Erin Trimble
September 17th, 2012
Philosophy of Classroom Management and Discipline
Philosophy of Classroom Management and Discipline
What is the purpose of education? To me, the purpose of education is to brighten the future of
our future leaders. To help those who don’t come from high income families and those with disabilities;
to help each child reach their fullest potential and achieve their goals. Education also helps prepare our
youth for the real world, gets them ready to face any situation and be able to make an educated
decision of what’s right, safe, and healthy. This is exactly how I would like my classroom to feel and
reflect. I believe that a great discipline model to use that has also influenced my beliefs and goals as a
teacher is the positive discipline model. According to the positive discipline model, teachers must model
appropriate behavior and respect; students will look to them as role models. It is also believed that
routines and procedures within the classroom are important for managing a student’s behavior and
most of all teachers must reinforce positive behavior and use the backup system as necessary. This
model requires a high degree of teacher control and a low degree of student control. This is exactly how
I feel a classroom should be managed. One of the best ways to show a student what is right and wrong is
to model it yourself. By having the example already set for them, the students will know what is
expected of them in any situation.
A good teacher looks at the classroom as full of potential. They will always see every student as
capable people who, with the right help, can achieve anything they set their minds to. Good teachers
adapt to any situation, learning ability, or physical disability to optimize student’s learning potential. By
implementing positive reinforcement for good behavior, the teacher can increase the student’s good
behavior; this also requires the teacher to recognize and reward appropriately for bad behaviors as well.
Good teachers model what is appropriate and establish trust and respect for their students and students
in return will trust and respect their educator. Good teaching is incorporating all senses into the
curriculum to cover all the learning style bases and optimize every students learning. Good teaching is
Erin Trimble
September 17th, 2012
Philosophy of Classroom Management and Discipline
recognizing that it takes longer for some to learn, while it takes no time for others. Jones’ discipline
model suggests that students misbehave when they don’t know and understand the rules. This requires
teachers to thoroughly go over classroom rules and follow through with discipline and rewards to
illustrate the consequences and encourage good behavior.
My view of the goal of a classroom management plan is to establish a safe and comfortable
learning environment for both the students and the teacher; to have a nice, loving, and firm authority
figure that does not dictate and leaves room for students to learn from their mistakes and benefit from
their hard work. This requires a high degree of teacher control. A classroom management plan sets the
guidelines for what is expected and, as long as it’s followed through. My routine will be such that if my
students were to act out they would already know what consequence they are to receive. Same goes for
rewards for good behaviors and accomplishments. By using Jones’ positive discipline model, I will be
able to reach these goals. Teachers are supposed to set routines and procedures including implementing
the behavioral plan and discipline students’ behaviors accordingly to optimize the correct behavior. By
having this management plan in place, i can even refer back to it to reinforce what is expected if
students start getting out of line. According to the positive discipline model, if student feel respected
they will act with respect as well which is beneficial to the teacher.
I strongly believe that part of a child’s demeanor is inherited from the parents. This would most
definitely be an inner force that cannot be helped. The way to help the student understand what is right
and wrong is influenced by an outer force with rewards and punishments implemented by the parents
when the child is home and the teachers once the child is at school. The degree of rewards and
punishments vary, however, between parents and teacher. Parents are sometimes too lenient on their
children. Some discipline too much and many don’t discipline at all. Teacher’s degree of implementing
discipline also varies across the board. This is the most dominant force that influences a child’s behavior
Erin Trimble
September 17th, 2012
Philosophy of Classroom Management and Discipline
and demeanor. I want my students to know what is expected. I want to be able to use whatever
attention grabber I decide to use and have the students react accordingly. For example, let’s say that I
have clapped five times and this is an indication to quiet down and listen for instruction. The degree of
control would be illustrated by my students quieting down in a timely manner and having their eyes on
me, awaiting instruction. They will receive rewards or punishments for behavior and know what it is
ahead of time because the expectations will have already been written somewhere in the room. Adding
to that, if they do not follow directions and continue to act up, the consequence will increase. For
example if I must discipline Johnny for not following directions for the first time, he would receive a
verbal warning. If I must discipline a second or third time I could send him to a cool down corner to
think, or write a letter home, and if it gets worse I could even call their parents. This same child,
however, would be able to redeem themselves by earning a star or extra points or whatever for good
behavior as well. This expectation would always be present even when they are not in my classroom, it
will go with them to every special, restroom, lunch, etc. This would be a high degree of teacher control
and low degree of student control. The students learn what is expected through what is modeled by me
and what is rewarded as good or bad.
By incorporating Frederic Jones’ positive discipline model into my classroom I will be able to
establish respect from my students. They will know what is expected of them because I will model what
I would like to see from them. I will have a high degree of control and the student will have a low degree
of control, but I refuse to be a dictator. I will use positive reinforcement to encourage and increase good
behavior as well as implement consequences when necessary. My days will be routine and I will always
follow through with rewards and consequences, so that my students know exactly what will come out of
their actions, and that I will always do what I say I’m going to do. This is a great model to use in the
classroom. It’s very behavioral, in my opinion, which helps shape students’ behavior in a positive
Erin Trimble
September 17th, 2012
Philosophy of Classroom Management and Discipline
direction and it eventually helps the good behaviors become routine. This is definitely something I
intend on using in my classroom.