"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken
joy in creative expression and knowledge."
--Albert Einstein
Expectations of Students
Students must take initiative and act as opposed to being acted upon. They are expected to be lively participants in classroom projects and lessons. They will be encouraged to take risks, to exhibit individuality, honesty, and a wide range of personal expression; they will be encouraged to ask questions, to guess, to imagine, and to hypothesize. Moreover, they are expected to come to class prepared. Students will be held to high expectations in my classroom and will be well aware of these expectations. With that said, each experience is a learning experience. We may make mistakes, but we never fail--we always grow. Therefore, I expect my learners to learn from their mistakes and try different approaches. I also expect them to fulfill their basic needs responsibly.
Classroom Policies Established
- The classroom policy will be determined the first week of class when student input will be requested to determine what the rules and policies should be. Students will decide, with help from me, what rules and procedures they require in their classroom environment. A social contract will be developed, agreed upon, signed, and then distributed to all students. By creating the contract together, students will not need to test limits because they will already be aware of the consequences.
- Although students can have say in the way the classroom is designed, there will still be ABSOLUTES. I will define these absolutes, and they are non-negotiable. For example, there will be absolutely no bullying in my classroom. This act will not be up for discussion and will have a set serious and apparent consequence if broken.
- Together we will establish a Quality World Picture for our classroom environment by asking all students what they want to learn (content), how they want to learn (process), and how they want their classroom to look (environment). Spending time establishing this picture and implementing this design will provide a framework for innovative and higher-order thinking.
- In order for our design to be effective, we must ensure that Glasser’s five basic needs are met. That is, freedom, fun, belonging, survival and power must be met in the confines of our classroom. By establishing the ideals of our classroom environment early on, there is a level of ease that allows for camaraderie in social interactions.
- Freedom and power would be firmly established on the first day when the students get to decide what the rules are and what they want in their classroom instruction. They are “free” to decide the rules and what they want, but most importantly, they are free to express themselves in my classroom. Belonging is inherently established as they already “own” the process--they have written the rules and have decided on how their learning experiences will look and feel. With this sense of belonging also comes a sense of fun. Belonging connotes safety and trust, and with safety and trust, fun is easily achieved. Survival is also inherent as these students are internally motivated and free to move about the classroom and school as needed. This freedom teaches them to behave responsibly and professionally.
Discipline
"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."
--Albert Einstein
The nature of adolescence is to test limits; with all aspects of life not just their parents. Since the limits were clearly set and represented with purposeful consequences, the learners will feel safe knowing that their teacher is fair and consistent. In order to keep students from abusing the unconditional love given to them by teachers, they must know the firm boundaries that will keep a mutual respect between the teacher and student. Boundaries make students feel safe. They are no longer unsure about what could happen, but rather comforted in knowing what the future holds in the classroom. This not only true between teacher and student, but can be transferred between students to student.
Some may imagine firmness and love as opposites, but I find them essential for each other’s success. Love without boundaries becomes abused and a boundary without love builds resentment. Love and Logic allows students to experience a balance between compassion and security. One of the most important tasks we must learn as humans is the act of balancing life. A healthy life comes from the balance in personality, goals, hobbies, and relationships. By teaching students a healthy learning environment and healthy relationships, they can transfer these skills outside of the school walls as well. Well balanced relationships promote growth instead of stagnancy. Since relationships are essential to teaching, we can access these relationships through love and boundaries. Educators say that students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. If teachers begin to make their students feel valued, then they will believe that their work or thinking is a prized possession. With this love, students need be well aware of their boundaries.
Awareness: The students will understand that everything that occurs in the classroom is their choice. They are aware of absolute boundaries and consequences for crossing the line.
Prevention: The goal of classroom management is to create an environment which not only stimulates student learning but also motivates students to learn. Successful classroom management prevents management problems from occurring in the first place by putting into place good organization and planning. Motivated students cause fewer discipline problems because they care about what they are learning and enthusiastic teachers who present their material in stimulating, meaningful ways motivate students. When students are actively learning content that has personal meaning for them, they have neither the time nor the energy to create discipline problem. Therefore, behavior in the classroom is a signal that something is not working and that my current pedagogical strategies are not effective.
Teacher Reflection: The teacher must reflect on the current management strategies to decide if the learners' basic needs are being met. If they are not, the teacher must adapt the current plan to be more effective and better meet the needs of the learners. If they are, and the students are aware of the expectations yet continue to make choices that disrupt the learning environment, a desist strategy is required.
Plan of Action: If a learner chooses to disrupt the learning environment, they are already aware that there is a consequence. The teacher will address the issue with compassion and encourage the learner to think about their behavior and return the next day with a consequence they feel is fair. The learner will be encouraged to reflect on the me they want to be. If the learner returns the following day with no ideas, the teacher will choose a HARSH punishment. This is to encourage the learner to point out that the punishment is not fair- the punishment does not match the action. At this point the teacher and student will discus what is fair and move forward. The relationship will remain healthy and the learner will understand the teacher is helping not hindering. HOWEVER, if a learner crosses and absolute boundary there will more intensive disciplinary action. Based on the action, the learner may need to be removed from the class or sent home. A safe learning environment is first and foremost and there are certain actions that will not be tolerated. Hopefully the learner understands the need for action and is comforted by the consistency. The teacher and learner can reflect on the issue later and move forward having learned in the process.This process empowers students to regain control over their lives.