CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

Classroom Management Philosophy

Sierra Wieseler

Northern State University

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Classroom Management Philosophy

Creating a classroom environment where students are able to learn and grow can be an

incredibly challenging thing for any teacher to do. In order to create a productive classroom

environment and achieve the goals that you put out for your students, it is important to have set

standards and objectives of your expectations as the teacher. It is incredibly crucial to also

remember that every student is different, and in turn every student’s goals and expectations will

also be different. Knowing how to push a student to do his/her best is vital for all teachers, and I

personally believe that the relationships that are built between a teacher and their students will

allow for every teacher to find a way to help the students in his/her classroom be successful.

There are three critical elements that helps a teacher create a learning environment that

allows for all students to grow and achieve both academically and personally: knowledge of how

to manage a classroom, knowledge of subject matter, and understanding of their students’

sociological backgrounds (Jones, 2021). These three components give teachers the opportunity to

let their students become well-educated and well-rounded students that meet the standards and

expectations that are set for them. Knowing exactly how to manage a classroom is the most

important aspect of teaching, especially as a new teacher. Being able to have the natural

authority to be able to run a classroom and show students that they will follow your rules and

work hard in your classroom is something that not all teachers acquire. The arbitrary authority

that teachers acquire because of their title as a teacher does not naturally make a person good at

managing a classroom. Instead, a person needs a mixture of natural authority and arbitrary

authority to create an environment where students are aware of who is in charge while still

feeling welcome, cared about, and loved.

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When it comes to knowing the subject matter that you are teaching, I personally believe that

it is less important to know every single fact and more important to show the students that you

are not perfect and there will be times where you will not know the answer. No matter what age I

end up teaching, I want my students to know that I make mistakes all the time, I don’t know

everything, and that it is okay to be unaware or uncertain about things. I want to feel comfortable

enough with my students to let them know that it is okay to say, “I don’t know the answer to that

questions, but I will do some research and get back to you with an answer,” or “I am unsure of

the answer to that question, but we could find the answer together.” I think it is very important to

be the best role model to your students that you possibly can be, but I think it is just as important

to be very upfront and honest with your students about not knowing every single thing.

“Classrooms need to be places where students understand that effective learners take risks, make

mistakes, and ask questions, and that both peer and adult responses to mistakes will be

respected,” (Jones, 2021). Allowing for students to learn in an open environment gives them

even more opportunities to open up to see and learn new things that they were too afraid to do on

their own before.

The third component that helps create a well-managed classroom is understanding the

sociological backgrounds of the students within your classroom. Being able to talk to a student,

about something besides the content that you are teaching them, is incredibly crucial when it

comes to getting to know your students. Listening to their stories and what they have to say gives

them the opportunity to show you who they are as a person while also showing you what is

important to them. I want to be able to give my students the opportunity to not only learn more

academically, but I also want them to learn and grow as a person. In my opinion, the content and

knowledge of all of the skills being taught based on the standards and curriculums will happen
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when the students are ready for it to happen. As a teacher, I only have nine months with my

students before they continue onto even bigger things than what I was offering in my classroom.

During those nine months, it is my goal to show students that they all have a purpose and that

they are able to accomplish anything they set their mind to. I want to be a support system for

every student that walks into my classroom, and I want them to know that they are always

welcome back to my classroom. By learning and growing together, it allows for both the students

and I to learn new things about so many different things that we didn’t know before.

The last critical part of classroom management is knowing the difference between classroom

management and discipline. There is a large difference between managing a classroom and the

students in the classroom versus disciplining students who are misbehaving. Traditional, liberal

progressive, and socially critical forms of discipline are three different areas that students are

able to pick and choose important parts to help create a solid discipline plan to follow. The

traditional form of disciple is, “. . . characterized by the teacher as an authority figure who

presents and follows strict rules and responds with clear and escalating responses to student

misbehavior,” (Jones, 2021). The liberal progressive form of discipline is when, “. . . teachers

apply democratic principles that involve students in making and solving problems,” (Jones,

2021). Lastly, the socially critical form of discipline happens when, “. . . unproductive student

behavior is viewed as a response to conditions in the classroom that fail to meet students’ needs

and where creating positive, supportive environments characterized by engaging and

intellectually appropriate supportive instructional activities is the key to preventing undesirable

student behavior,” (Jones, 2021). These three components are ways that teachers discipline

students when it is needed, but they can be more than just that. Instead of having to discipline

students as they misbehave, it is important to be proactive and to set those baselines and rules
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before the misbehavior happens. Working with the students in your classroom is important, and I

truly believe that when the baselines and boundaries are set right away, the misbehavior stops

and is very minimal throughout the rest of the school year.

“Teachers have control over many factors that significantly influence the achievement and

behavior of students. Schools and teachers working with similar student populations differ

dramatically in their ability to help students be academically successful and develop desirable

behaviors,” (Jones, 2021). Teachers are capable of so many different things, and I truly believe

that a single teacher is able to change hundreds of lives just by showing that he/she cares and that

the teacher wants to see their students achieve. When a teacher has set standards, objectives, and

expectations for his/her students, each student is able to learn and grow in every possible way. I

sincerely believe that a classroom that is built around a welcoming environment encourages

students to want to come to school and learn each and every day. When the teacher makes school

enjoyable, the students will want to be there to learn the content that is being taught to them.
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References

Jones, V. F., & Jones, L. S. (2021). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating

communities of support and solving problems (Twelfth ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.

Retrieved 2020, from

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