Personal Belief Statements about Classroom Management
"Becoming a truly accomplished teacher is a JOURNEY
not a destination."
Harry and Rosemary Wong
(Wong & Wong, 2009, p.30)
You will notice throughout my profile that much of my belief about classroom management comes from Harry and Rosemary Wong, Robert Marzano, and Linda Albert. I believe that I relate most with these researchers. I also have used many "everyday" teachers to gain information and ideas for classroom management through their personal experiences through blogs. All of these researchers and teachers have similarities and differences. I have taken bits and pieces from each of them and applied them to my personal belief of classroom management. I think that, as Wong and Wong say above, I will never reach a point of BEING a teacher but instead will be on a continuous journey of becoming an accomplished teacher. The following are statements of what I believe classroom management is and support to back it up from Harry and Rosemary Wong, Robert Marzano, and Linda Albert. Overall, I believe that classroom management creates a successful environment where no child will fail and every child will feel successful, knowledgeable, and loved.
1. Classroom management can only be effective if the teacher is effective.
According to Wong and Wong (2009), effective teachers are:
I believe this to be true because without planning there is no order to a classroom, without critical thinking there is no creativity and minimum effort, without problem solving there are no solutions, and without classroom management there is no structure or control. If a teacher is not successful at these components it will do harm to the student's enthusiasm to learn because it will appear that the teacher does not care about learning. I believe that in order to be an effective teacher, one must work hard to prepare for any situation that may arise. Students will feel much more comfortable and capable in a classroom that has an effective teacher.
- Innovative planners
- Adept critical thinkers
- Competent problem solvers
- EXCEPTIONAL classroom managers (p. 22)
I believe this to be true because without planning there is no order to a classroom, without critical thinking there is no creativity and minimum effort, without problem solving there are no solutions, and without classroom management there is no structure or control. If a teacher is not successful at these components it will do harm to the student's enthusiasm to learn because it will appear that the teacher does not care about learning. I believe that in order to be an effective teacher, one must work hard to prepare for any situation that may arise. Students will feel much more comfortable and capable in a classroom that has an effective teacher.
2. Classroom management gives students structure.
Classroom management is for the benefit of the student. Procedures give students clear directions of how the classroom will be run which in turn makes it much more organized and shifts the focus from chaos and confusion to learning. One of my personal goals for my classroom management style is to make all students feel capable, connected, and contributing (Albert,2005). These three factors are based off of Linda Albert's "cooperative discipline" model. If a student knows the procedures and rules they will feel capable and comfortable enough to begin a day of learning and be a contributing factor in the classroom. If a student does not know the procedures and rules, they will feel chaotic and lost.
3. Classroom management includes many procedures and few rules.
Wong and Wong believe that a child (or adult) can only remember a list of about 5 numbers or less (Wong & Wong, 2009). For this reason, a classroom should only have a maximum of five rules set by the teacher. Any other rules or norms to be set should be done by the students. I believe this gives students the chance to be participants in the formation of classroom management. I also believe that procedures prevent misbehavior from happening. Procedures are more acceptable to students than "rules" because the word is mostly linked with negativity and punishments. I want to help students take charge of their own learning and behaviors and part of this will be limiting my rules in my classroom and allowing the students to produce ways to make the classroom a fun and comfortable learning environment for them.
4. Classroom management is being proactive, not reactive.
Both Harry and Rosemary Wong and Linda Albert support proactive teaching rather than reactive teaching. Wong and Wong say, "If you do not have a plan, then you are planning to fail" (Wong & Wong, 2009, p. 147). Although I believe that Marzano feels the same way about pro-activity, I will implement his reactive strategies in my classroom in the case that misbehavior does occur (of which I'm sure will happen from time to time). I will be proactive in order to prevent misbehavior from happening, but in the case that it does happen, I will use discrete forms of reacting to student misbehavior. For example, I will be using a Stop Sign or a "pregnant pause" in order to get students to become re-focused on the task if they are off task (Marzano, 2001). I only believe in using reactive strategies when needed, which should only be a few times if procedures and a few rules are in place to prevent misbehavior from happening. A teacher should be ready for any situation.