Personal Management Philosophy:

Classroom management is one of the most important ideas to look

at in regards to teaching. Management can bring either lacking or
learning, chaos or control. Without great management, a classroom can
fall apart and come to chaos, as represented by Marzano: If students
are disorderly and disrespectful, and no apparent rules and
procedures guide behavior, chaos becomes the norm(Marzano,
Marzano, & Pickering, 2003, p. 1).
What does good management look like for a classroom? According
to The Glossary of Education Reform, it looks like the wide variety of
skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized,
orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive
during a class (Hidden curriculum, 2014). This profile was compiled
to give a base for my classroom management so that I can fulfill what
good management looks like. It was made to show my personal beliefs
on classroom management, as well as how I plan to enact this idea
within my classroom.
It is my hope to combine these different theories within my own
personal management, adapting items from many theories to find my
own style within those ideas. This profile reflects me as a teacher.
While it may seem in depth at times, it will be a document that will
forever be growing as I grow as an educator.

Personal Classroom Management Style:

An effective teacher is many things, but it is my belief that he or she
instills six major ideas in a classroom. These six ideas are:

Consistency
Organization
Collaboration
Respectfulness
Love & Empathy
Positive Learning

While these six items are not the only ideas to instill within a classroom, they
are six, which, in combination with my personality, will flow well within my
classroom environment. My personality works well within these areas. In
consistency, my need for a predictable atmosphere allows me to set up a schedule
that will supply not only myself, but also my students with a safe and secure
learning environment. Within the idea of organization, my personality is very much
intertwined. Organizing and sorting often come in an effortless manner. I am able
to set up rooms in ease because I think and sort items into how to best organize
them. Collaboration is another area that flows within me due to the way I was
made. I have a heart for people and love working alongside of others. It gives me a
joy to learn from others, as well as teaching others working in my community.
Respectfulness comes in my overall attitude. I find value in respecting those
around me, no matter of their position. Love and empathy are natural facets to my
personality as well. I simply love to love and to teach and help students make
connections in their own learning. Positive learning is the last of the six items, but
not the least important. Being positive in learning is something I have grown in as
my time as a student and is something I love to instill in students. These six ideas
not only make effective teachers, but will also help me become an effective
teacher as well.

Consistency

Students want a safe predictable, and nurturing environment-one that

is consistent(Wong & Wong, 2009, p.3).
In my classroom I will have a consistency that allows the students to feel
safe and secure in the environment that surrounds them. Students want a wellmanaged classroom more than the teachers do because it provides them with
security in the classroom that is CONSISTENT (Wong & Wong, 2009, p. 82).
One of the ways I will do this is by having not only a consistent routine, but also
consistent activities to develop this feeling that are instilled in this routine.
Students thrive on routines and it allows them a security they can count on.
Even as an adult, I struggle with the idea of an unknown day. It leaves me with
a sense of being lost and that is not how I want my students to feel.
Another way that I will have consistency in my classroom is in regards to
how I deal with behavior problems. I am not a nave person who thinks that
everything will be great all the time and my class will have no troubles. I will
have struggles, but I will also have a consistent way to deal with certain
behavior issues as laid out in my section of behavior plans. There will be
constant norms and rules and these will have consequences when broken, and
praise when done.
Also, my classroom will have consistency in the procedures that are laid
out for the students beginning on the first day. There are no surprises; the
teacher and the students know how the class is structured and run. The
students know what to do. They know the procedures (Wong & Wong, 2009, p.
195).The students will practice these procedures so that they become a part of
the routine of the day. They will never feel unprepared or uneasy because the
procedures will be consistent and they will never have to fear what comes next.

Organization

Teachers who are ready maximize student learning and minimize

student misbehavior (Wong & Wong, 2009, p. 98).

