My Classroom Management Plan

Classroom management sets apart the good teachers from the bad. Yes, a teacher can know his/her content backwards and forwards, but without a good classroom management plan, a teacher will never succeed. Good classroom management allows a teacher to thoroughly explore all of his/her options. My classroom management plan is centered upon student empowerment with a hint of authority and respect on my part.

My classroom’s appearance is something I am very excited about. I believe that a classroom should feel comfortable, like a home, but also be structured enough to conduct class. In the perfect room, I would have my class shaped into a semi-circle so class discussion is easier. I believe that discussion is particularly important in an English classroom. If the students can see each other, they might be more inclined to talk freely. In my ideal classroom, I would have all the up-to-date technology I could find. I would love a Smartboard and several in-class computers. I think these resources would greatly affect an English classroom because students could then do more research for themselves. I would also have a classroom library to promote independent reading. In my classroom library, I will have books from every genre for students to choose from. I want my students to feel free to use the classroom library liberally so I would love to have comfortable seating, such as couches, and ample lighting. I plan on setting aside one day every week or every other week to do outside reading with my class. I think Lit Circles would be a great way to incorporate outside reading in the class in a structured way while still giving students the power to chose their own books. I also believe in rewarding students for doing extra work.

I hope to be able to give students the opportunity for any available extra credit. I believe that students that read outside the classroom should be rewarded. I hope to provide each student the opportunity for ample extra credit, if they decide to do outside work. While I think outside reading is very important, I will not punish those students that don’t do extra reading since it is extra.

Another way I would promote extra credit and good behavior is through my bathroom policy. I know what you’re thinking, bathroom extra credit? Yes! I plan on giving out a very limited number of bathroom passes to each student, possibly 3-4 each month. The extra credit comes in for students that have left over bathroom passes at the end of the month. This will promote time in class because the students that want to just get out of class will only be able to leave a limited number of times and those that want to stay will be rewarded. I believe in rewards for good behavior. I plan rewarding my students with the extra credit I have mentioned before but also with material incentives. I know I’m going to be teaching secondary students but I believe that everyone would like a sticker on a good grade or a treat out of the treasure box for spectacular work.

I haven’t really thought much about an attendance policy. Part of me thinks I need to work with each individual student. I believe that students are individuals and I cannot measure each student by the same measuring stick. The other part of me, the lazy part, says that it would be a lot easier to have a generic makeup work policy for the entire class. This would provide students to know exactly what I expect, no exceptions. So, where do I stand on it? I’m not sure. I want to view students individually but I also want there to be no questions about my policies. I will apply this same strategy to tardies. I know I can’t judge students differently but I can judge the situations differently. I will instill a policy that allows me to decide on a case-to-case basis what the consequences will be.

Classroom rules should not be negative. I believe that if you tell students what you do not want them to do, they’ll do it. In my future classroom, I will present my students with positive guidelines such as “always be on time” and “always be respectful”. Like I said before, I believe in student empowerment and I do not want students to feel as if they can’t do anything in my classroom. Of course, it is an extremely important aspect of classroom management to command respect of your students, but I want my students to find my class fun also. I think that a lot of teachers get stuck in rules and can’t find their way back. I want to provide rules for my classroom that they can abide by without feeling imprisoned.

I believe the issues of classwork and homework coincide. I do not believe in assigning students new material for homework. Why are we expecting a textbook or parents to do our job of teaching when the students leave our classroom? I believe that homework should strictly be guides that help our students better understand the material I, as the teacher, have already taught them and shouldn’t be a necessity every night. Therefore, my classwork will be centered around teaching. You may think this is obvious but I believe many teachers use outside materials to teach. I love outside resources, don’t get me wrong, but I think they should be used as help, not as a substitute for face-to-face teaching. I am open to any method of teaching. I have never taught a class before so I am not sure what would work best for me. I am sure my first year will be greatly filled with trial and error. I hope to learn how best to teach my students and roll with that. I believe that teaching should be centered on learning; learning better teaching techniques and skills, and therefore, helping my students to become the best learners they can be.