Working on the ideas and theories of Linda Albert, college professor,

counselor, author middle school teacher and parent, I find myself subscribing
to the reality that classroom management needs to work on three ideas. The
classroom will look like a student-centered classroom. Before establishing
rules and procedures it is important to visit with the students to understand
how they feel and think, this will set a higher rate of positive response to the
culture of the classroom.
Classroom management should be preventative, corrective and
supportive. When you create a safe, inclusive learning environment, your
culture should start out as preventative. This means by establishing
procedures and expectations at the beginning of the school year; students
will be exposed to the appropriate classroom behaviors. In a perfect
scenario, this would be all that is required to have an active learning
environment I understand there will also be the need for being corrective.
Students will act out, for a variety of reasons, and they need to understand
the consequences of those choices. This includes ways to correct a student's
unacceptable behaviors. Consequences do not always have to be punitive,
but they do need to establish a change in behavior leading to the next step
of being supportive. In todays world, we have to understand not all students
will come from a supportive, loving environment and one of the many roles
of an educator is to support all students regardless of where they fit in
society.
All students can learn, but not all students learn in the same manner. I
believe it is important for students and teachers to establish open
communications when learning is not taking place. I believe that every
student can learn more today than they knew yesterday but it is the
responsibility of the student to engage in learning. I also believe every
educator has the responsibility to identify and understand the challenges
each student faces in their learning environment. The student-centered
model encourages a management plan that includes student input in regards
to rules, procedures and learning outcomes as well as having the students
input for disciplinary actions when rules are disregarded. In the studentcentered teaching model the teacher is not exempt from creating a safe and
protected learning environment but he/she encourages the students to take
a level of ownership in how the classroom is managed.
An effective management plan includes room for flexibility. While students
need to understand the boundaries, the teacher needs to recognize when a
lesson or classroom event does not meet the required elements of the
established plan. It is important for a teacher never to disregard a classroom
management plan but to have room to adjust as the emotions, events or
lessons of the day require small adjustments. These changes need to be
clearly discussed and understood as temporary adjustments or in some
cases permanent adjustments.

Classroom Physical Space:

It is important for an English classroom to have space to group and
regroup. Students will be engaged in interactive learning which includes
small group activities as well as individual work, so there needs to be space
to enable this. I would use individual desks as the central learning space for
the students. These can be arranged in many configurations to support
active learning. It will be important to keep student safety always in the
forefront of the arrangements.
As an English learning environment having a separate comfortable area in
the classroom for individual or group work would be essential as well.
Establishing a quiet corner with a small sofa or chairs helps students become
comfortable with their learning space and in turn, encourages students to
attend and participate in class. Sometimes students need a place to
decompress from life, and this area could fulfill the need as well as provide a
place for them to complete work required for the class. In this area space for
students to supply their choices of art for display will be appropriate.
Providing a space on a whiteboard to establish daily and weekly work will
be valuable as well. The use of colored tape can help create grids to write
expectations on and can be reconfigured as needed.
Student safety needs to be always on the mind of every educator, by
having a space that encapsulates both learning and relaxation students will
have a safe place. I will be aware of the emergency procedures of the school
district to comply to any emergencies that may occur keeping the safety of
my students and classroom in the forefront of my mind always. The
arrangements of the desks will allow for enough room for students to move
in case of dangerous situations. The sofa and relaxation area will be in an
area that can be utilized as a safe spot as well. If there were a need to block
a door or provide a safe space, the sofa would be the primary tool used to
block the door.
Classroom Procedures:
Routines are necessary to maintain expectations of student behavior as
well as their ability to learn. During the initial days of class students will be
given an opportunity to share ideas for procedures that will enhance their
learning, but ultimately those choices will be for me to make.
Some of the procedures to be followed will include;
Being in your seat when the bell rings ready to learn If there is a posted
bell ringer this needs to be completed without conversation.
To facilitate discussion there will be name cards created for each class;
the teacher will use these to call on students for participations. Each student
is responsible for being prepared to answer when called on. You may pass if
you are unsure of your answer.
All graded work is eligible for a redo if you are not satisfied with your
grade. Any test or quizzes to be redone will need to be scheduled during
lunch before or after school. A new test will be provided with the same
material but a different format.

