Classroom Management Plan*Between activitiesKathy WilliamsAdolescent DevelopmentMay 31, 2003Classroom Management Plan**Much of my Classroom Management Plan is discussed in the list of problems and solutions (attached).Our classroom. Our classroom. Coming into this program, I knew I wanted a student- centered classroom, and this philosophy underlies my classroom management plan. I want students to feel and know that they are the most important part of their education. I see my role as a catalyst in the lives of students, helping them to improve their skills and discover theirstrengths. My role in the lives of students is important, but students must realize that only theycan ultimately make the decision to learn. That does not, by any means, provide me with an excuse when students are disinterested and fail. My goal is to be a warm demander, setting high standards, but giving students the tools and guidance to help them reach those standards. I must entice them to learn, motivate them to succeed, and hope they’ll walk through the door Iopen for them.The context for my classroom management plan matches the environment of the school I’m now in, a middle school in a city suburb. The schools population is fifty-seven percent white, twenty-three percent Asian, ten percent African American, eight percent Hispanic, the remaining percentage consisting of Native American and other ethnicities. Most families at theschool come from a lower middle to middle class economic background. The schools administration is, for the most part, strong. Administrators take their jobs seriously and make themselves available to conference with teachers, parents, and students.However, I’ve noticed several instances when students have taken advantage of some administrators, receiving, in a sense, a free ticket out of class and into the school’s in school (orin-house) suspension. Several students have expressed that they, in fact, like getting suspension, for it gets them out of class and provides them with free time to work on homework or reading. Teachers I’ve spoken with, however, tell me that it’s a façade when students say they like in-house (school) suspension, a cover up for the embarrassment of being in detention. I’m not quite sure what I believe. Within the school, there is a discipline plan that appears to have been put in place by the district. For serious offenses, the district has strict procedures which are closely followed –emergency suspension followed by a psychological evaluation. For less serious offences, thosefor which a student is sent to lunch detention or in-house suspension, the consequences for the student are at the teacher’s discretion. Building Community:Because so much of the school’s discipline plan relies on the discretion of the teacher, itis the teacher’s responsibility to create a classroom where students know and understand the expectations, responsibilities, and consequences of their actions. In order for this to happen, I must first work with the students to create a safe classroom environment. Community buildingis a key component of my classroom management plan, and at the beginning of the year, a significant amount of time will be dedicated to forging a close and respectful relationship in my classroom among students and between students and myself. This will be accomplished with a variety of getting-to-know-you activities. Throughout the year, community-building activities will be planned as well to ensure that the community continues to bond and grow together. One strategy, in particular, thatstruck me was the idea of having every student write the nicest statement they could for every other student in the class. I want students to learn to respect – to respect themselves, each other, and the place (the classroom and/or the school). Any negative statement or action directed toward any student or group of people will not be tolerated.Scheduling:Although all students should realize that they are the biggest factors in their education, this does not mean students should have to navigate through their schooling alone. I want students to know that I will do everything in my power to help them succeed by making myselfavailable for them before and after school by appointment on Monday and Thursday. I will also stay around school Tuesday and Wednesday for students to drop by if they have any questions or concerns. Typically, I will also be available in the morning for half an hour. I also plan on making my room available three or four times a week for students during lunchtime, to eat, chat, or work. This will give me an opportunity to get to know the students better beyond their academic lives. Being in the classroom all day can be an isolating experience. So much of what happens to the students happens in the halls, during breaks, and at lunch. I want to be exposed to this life of my students as well and plan on eating lunch in the school cafeteria once a week, if possible, to see the social side of my students’ lives during school. A Democratic Classroom:Building community also consists of, as I mentioned earlier, everyone fully understanding his/her expectations and responsibilities and the consequences when those expectations and responsibilities fall short. To achieve this, students must take part in creating classroom norms in order to feel that they have ownership of the classroom environment. Toaccomplish this classroom environment, I will create a democratic classroom, complete with a Classroom Constitution that together we will draft to provide us with not only the rules of the classroom, but also the consequences and the civility that will be required of all of us. When creating the Classroom Constitution, I will remind students that our goal is to be pro-active – to, through the Constitution, stop problems before they have a chance to form. Civility will be emphasized, for without respect for each other, no classroom can be considered a safe one. Classroom Organization:As mentioned earlier, the goal of my classroom management is to create an environment that belongs as much to the students as it does to me. As far as the classroom itself, I want it to be a setting cohesive to fostering a safe and democratic classroom environment. This, I feel, can be accomplished by creating “home groups” for the students, a core group of classmates comprised of four to five students upon which each student will be
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