest way to do that is to have
them reflect and I need to teach them how to do that.
Another method to help with behavior in the classroom is to set up procedures in the
classroom. That way, students know what to expect every time they walk into the classroom.
The most important detail for the teacher to establish at the start of school is consistency.
(Wong & Wong, 2014, p. 65) From the first day of school, the teacher needs to put in place and
practice all procedures he or she expects the students to use throughout the classroom. There

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should also be posters of these procedures placed around the classroom as well to reinforce the
proper way to do everything in the classroom.
From day one, the teacher should scaffold the procedures and spend at least the first week
establishing them. I plan to teach very young children who may have never been in a classroom
before, so it is especially important that I establish proper procedures with my future students.
On the first day, I plan to take my students through the proper and not proper way to hang up a
coat and have students come up with the step-by-step proper procedure for hanging up coats and
entering my classroom. When students are included in the process of creating procedures and
rules in the classroom, they feel like they have more control, as well as more comfort with being
in the classroom. if students sense that they are not welcome, accepted, or supported in the
classroom, it is unlikely they will engage in classroom activities. (Marzano, 2010, pg. 6)
Some people, including students, believe procedures are rules. They are very different
from rules. To me, procedures are the guidelines of how we want something done in our
classroom and the consequence of following procedures is to just rehearse the procedure again.
Rules have major consequences when they are broken. For my classroom, I would want only
three rules and I would let my students decide the rules, but I would also guide them to the rules.
I would hope my students would agree that the three major rules are respect, responsibility, and
dedication. I want my students to not only respect me, but also their classmates and supplies. I
would want my students to also take responsibility for every action they create. Finally, I want
my students dedicated to learning and participating in the classroom. That may not seem like
something students should worry about or care about, but I believe students should take charge
of their own learning. In order for a student to do that, he or she needs to be dedicated to learning

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and exploring all there is in the world around us. Without dedication, they wont try or care
enough to try.
Transitions are another huge part of the day in any classroom. If transitions are done
poorly, students lose out on precious learning time. I want to create easy transitions that are
educational and helpful. I think a great method is bell work. When students enter the classroom
in the morning, they put away their things, place homework in a basket, choose their lunch, and
then work on whatever bell work I have decided for them to do that morning. For example, if the
students are working on a project, I would probably have them continue the projects. If the
classroom is not working on a project, I would have them answer a question about a topic we had
been covering that week and would be reviewing again that day. Not only does the work give my
students something to do, I can also check for understanding or have time to move on to other
topics during the time they would have worked on reviewing or their projects.
For transitions during the day, such as from recess to inside, I would try to have a
calming activity set up to transition them back into the classroom setting. I have observed many
teachers try to immediately jump into a lesson after the students have come back inside but the
students are completely disengaged and wired from whatever happened on the playground. I
think an easy calming technique is to have students do breathing and stretching exercises and
then have them either quickly review the morning lesson or move into an activity or lesson that
is hands-on and engaging. I would not have them read on their own or listen to me read because I
feel like students are not capable of focusing when they are that young after doing physical
activity, such as recess.
I think another great method for easing transitions in the classroom is to use a signal for
transitions and planning the necessary time for the students to finish what they are doing and get

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ready for the next lesson. I really like it when teachers give students a countdown, such as We
will finish our art lesson in five minutes so the students know to hurry up or using a timer that
they can see. I do not really like the use of loud objects to signal transitions because some
students have sensory needs and the signal can be too alarming. I believe that if I were to use a
noise as a signal, I would probably use chimes that are quiet or the snapping of fingers.
Noise makers are an easy way to get students attention, but I think there are also other
easy and quiet ways to do that. For instance, a school I observed uses the methods of give me a
paw. The teacher or principal holds up their paw and all of the students stop talking and hold
up their paws too. Their paw is a closed fist and that is all it takes. I watched an entire gym full
of students completely stop talking when a teacher held up their paw. It was incredible and
proved to me that schoolwide quieting methods like that can be a great tool. A lot of schools I
have observed do not have those methods, so it may be up to the teacher to create his or her own,
but it may be a vital tool in any classroom.
At the end of the day, I expect my students to turn in any assignments and grab their coats
to go home. Sometimes waiting in line to leave can cause behavior problems, but I believe
making standing in line fun for students can eliminate the behavior. It can also be a great
opportunity to reinforce lessons. I would want to try and quiz my students as they stood in line or
ask them questions that had them reflecting on what they learned that day. I would say things like
what was the best thing you learned today? I believe if procedures also reinforce learning, they
are more than just an annoying thing students feel they have to do with no point to them at all.
To me, a great teacher is patient and empathetic to students. He or she has come up with
great classroom management strategies and has also created rules and procedures in his or her
classroom. He or she has also established how to reinforce those procedures and rules as well as

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planned how to deal with every bump in the road that may arise. Being a teacher can be a
challenging job, but with the right tools, it can be the most fun job as well as the most rewarding.

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References
Fay, J. & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love & logic: Taking control of the classroom. The
Love & Logic Press: Golden, CO.
Marzano, R. J.; Pickering, D. J.; and Heflebower, T. (2010) The highly engaged classroom.
Marzano Research Laboritory: Bloomington, IN.
Wong, H. K. & Wong, R. T. (2014) The classroom management book. Harry K. Wong
Publications, Inc.: Mountain View, CA.