My personal philosophy pertaining to leadership,management, and organization within the classroom.
I believe it is important to understand the complexities of the classroom. In high school, there are many different things going on in the classroom. The classroom has multidimensionality, simultaneity, immediacy, unpredictability, lack of privacy, and history. If we, as teachers, are able to understand and improvise because of all the complexities of a classroom, management and organization will become easier. The most beneficial “type” of teacher, is the authoritative teacher. This kind of educator has a warm environment in her classroom and high expectations for her students. The students respect this teacher because the teacher, in turn, respects her students. I have had many authoritative educators that have taught me and have seen many in my field experiences. The students listen and behave well for these teachers and I want my classroom to be filled with respect. This kind of relationship between the teacher and students is very important and will help the year run smoothly. Positive peer to peer relationships will help the environment of the classroom as well. It will enrich student learning if the students have a solid relationship with each other because they will be comfortable enough to be honest with their peers. If students are shy and worried what their classmates might think of them by a comment they might make, effective learning will not take place for them because students need to be vulnerable in the classroom. Asking questions and being confident in themselves and being able to do that in front of other classmates is key for success. Peer to peer relationships is key for the environment in itself. This is important Carol Weinstein and Ingrid Novodvorsky state in Middle and Secondary Classroom Management, “Students, like all of us, have a fundamental need for a sense of belonging, trust, and safety.” The classroom is a great place where students should be able to have this sense of belonging and it all starts with the relationships that are made inside of it. The physical space of the classroom is very important for the organization of the classroom. If the classroom is not set up in a logical way that correlates to the way the classroom is ran, then it will create a disorganized environment for the teacher and the students. Teachers need to think of the different materials their students will be handling during class, not only what goes on the walls that will apply to the content all year round. At the bottom of this page there is a document titled "Miss Schroeder's Ideal Classroom" and why I think it would work for me. Organization throughout the school year will be important to maintain effective engagement time for the students. If they understand my expectations for them, there will be an organized flow in the classroom. Understanding how I want them to enter and leave the classroom, where to turn assignments in, and how their work should be done to the best of their ability. All of these rules and procedures will help increase productivity in my classroom throughout the school year. I believe it is important to go over rules and procedures using RREC, state the rule, rationalize the rule, give an example of the rule, and explain the consequence if you break the rule. This will help the students tremendously so they know what they should and should not be doing at all times. RREC is also used for routines that I will have in my classroom that will help the classroom stay organized and managed well. Managing a classroom can be messy depending on what the students are doing that day, if there is a lab going on, it may not look like it is managed very well. But the most important aspect is if the students are being productive and it is benefiting their learning. At the bottom of this page there is a document titled "Miss Schroeder's First Week of School Plan", which is a rough draft of how the first week of school would look like in my classroom. Time can be a fragile aspect of the education world. We have so much to do in so little of time. Good routines and transitions will help maximize the amount of productive class time throughout the day and year. Losing time is never good, being prepared and sticking to the content will help with this. When students know your expectations and are prepared for class, the amount of time saved is precious. Students need to be prepared when they sit down at their desks and ready to learn. There will be certain times when students will try to get you off topic, or purposely leave the class at specific times, but being able to manage and know when they are doing this will help save time as well. The multidimensionality of the classroom can make teaching hectic and make you want to pull your hair out. Keeping things simple for the students and having routines and transition periods engraved in your students heads, will keep the classroom environment pleasant and sane. Being able to balance and manage all of these things will help increase engagement time, the positive relationships between the students and the teacher, and the number of hairs on your head by the end of the year.
References Weinstein, C. S., & Novodcorsky, I. (2015). Chapter 2. In Middle and Secondary Classroom Management (pp. 37-38). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.