Philosophy of Education
I believe the purposes of education are to achieve high standards emotionally, physically and academically. Teaching children will help to produce lifelong learners and responsible citizens who will function successfully in the future; regardless of their various backgrounds, abilities and limitations. I believe that children learn best when they are taught under certain conditions and in certain ways. Some of these conditions are setting high expectations for my students, plenty of kindness, patience, and love. The curriculum of any classroom should include certain “basics” that contribute to children’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development. These basics are to do your best, work hard, be nice, and never give up. Children should always be pushed to be the best they can possibly be; even if their best is not perfect. Working hard is always important; students should do what they can, to the best of their abilities. Students should learn to be kind and fair. Lastly, students must learn to never give up; positive encouragement should help students learn to try, try, and try again until they have mastered a skill. Children learn best in an environment that promotes learning, safety, and healthy development. Some features of a good learning environment would be a classroom filled with students who are working hard, on task, and learning. The environment should have a positive climate with a consistent behavior plan in tack. Heterogenic classroom with several populations in one class (ie: Special Education, ESL, Gifted and Talented, dyslexia) is common. A good learning environment would include a master teacher making sure all these students’ needs are met. All children have certain needs that must be met if they are to grow and learn at their best. All students learn differently. A teacher that provides a variety of activities to teach a concept is necessary. Check often to see that they understanding the skill be presented. Some of the basic needs are to be able to work well with others (harmony), respect others, be kind, be fair, and always do their best. Try and never give up. Motivating students to learn is a skill a teacher needs to have. It is a process that we use to lead students into experiences that keep them energized and wanting to learn more. I would meet these needs by observing and assessing children’s behaviors to individualize curriculum, share students’ achievements with families, establish supportive relationships with students and set appropriate disciple techniques and help guide them, also establishing a positive and productive relationships with families. A teacher should have certain qualities and behave in certain ways. Qualities I think important for teaching are having a true love and respect for children, understanding children and families. Teachers should recognize the uniqueness of each child and understand children are best understood in the context of family, culture, and society.
Philosophy of Classroom Management
In my future classroom I will have the students help to establish the rules for our classroom. We will have a class discussion of the rules we will need to make our classroom a home-like, safe haven, but also full of fun and learning experiences. As a teacher I will help facilitate the discussion to help establish the rules I find important while letting the students be apart of the rule making process.
Some rules I belief my students will establish for our classroom are:
o Raise your hand and be called on to talk (Do not speak when others are speaking)
o Respect others and their property (Keep hands, feet, and other objects to yourself)
o Be responsible and have your supplies ready before class starts
One way you can explain the rules to your students is to give them examples.
“Well what would happen if Joe started talking and Billy started talking and then Emma started talking all at once?” “We would have chaos wouldn’t we?” What is a rule we could establish to keep this from happening?”
I believe the consequence must truly fit the crime. Based on the school, some procedures may be different for handling consequences for a student. I belief you should have a set plan for how to handle situations though. Maybe start with a verbal warning, losing something (like recess time), losing something else (like morning and afternoon recess time), calling/contacting parent, or referral. I belief having a color-coded conduct chart is a good idea as well.
Some consequences may include:
o Time out at recess
o Taking away special privileges
o Contacting parents phone/e-mail
o Having to write apology letters
o ReferralBelow is a list of specific classroom procedures I believe are important for my classroom. A teacher must have a set of procedures that will be followed every day to ensure a smooth a routine environment.
Classroom Procedures for the 1st Day: ·
Beginning of Class
o Greeting the teacher (handshake, high-five, or hug)
o Assigned seats
o Roll call
o Tardiness
o Getting ready routines
· Work Requirements
o Headings for papers
o Assign student numbers
· Instruction
o Signals that teacher uses for students’ attention
o How students get teacher’s attention (raise hand)
o What students may do when they have completed their work
· Rules
o Decide on classroom rules
o When it is appropriate to talk (… apple pie, when the teacher is talking no hands in the sky)
· Ending Class
o Cleaning up / putting things away
o Dismissal from classroom (handshake, high-five, or hug)
Classroom Procedures (Not the 1st Day)
· Beginning of Class
o Distribution of materials for the day
· Work Requirements
o Incomplete work
o The correct way to use notebook paper (lines, writing on front)
· Instruction
o Group instruction and expectations
· Rules
o Rehearsing rules
o Reinforcing rules
Procedures are SO important to help you run and manage your classroom. If procedures are in place your students know what to do, when to do it, and know the repercussions if they do not follow the classroom procedures. If you as a teacher are solid in your procedures and routines there will be less confusion in your classroom and it will run more smoothly.
I really liked the idea of motivating your students through your lessons. By giving your students work that will challenge them mentally you will help stimulate them and keep them from getting bored. The trick is motivating ALL of your students even though they are on different levels. But, a reflective teacher will know her students’ capabilities and their interest enough to be able to cater every lesson to every student on all levels of learning. Having exciting lesson that will interest your students will in itself motivate your students to pay attention and want to learn.
Some rewards include:
· Written notes from me
· Small rewards (stickers, pencils, pens, notepads)
· Being the teacher’s helper for the day
· Reward tickets (10 = trip to the treasure chest)
· Class Book (if the class gets a compliment the students will get to add a chapter to our book; once we reach a certain number of chapters the entire class will receive a prize!)
These are the basis of how I will manage my classroom and motivate my students to learn and behave. I believe these rules, consequences, procedures, and rewards will help my classroom to run and operate as smooth as possible. I believe the more prepared a teacher is and times he/she puts into “training” students the better learning environment you will create and have less potential problems.