Running head: DISCIPLINE, RULES, AND CONSEQUENCES 1

Discipline, Rules, and Consequences

Isabelle Newman

Arizona State University

DISCIPLINE, RULES, AND CONSEQUENCES 2

Discipline, Rules, and Consequences

As I enter the workforce as a secondary education teacher, I will be expected to come in

with my classroom rules and procedures all drawn up and posted. The rules in my classroom,

although few, have high expectations in delivery. My rules are going to have to be constantly

practiced throughout a class period, and failure to uphold these classroom rules as students will

result in first: a warning, second: a private talk with me, third: a call home explaining to their

parents why they are disobeying my classroom rules, and fourth: an office referral. My

classroom rules will be as follows: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Inclusive, and Inquire

About Your Suspicions.

Being respectful speaks volumes when children are able to practice it and correctly

implement that behavior in different settings. Respect is also a two- way street: as long as they

give me respect, they will receive it in return. In my opinion, a respectful classroom is a well-

maintained classroom. Examples of disrespect include but are not limited to: talking when the

teacher is talking, rolling one’s eyes, sleeping in class, and refusing to participate in class

discussions.

As for being responsible is concerned, this is mainly targeted at their academic work and

deadlines/ due dates. Students are responsible for finding time outside of class to finish an

assignment they might not have finished in class. They are responsible for turning assignments

and projects in on time. They are responsible for being absent and making up the work they

missed by visiting me (there is a procedure about this specific scenario later on). Although these

are just some examples, there are others that fall into this category.

Practicing inclusion is one of my classroom rules because I will have zero- tolerance

bullying policy in my classroom. Mainly, adolescents bully through excluding someone else due
DISCIPLINE, RULES, AND CONSEQUENCES 3

to differences that they may have. My classroom will practice inclusion, celebrate differences,

and promote what a bully- free environment should look like. Examples of bullying will be

laughing at someone else explicitly, talking about someone in front of their face, any physical or

verbal violence… the list could go on and on. At this stage in their development, kids have a

good idea at what bullying looks like and how to act in a bully- free environment.

My last and final rule is to inquire about your suspicions. I made this rule strictly from a

scientific standpoint (as science is my content area) and here is why. Science was born out of the

question: why? I want my students to tap into their innate curiosities and not be afraid to point

out when they think I’m wrong- respectfully of course- or ask why they don’t understand or

when they are suspicious! The goal of this rule is to tap into their natural creativity and explore

their interests. An example of this would be asking, “Why does the world only have one moon,

but Saturn have many?”. I could easily answer this with a scientific explanation, revisit the

answer to that question later on in class if I know we are going to cover the material, simply

answer it the next day in class if I needed to research the question, or simply say that that’s how

it is and we don’t really know how or why (as this is oftentimes the answer to many of their

questions!).