I have always been a person who is organized. I take joy in knowing where
things are, when things should happen, and knowing how things may look. In my
classroom, I have a desire for those things as well. Not just for my own sake, but
for my students sake as well. Without organization my students will never learn. It
is my plan to have organization within several aspects of my classroom.
One of the largest aspects would be that of the classroom set up. They
strategically place furniture, learning centers, and materials in order to optimize
student learning and reduce distractions (Stronge, Tucker, & Hindman, 2004). In
setting up my future classroom, I thought of how the students in my class would
move around. How could I allow them to move around with learning, but not distract
them by the items in the room? I chose to have areas of the room quiet, while
other areas are for learners who need noise or need to be verbal and those areas
were separated. This would allow students to not be distracted by the other
happenings around them. Supplies were also taken into consideration. Where could
supplies be located so that the students could have the items accessible, but not in
the way? The answer was to have a special spot for just those items. The students
will not only know where things are, but also where they go. Picking apart each and
every area of classroom organization is essential to make sure that every path in
the classroom is one that leads to success.
Not only will I keep the tangible classroom organized, but I will also teach
my students how to be organized. They will learn how to keep a planner, keep their
subjects organized, how to find a book by genre and author, and many more
organization ideas. They will learn how to maximize their own learning.

Collaboration

No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you

-Althea Gibson (Quotations book, 2003).
Teaching is not a job of one, but is instead a job of many. Teachers working
in isolation make student achievement a next-to-impossible feat (Wong & Wong,
2009, p. 335). I do not feel as though I will ever be able to be an effective teacher
if I choose to work alone. I need a support system and I need others who
understand how to best help me in the struggles of the classroom. I will be
intentional about collaborating with the other stakeholders around me. This
category includes, but is not limited to: principals, additional administrators,
parents, other teachers, students, and research. Collaboration is the most
effective way for teachers to learn(Wong & Wong, 2009, p. 334). I will have a
professional learning community with these stakeholders so I can best learn how to
help my class.
I do my best to listen and learn from others to gain a new perspective or new
ideas. I will collaborate with others to learn management techniques, professional
development information, lesson plans, additional instructional strategies,
assessment ideas, and much more. In addition to listening to learn, I will also do my
best to share ideas of my own so others in my professional development can grow
from me while I grow from them. I have seen professional learning communities
work and allow teachers and students to flourish in their environments so
collaboration is something I want in my future classroom.
Collaboration is not just for teachers however, students also need to learn
how to collaborate with each other. They will learn through respectfulness how to
best collaborate together in group projects, classroom activities or events, table
work lessons, and much more. This collaboration will not only help their learning
but will also help establish a safe community among their classmates.

Respectfulness

Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves

respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves U.
Thant (U Thant Quotes, n.d.).
Respectfulness to all is important with a classroom. It is not only one
of the norms and intangible aspects I will have in my classroom, but is also
something I want for my students to carry out in life and not just within
the classroom.
In order to establish this idea of respect within the classroom, it is
my belief that norms and rules would need to be set up as well as having
open communication. While I know from experience that following through
on consequences to rules and norms are one way to gain respect, I also feel
that it is important to open my ears and respect the ideas and thoughts of
my students. Respecting students means regarding them with special
attention, honoring them, showing consideration toward them, being
concerned about them, appreciating them, relating to them, admiring their
strengths, and caring for them. Young people are dignified and
strengthened by adult respect (Tomlinson, 2011). I believe that through my
respect as the teacher, my students will respect themselves, classmates,
and me, thus creating this atmosphere in my classroom.

Love & Empathy

An empathic environment is a smarter environment (Curwin, 2014).

Love and empathy represent two of the largest ideas of

importance to me in how I will teach and how I will have my classroom
run. It is my belief that a loved child who receives sincere empathy to
his or her situation is set up for far more success than a child who is not.
In the theory of Love & Logic, Fay also agrees with this idea and states
five benefits to an empathetic attitude: The child is not distracted by
the adult's anger. The child must "own" his or her pain rather than
blaming it on the adult. The adult-child relationship is maintained. The
child is much less likely to seek revenge. The adult is seen as being able
to handle problems without breaking a sweat (1998).
I will have this empathetic atmosphere as well as a loving
atmosphere within the classroom each and every day through my speech,
body language, as well as in my classroom activities. My students will feel
safe and secure, not just with me, but also with the other students. As
with respectfulness, each student will leave my classroom with the
ability to act on these ideas outside of the classroom.