 When I am giving instructions, students will be quiet, so I do not have to

repeat multiple times. If students seem not to understand or appear to be
not listening, they will be called on to repeat the instructions.
Music and other noises may be applied during transitions to maintain
order.
As an English class, students will be tested on reading and writing skills.
Groups will be managed depending on the activities with some groups
containing a variety of learning levels. The idea is for students to support one
another in learning. Other activities will require students with the same
learning levels to be grouped together, also because they will need to be
encouraged to grow in their knowledge and understanding. Sometimes
students will be able to choose their groups as long as they are productive.
By allowing choice students will take responsibility for their learning
outcomes.
The best scenario in teaching is to have a co-teacher. While this is not
always possible, the use of volunteers and other staff in the classroom will be
treated as co-laborers as well. Depending on the rules of the district
classroom volunteers will be able to support students during the activities in
the classroom but will be instructed not to do the work for the students.
Expectations and Rules:
1.
Respect of personal Property: If it is not yours do not touch it.
2. Respect for each other: Our classroom is a community, and as members
of the community you are responsible for supporting one another to success.
No one is about anyone else. When we are in a conversation, it is important
to listen then formulate a response. You are all young adults and as such
your conversations need to reflect thoughtful ideas and the use of
appropriate language.
3. Cell phones: As a teacher, I recognize cell phones will be a part of the
classroom. They can be utilized as an active tool or a distraction. As long as
cell phones remain a learning tool, they will stay in the possession of the
student. To honor the classroom learning environment, cell phones will be
muted, silenced or turned off during class. They either need to be placed in a
backpack/bag or on the top of the students desk. If there is a time when the
use of a cell phone is appropriate I will allow their use. i.e., research or quick
searches during a question or discussion session.
4. Music and earbuds/ headphones: I acknowledge that students multitask
throughout their day, listening to music is part of that multitasking. I will
allow students to listen to music with earbuds/ headphones during individual
work times except silent reading, testing or quizzes. If the music is loud
enough for me to hear when I walk by the student will be asked to turn it
down or off. If this becomes a persistent issue, we will revisit this rule and
make changes accordingly up to and including banning the use of music
during study times.

5. Food and Drink in the classroom: In acknowledgment of school policy

and the reality that students need food and drinks to maintain energy to
participate in productive learning Food and drinks will be allowed in the
classroom. If students do not clean up after themselves, this rule will change,
and no food or drinks will be authorized. Students will be reminded that we
are not the only people using the classroom space. Therefore, we need to be
respectful to those who come before us and after us by maintaining a clean
class. Students will not be granted permission to leave the classroom to
retrieve food or to purchase food.
These rules and expectations will be clearly printed in a disclosure document
that will be sent home with students and require a parent to sign that they
have seen and understand the expectations. We will also add any relevant
rules the students may feel are a dependable addition to the classroom
culture.
Positive Reinforcement & Hierarchy of Consequences
Falling back on Linda Albert research as to why students misbehave will
establish the consequences of actions. During the first days of class as well
as needed throughout the school term students will be reminded that every
action has consequences, they can be good consequences for good choices
or bad consequences for bad choices. There will be a reminder on a
whiteboard or prominent space for students to reflect on. Students at the
high school level will always be encouraged to think about what
consequence they will receive as they make choices in class and school.
For a minor offense to classroom rules and expectations the sequence of
discipline will include:
1st offense: Being taken aside and a reminder of the expectation of behavior
and why it is important. We will talk about the behavior why it is
inappropriate and how the student could have behaved instead setting a
goal for this behavior in the future.
2nd offense: Being taken aside and given a lunch detention with me.
3rd offense: Being sent to the Deans with a write up of the behavioral issue
with possible in school detention.
Removal from the class will always be a last resort, but students will know
if this happens it is because they have forfeited their right to be part of the
learning community. They will understand they have a responsibility to
provide a conducive learning environment as much as I am responsible for
providing them the materials they are learning. Because students will be
given the opportunity to give input on the rules and procedures of the
classroom, they will have some intrinsic motivation to follow those rules and
procedures. Also by providing the input, they will also be held to the
expectation of compliance providing them with some extrinsic motivations
for appropriate behaviors.

More severe offenses will be handled according to the rules of the school
district.