Annie Pizzini

EDCI 4381
April 2017

Classroom Management Philosophy

Part 1: Establishing Structure in the Classroom:

When planning for his or her classroom structure, a teacher needs to remember three

main aspects: physical environment, daily schedules/routines, and behavior expectations. Each of

these components contributes to what makes a classroom a good environment for learning. The

physical layout and structure of the classroom is important. Well thought out planning should go

into any teachers classroom. The physical environment of all classrooms should be safe, clean,

and flow well.

Schedule and routines are major components in the early childhood classroom. In the

book Builiding the Primary Classroom by Bickart, Jablon, and Dodge, they talk about structure

as being, reflecting the way you want children to spend their days. A predicable schedule and

clearly understood routines help children feel safe and become independent, confident workers in

the classroom (pg. 126). There are many factors to consider when planning the schedule and

routine of the classroom. A few suggestions that Bikart gives us is, district requirements, your

priorities, childrens needs, and common planning within your grade level teachers (p. 126). A

teacher should always make sure that they are planning for what their district requires first. Then

being able to know what you want your children to learn when and at what times throughout the

day. If you know that your children will need a significant amount of time for reading, then plan

for reading during your least busy part of the day. Sometimes it is hard to get to every single

subject and lesson on your schedule, but it is so important to keep the schedule regular for your

students. Children at this age need structure so it is important to stick to the same schedule or

mostly the same schedule each week. This will make your days easier and the childrens as well.
Annie Pizzini
EDCI 4381
April 2017

Last we want to establish behavior expectations in the classroom. Classroom rules are a

big part of an efficient classroom. As a teacher you will want to incorporate your own rules in

your classroom as well as the rules of the school. If there are school wide rules make sure that

those are posted in the classroom where all the children can see them. At the beginning of the

year I would want to make my own set of classroom rules with my students. I would want them

involved in the process of making the behavior expectations for our classroom. Bikart says that,

If we make the rules together, it will be easier for all of us to remember them (p. 140). If the

students feel like they are a part of creating these rules then they will be more likely to follow the

rules because they made them up themselves, and probably have a strong feeling about the rules

they have made for themselves.

When there are rules there are normally consequences for when children misbehave or

break the rules of the classroom. If this happens it is good to have a behavior management plan

to keep order in the classroom. Sometimes rules are broken and it is a good idea for one of the

classroom rules to be, remind your neighbor if they are doing something wrong. This way the

child is able to have a helpful reminder from a friend before getting in trouble with the teacher.

In some schools there are school wide punishments for when you break a rule. If this is the

situation at your school then that is what the consequences will be for that child. But, if your

school allows you to have your own rules and consequences it is important to have a plan on

what those might be. The one thing that I think is most important to remember is if a child

misbehaves and you have a consequence for that behavior to be consistent in using that

reinforcement. If you tell children that something is going to happen if they keep acting up but

nothing ever happens then you lose the control of your classroom.
Annie Pizzini
EDCI 4381
April 2017

In Building the Primary Classroom, there are suggested ways on how you can get your

students to help care for the classroom and get them involved. Some of the ways the book

suggests are, letting the children make labels for the classroom (p.142). Some ways that I have

thought of to get my students involved and wanting to take care of the classroom are, having

helpers, giving children opportunities to be leaders, letting them pass out papers, and giving them

a chance to take care of their disputes between each other before coming to me.

Part 2: Classroom Community

Developing a community where children can be safe, have a sense of belonging, build

esteem, learn, and find self-fulfillment, is what we, as teachers should strive to build for our

students. The reason I chose those goals is because they are part of Maslows hierarchy of needs,

which can be found on page forty-seven of Bikarts book. In my classroom I will make sure to

have an abundance of learning opportunities for my students to gain the most self-fulfillment

they can achieve in their time with me. I can support these needs to by helping my students never

give up, strengthening their weaknesses, having a community of kindness, and allowing my

students to always feel comfortable expressing how they feel.

My classroom will not tolerate bullying or discrimination of any kind. Each child will be

able to feel completely themselves in my room and learn from one another what makes each

child special. Through this I hope my students will learn that our classroom is not just a class but

also a family. Hopefully this way of thinking will help my students know that we are a

community and communities are a family that help each other when we need it and support each

other in everything we do. I hope that each of my students special talents or strengths will be

able to flourish in my room.

Annie Pizzini
EDCI 4381
April 2017

It is so important that children feel safe and welcome in their classroom. This is why they

need to have a positive relationship with the setting of the classroom. If a child feels like they are

not welcome or they feel bullied then they will not want to come to school and to learn. They

will shy away from the class and wont be able to show their true potential. These negative

feelings with a classroom could lead to the child feeling negatively about school as a whole. A

classroom is where children can feel the safest in the world besides their own home.

There are many activities that a teacher can use to build a sense of community in their

classroom. A few of the suggestions the Building the Primary Classroom book gives are,

welcoming children to the classroom community, holding daily class meetings to share ideas

and discuss issues of importance to group living, helping children relate positively to others, and

teaching children to solve problems and resolve conflicts peacefully (pg. 51). One of the

suggestions that really stood out to me from the book was holding daily class meetings to share

ideas and discuss issues of importance to group living. I feel like each day should begin with a

meeting in any classroom. Each child should have a moment where if they have something they

would like to share with the class or a problem they would like to resolve they could voice their

opinion. During this time of the day we would learn to be respectful listeners and problem

solvers.

I have had the opportunity to be in classrooms with many different types of students. That

is why one way I would like my students to feel like a community is by having each child at the

beginning of the year shares an important custom or tradition with the class that their family does

at their home. This could be a meal they like to make, a holiday they celebrate, or a vacation that

they go on each year. The student will bring in an object that reminds them of that special

tradition or custom and we can keep it in the room. That way everyones represented in some
Annie Pizzini
EDCI 4381
April 2017

bigger way in the classroom, and children get to learn about their classmates on a more personal

level.

Bikart brings up several ways in which a teacher can help his or her students learn

conflict resolution skills. A few ways that he mentions are, modeling how to handle anger, class

meetings for conflict solving, reducing violence, addressing exclusionary behavior, and helping

children calm down (p.84). One of the most important lessons one of my elementary teachers

taught me was how to handle our anger when we get upset with someone or something. She

pretended to get upset about something small and acted out, pretending to cry and yell. This

made all of us realize how silly she looked and know that is not how we should act if something

upsets us. Modeling good ways to handle anger or feelings of disappointment is so important, not

only for the classroom but for the real world too. Every child is going to have a bad day or a

moment where they get upset, so it is our job to teach them how to handle their emotions in an

appropriate way.

Another great way to help conflicts in the classroom is by talking about them in a

meeting. If a few of my students are always fighting over the same toy or book, we will hold a

class meeting to resolve the conflict. Each child will be able to state why they are upset, and then

as a class we can decide what the best way to handle it should be. This way the whole class can

learn compromise and coming together for an end result that helps everyone get what they want.

Having a plan for your classroom when you are a teacher is incredibly important. With

the plan one makes you are setting up the environment that twenty or so children will live in for

nine months out of the year. It is important that we make this enviorment as welcoming, safe,

learner friendly, and happy as possible. I hope that with my philosophy of what a classroom
Annie Pizzini
EDCI 4381
April 2017

should be will allow my students to have the confidence to always say how they feel, to feel like

they are part of a family, and to grow into their best selves.
Annie Pizzini
EDCI 4381
April 2017

Reference Page

Bickart, T. S., Jablon, J. R., Dodge, D. T., & Bickart, T. S. (2001). Building the primary

classroom: A handbook for teacher educators. Washington, DC: Teaching Strate