Miriam Nieto

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a teacher. Being in school for more than a

decade and taking teaching education classes, like many others, I have a pretty clear image of my

future classroom management.I will be teaching 7-12 Social Sciences and/or ESL hopefully in a

class A or B school. My experience from volunteering and working in schools has helped me

create expectations for myself and my students. I have started preparations for my first day and I

will continue learning and preparing for various preventive and corrective disciplines. I also have

a good understanding of the documentation, follow through, and collaboration with my future

faculty, administration, counselors, and parents.

First and foremost, I will explain and expect everyone in my classroom to be respectful

about others opinions and values. I will also explain the importance of having an open mind and

willing to give diversity a try. I will also make sure that students respect each other’s beliefs.

Some students might be LGBQT+, Muslim, minorities, etc, but I will make sure they all feel

comfortable. We live in a country where opinions and beliefs are not always respected, but I will

try my best for them to be respected in my classroom.I may be around more diversity than other

teachers, so I will make sure to always advocate for those students, not only them, but also all

my students. I want to make sure to include everyone in anything we do, ELL students and kids

with special needs. I will make sure the classroom is plastered with rules and expectations and

with important matters regarding the subject(s) I am teaching.

From various teachers I have had or worked with, I have noticed that having a positive

attitude comes in handy, students are more likely to engage even if they hate the subject. I want

to make sure positive vibes can be felt in the classroom because high schoolers are trying to
figure out who they are in life and with that comes rough times. I want to have positive quotes

around the room and pictures. I also want to take 10 minutes every Friday to talk with students

individually if they would like, if not, they can watch CNN news to stay up to date with the news

which would be the required brain warm up. I will also make sure to take the first step to be

positive. When the students enter my classroom, I want them to leave all the negativity and

problems they have at the door. I want my classroom to be an escape from all the negative of the

world and to have the students fully engaged in learning.

In the classroom, I will make it clear that bullying will not be allowed at all. I will also

make sure the students remember these words “treat others the way you want to be treated”. I

feel like that small saying means a lot and by posting that around my classroom, it will remind

the students of it everytime. If a student ever tells me they are being bothered, bullied, or hurt, I

will take action immediately. I will try my best to make every student feel comfortable.

I have a few running Google Docs with sites to reference back to, activities to try, games

to play, and disciplines to try. I also have a whole binder full of various handouts from classes

since TE 100, including handouts from this TE 319 class. I will make sure to try out various

disciplines according to my class and students. I believe that students do not learn from just

PowerPoints and worksheets. Students learn best when they interact with each other and move

around. Some students might learn more from reading that acting out, but students will retain

that information longer if they performed the action or saw someone perform it. Students also do

not learn something after hearing it once. Students need repetition which is something I will
incorporate. I will make them read the section at home, have them explain it to me the next day

with various activities. Things may be different in ESL classrooms, but I will also incorporate

activities and games outside the planned curriculum when allowed.

Many people think history and learning English is boring, so I will not just use

worksheets and workbooks because those can be boring. I want to incorporate hands-on projects,

acting, field trips, essays, and many other things. I do not want them to only learn about the

subject, but also learn how to work together efficiently and grow in their communication skills. I

want to make sure the students do not feel sleepy and if they do, help them fight it. I have had

interactions and experiences where some ESL students have much more responsibility than

others such as working and raising a family therefore staying awake is a struggle, but as long as

there is communication between myself, students, other faculty and staff, I will always try to

help.

Having preventive and corrective disciplines in place can be done prior to students

coming in. I can not say exactly what I want my class to follow, but I have a few good ideas and

choices, depending on what previous teachers tell me as well as other staff. I will always make

sure to align my disciplines with the school’s expectations unless they are not working for the

students, then I would take it up to administration if needed. Something I heard many times is

making the student who gets in trouble the most a “friend” so they will respect you and listen

more. I will make sure to document any and all incidents, from which students are being

disruptive, what students are hard workers, to those who just don’t seem to understand. I will

always work with my team of teachers and counselors, I know there is a balance to it all and I

will make some mistakes, but as long as I can, I will continue trying to help my students be
successful. Something that I heard in this class that I want to for sure incorporate is sending

positive notes home two times more often than negative notes. Let’s say in one week, I have to

call a guardian because of their child’s disruptive behavior after working with them one on one. I

will make sure to follow up with that guardian with hopefully a positive note and also send a

positive note to another student’s guardians. I know I can not please all parents and students, but

I will not allow so much negative to build around me. I would also love for guardians to have

some kind of part in their student’s classwork, inviting them to a field trip, game day, etc, of

course working with administration to allow this. Not all guardians may be available to

participate or want to participate, but being able to incorporate some of them would make the

classroom feel more welcoming.

Many people wonder why they have to go to school. Well, if they didn’t go to school,

they would not know how to read, write, and everything else. School teaches math, science,

history, health, friendships, and so many other life skills. It is in schools that students learn how

to be a person, their own person. Throughout their years in school, students learn who they are

and what they want to do with their own lives. As a teacher, I am that person that guides them for

a short time. Teachers are like parents, they worry about the students and teach them valuable

lessons. Some students might hate teachers, but teachers are just a little helping hand. When a

student does not have their homework turned in on time and a teacher deducts points, they are

just teaching them a lesson. In the world outside school, no one is going to excuse the student if

they are late to a meeting or to a surgery. Many people might think that teachers just teach the

subject, but that is not true. Teachers also set the example. I have had teachers that made me
realize that rough times are not forever. School is a very important part of developing, and I am

very excited to be a part of such an amazing journey.