13 February 2015
Ruth Christiane Rawlings
Philosophy of Classroom Management
Why do we, as citizens of this world, go to such great lengths to become educated,
educate our fellow citizens and educate our children? We do this with the goal of attaining
quality lives with purpose and happiness. What a remarkable world we DO live in. Without
education, would mankind have been able to launch the first spacecraft over fifty seven years ago
or find a shipwrecked luxury liner in over twelve thousand feet of water on the ocean floor thirty
years ago? Our students deserve the maximum educational opportunity to facilitate the
maximum, positive life experience possible!
How is this education achieved? It begins with well informed, well educated,
enthusiastic, effective lovers of learning, THE TEACHER! I’ve found that these teachers are
skilled in discipline, time management, content instruction with a great measure of learning
latitude offered to the students and immeasurable enthusiasm for each student’s success. I align
myself with Alfie Kohn author of Beyond Discipline and many more books and articles that
support the teaching model that teachers act as instructional facilitators and students participate
in guided learning. I also align myself with T. Gordon and N. Burch authors of Teacher
Effectiveness Training: The Program Proven to Help Teachers Bring out the Best in Students of
All Ages. The days of robotic students are over. The days of domineering, spoon, feeding
teachers are extinct. There are NO stupid uneducateable people. I am personally aware of a
highly successful business owner who achieved the distinction of fifty four cumulative ‘F’s in
eighth grade. He is now a highly active productive seventy five year old who has written five
books, has retired from his multi-million dollar business and is still furthering his education
pursuing his B.S. in Psychology.
We are now in classrooms with students who have unlimited access to information and
knowledge via the internet and are demanding, whether verbally or by their actions, superior
instruction with superior educational opportunity! Our students are more social and thrive in
group learning settings interacting with their peers. Our students have superior hand-eye
coordination through their video game use and become uninterested quickly by plodding
instruction. Give them information, direction and a challenging goal and watch what happens.
I am an instructor who requires self-governing and self-discipline of my students.
Students are perfectly capable of self-governance. They are capable of “self-direction, selfresponsibility, self-determination and self-evaluation” as stated by Gordon and Burch. When I
was a young, newly divorced mother of two small daughters I initiated what I call “our family
counsel”. We sat “crisscross applesauce” on our living room carpet and established our family
‘Discipline Constitution’. Our ‘Constitution’ contained infractions with accompanying discipline
created together. I soon discovered that my daughters were much too harsh on the disciplinary
measures and so we worked on softer measures to our mutual liking. Grounding was the
discipline of choice. The only measures that I took absolute control of were lying and hitting.
The grounding would be three times longer if you lied to me or hit your sister!!
People of all ages thrive in a positive environment filled with genuine praise,
encouragement, admiration and a smile. I personally thrive on giving that genuine praise,
encouragement, admiration and a smile. It costs me nothing but oxygen and I have the smile
wrinkles on my face to prove it.
So, my classroom management is this:
1. Establishment of a class ‘Constitution’ with class consensus.
2. Brief, informative, engaging teacher instruction with effective, hands on student
learning, individually and in groups with teacher facilitation.
3. Student self-regulation with teacher direction.
4. When misbehavior occurs I will ask my student his or her motivation for their
behavior and remind them of their consensus in developing the class ‘Constitution’
and refer to discipline developed by the class. Discipline will NEVER be corporal! I
will NEVER incorporate bribes or threats!
5. Misbehavior demonstrates to me a need that must be met as soon as possible. My
questions with active listening coupled with cooperative resolution have been
successful in my life thus far.
6. Many different lesson presentations to encourage critical thinking skills, problem
solving skills and social growth skills.
7. Mind and body stretching activities.
8. ENCOURAGEMENT, PRAISE, RECOGNITION for ALL of my students!!
I am responsible for my actions with every encounter I have with every human being in
my life. Will that encounter be positive? It better be!
Resources:

(http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/beyond-discipline/)

Gordon, T., and Burch, N. (2003). Teacher Effectiveness Training: The Program Proven
to Help Teachers Bring out the Best in Students of All Ages. New York: Three Rivers
Press.