Positive Learning
Having positive expectations simply means that the teacher believes in
the learner and that the learner can learn (Wong & Wong, 2009, p.11)

It is my wish for my students to have a positive learning

experience while they are in my classroom. Whether this is in regards to
the core curriculum or the hidden curriculum does not matter, but rather
what matters is positivity in a lesson learned.
I want my students to make mistakes. While this may sound like a
horrible thing for a teacher to state, this is what I want to see. I want
this because I want them to have opportunities to grow and learn and I
want to see them striving to work past the thing that has supposedly
defeated them. I do not want them to walk out of my room with the idea
that when they complete things correctly is when it is positive. I want
them to rejoice in their mistakes so that they understand that they are
learning and that is the positive aspect. Even research says Ask the
students to make mistakes on purpose, then show acceptance (Marzano
& Marzano, 2003, p. 10).
I will make this opportunity through growth by challenging my
students. In my classroom, I will have a challenge bucket of items that
will push them further academically and I will explain that it is not about
getting it right the first time. Getting things wrong is just as much of a
reason to rejoice as getting it right because we are learning. Students
will also rejoice with one another in the times of success as well as in
times of learning.

Strengths and Weaknesses

While I believe in the six ideas explained above, I also know that I will
struggle and succeed in different ways than others would. My strengths will make
some ideas easier than others, but my weaknesses will also mean that I must strive
to learn so that I may implement these six ideas and more. The following strengths
and weaknesses are not my only attributes or my only downfalls, but are the traits
I see within myself that pertain to my personal style of classroom management.

Strengths:

Well Organized
o

Organization is something that seems to be a part of me. It comes to

me naturally and is simply a part of the way I live my life. I am
constantly sorting through information or items to organize them for
the best possible use later. I feel as though this will be helpful in a
classroom, because learning needs to be organized. Having a plan and
being able to structure life to fit this schedule in is vital to success.

Perseverant
o

I push myself and others toward excellence and when I decide to do

something I persevere until I can look proudly back knowing that I
made it through. This can be beneficial to a classroom because it will
affect each and every aspect of my classroom. I will strive and
persevere during hard times and that is something I want my students
to learn as well.

Patient
o I have always had patience with students. In my life I have struggled
to have patience with certain people, but with students it is
continuously unwavering. This allows be to be more empathetic
towards students and also allows me to love my students in deeper
ways.

Respectful to Authority
o

I was raised to be respectful to authority, other ideas and

perspectives. It is something that was instilled in me while I was very
young and continued to be a lesson from then on. I learned how to
treat those who deserved respect, even if I did not agree. This is
something I will teach my students as well. I find respect to be a
foundation for relationships and, with a strength in respect, I can
build my school relationships to be deeper than others might be able
to.

Team Oriented
o Hearing ideas from others and learning from collaboration is how I
continue to learn and grow. I love to be a part of a team because I

hold the belief that there are strengths in numbers. No job will ever
be done just by me, but instead I always have help and am willing to
give help when I am needed. I think this is a very important quality in
a teacher because it is not simply about me.

Weaknesses:
Perfectionist
o While this can be a positive in the idea of wanting to make each lesson
great for every student, I also have trouble with my own work and
ideas being perfect on the first try. I continuously can stress myself
out trying to be absolutely perfect in everything. I forget to learn
how to be okay with mistakes. It is why I will help my students learn
to make mistakes.

Holder of High Expectations

o I can often set the bar high for myself and the others in my life by
asking them to meet the expectations set by my perfectionist ways
because I believe that anything can be accomplished with the right

amount of effort. This can be a problem when expectations are not

met. With myself it feels as though I have failed and students can
sometimes feel as though they let me down. I try to manage my
expectations by still aiming high, but also giving myself and my
students all that would be needed to succeed in the given task.

Persistent or Unbending
o Another word for this could be that I am stubborn. There are times
where I believe in something and I will hold onto my belief with a
tighter grip then seemingly possible. An example would be when I
think my idea for a way to teach a lesson is the only way it could be
done in my classroom. This can be such a great thing if I am simply
speaking on my belief in my students, but it can sometimes be a
problem in relation to my ideas or my way to do things. I am not the
only one who has great ideas.