Major Discipline Philosophies Of The Classroom Essay

Are you a teacher, administrator, or school counselor struggling with discipline in your school? Do rules, power struggles, and stress invade your everyday life? In the classroom, does it seem like your needs do not matter? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Curwin, Mendler, and Mendler’s classroom management book, “Discipline with Dignity: New Challenges, New Solutions” (2008), may be the tool for you.

In order to be proficient in the art of teaching a teacher is required to do much more than walk into a classroom, walk up to the board, and begin to teach. Presenting a lesson is only one step when it comes to having a productive classroom. The state in which the children are in has a direct effect on the productivity of the classroom. The productivity has a direct relation to the classroom management set in place by the teacher. Throughout history there have been many theories regarding how to exhibit successful classroom management. One theorist in particular is Harry Wong. This paper is going to cover the thoughts and theories of Harry Wong on classroom management.

Student discipline is one of the most important aspects of the classroom. I believe that structure and classroom management are two components that contribute to this greatly. Teachers in the beginning of the year must implement rules and routines that all Students are expected to follow. It would also be beneficial if the students took part in creating these rules. Within the first weeks of school, the teacher and students should be practicing these procedures so that students can get comfortable with the routine and know what is expected of them. If the students are aware of the rules of the classroom then there will be no surprises when the consequence is given for breaking them.

In an article he recently wrote to “clarify [his] views for Kappan readers, Lee Canter asserted that classroom behavior management was significantly more than just “names on the board and marbles in a jar” (Canter). The idea was appalling to him that educators could have been so misinterpreting his management strategy that this was all they were taking away from it, and yet increasingly, this was the feeling he was acquiring after untold conversations with numerous educators—thus the article. “The key to Assertive Discipline,” he stated, “is catching students being

To be an effective educator, I believe one must have a foundation of moral and ethical principles. An educator should support the learning environment, while being flexible and teachable. He or she must also lay a foundation of beliefs on how individuals learn, seeking to enable individuals to reach their optimal potential. My personal educational philosophy begins with believing all children are unique individuals, with different emotions and different styles of learning. An educator has the incredible challenge of attempting to meet those needs. As an educator, I believe all children deserve the opportunity and resources that would better enable them to reach their maximum potential.

In Kohn’s book, Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, the first chapter focuses on the different classroom management theories regarding students in the classroom. The chapter discusses how many of these theories are incorrect, and how educators need to look at them under a fine tooth come before implementing them in their own classrooms. Kohn finishes the chapter by discussing what teachers should think about regarding their students when implementing classroom management procedures.

Managing student’s behavior should be under classroom discipline and not classroom management. Behavioral management is defined as “preventing, suppressing, and redirecting misbehavior (Charles, 9).It is the misunderstanding between the two terms, which Wong believes that is the reason why many teachers struggle with classroom management, is that “teachers think classroom management means discipline. So what they do is they go into the classroom and put all their emphasis on discipline. They think classroom management is about crowd control or teaching kids to be quiet” (Wong). In order to establish proper behavior in a classroom I believe that understanding each student’s personality and learning style is important. Establishing just one discipline regime would cater to only certain students, whereas the other students may be seen a “misbehaving,” due to their

“The first day of school is the most important day of the school year (Wong, 2009)”. It is the day where classroom rules and procedures are set in place and the students know what is expected from them. An effective teacher will dedicate time in creating a classroom management plan in order to help maintain appropriate behaviors of the students in the classroom. “When classrooms aren’t managed, they become chaotic and less productive (Wong, 2009).” Student’s will respond and absorb the academic lesson if the teacher is organized and consistent with the rules he/she sets in place.

One must look at classroom management as a plan for what procedures students will follow throughout the day. Teachers must understand their role in making sure students have a successful experience each day. Wong H. & Wong R., state “Effective teachers teach how to responsibly follow procedures” (2009, p. 165). To have a smooth-running classroom with minimal behaviors, students must be taught classroom procedures from the very first day. In my classroom we have procedures for many things we do each day. Some of these are arrival of children, snack time, lining up and walking down the hallway, and cleaning up centers. I have been teaching these procedures for many years with much success.

Teachers have the ability to set up classroom rules to help maintain the structure with behaviors in the classroom. Bill Rogers, affectionately know as Mr. Rogers, has many effective techniques and approaches to classroom management, from prevention and positive correction to consequences. He does not advocate being a strict, disciplinarian, authoritarian teacher, but gives strategies to help teachers work with students to control their own behavior. The first part of Rogers’ plan gives techniques used to prevent discipline problems (Education World, 2003). As he discusses rights of the students, he talks about how they have the right to feel safe, be treated with dignity and respect and have the right to learn.

My philosophy of classroom management is to allow students to be responsible for their own behavior at all times. I believe allowing students to be responsible for their behavior and actions allow them to have a sense of freedom. When students have freedom, they seem to be more successful and respectful. Classroom management is more successful when the class is student-centered. Students should be included in the planning of classroom rules, room arrangement, and communication should flow smoothly between teacher and student. Although the class is student-centered the teacher should be in control of the classroom. The teacher should know what is going on at all times, plan interesting and informative lessons, and be

To develop this artifact I followed the classroom management theories raised by Linda Albert, Frederic Jones, and Jacob Kounin. Whereas I implemented in my classroom Linda’s Cooperative Discipline model when I chose to work cooperatively with my students to develop a set of consequences to be invoked when the classroom code of conduct is transgressed. Consequently, students are more likely to accept them as fair and reasonable. I have also based my plan in the positive discipline model of Jones by rewarding my students for their appropriate behavior and effectively using a body language that includes eye contact, physical proximity, body carriage, facial expressions, and gestures. I also followed Kounin’s preventive discipline theory about

A teacher should teach, demonstrate, establish, and enforce classroom procedures and routines at the start of the year to manage the classroom behaviors. Rules and procedures support teaching and learning and provide students with clear expectations and well-defined norms. Teachers can create a respectful, supportive learning environment when they have an understanding of the diverse learning in the

In the field of education there could arise many philosophical ideas of each individual teacher. Many of the past philosophies have been and still are used in today’s education programs, such as the Socratic method. My philosophy will also contain some of the many philosophies of the past and possibly the future. I will state the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of public education, method, and curriculum according to my own philosophies, which also may be based the philosophical ideas of previous individuals.

Classroom management and classroom discipline share a correlation with one another yet; they are uniquely different issues and should remain a separate focus of the teacher. (Cantor, 2006) Behavior and misbehavior also share a connection but represent different degrees of infraction. (Charles, 2008) This essay focuses on the differences and similarities of these topics and their relation to the classroom.