Ruth Gilmore Ingulsrud Classroom Management

Ruth Gilmore Ingulsrud

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My teaching philosophy is reflected in my Personal Statement and in my Classroom Management Plan:

Classroom Management and Discipline Plan

by Ruth Ingulsrud

My Teaching Philosophy
I believe that every child is a possibility. With good teaching and mentoring, the constructive possibilities are encouraged and nurtured and the destructive possibilities are discouraged and left behind. Every day, young students are presented with choices, both good and bad. A teacher who is connected with a student in a healthy, supportive and respectful relationship can help that student make the right choices.

Because a teacher is not the sole influence in a child’s life, every effort should be made to connect with the family, neighborhood and community of that child to elicit their positive cooperation and support. If a teacher’s attitude is open and helpful from the beginning, the chance of cooperation is much greater. A teacher should assume, like any wise student, that he or she has much to learn and should approach a new family and especially an unfamiliar culture with an attitude of humility and readiness to learn.

A teacher who has forgotten how to learn can no longer teach. Children are very perceptive and can sniff out a rotten motive faster than a mongoose can sniff out a snake in the grass. If a teacher’s only goal is to maintain tight control over a classroom and slog through the required standards for that day, the students’ only goal will be to shake off that control and hide those State-issued hip waders. In other words, in order to inspire the joy of learning in a classroom of students, the teacher has to embrace that joy as well. You’ve got to wallow in the mud with the little piggies; and have fun while you’re at it! If students perceive you as a fellow learner who is excited about discovering the subject at hand, they will be much more eager to join you in the adventure of learning.

Classroom Environment
Picture a room awash with color, texture and light. Content is presented in coherent but playful and compelling ways. There is plenty of space for student expression in what is displayed on the walls and in the look and feel of the whole room. It is not a static room; there are frequent subtle changes, with enough stability to maintain a feeling of safety but enough change to maintain a feeling of adventure.

The theme of our current area of study is evident as one enters the room. This helps the students to focus and keeps their brains rolling in the same direction, picking up speed as they learn more and more about one fascinating realm of the world.

The purpose of the various spaces in the room are obvious as one sees the differences in lighting, furniture and learning resources. The reading and relaxing corner, for example, might have a few small but comfortable beanbag chairs or pillows, a tungsten lamp with a brown shade and a plethora of engaging books close at hand.

First Day/Week
Communication with the families would begin as soon as possible, even a couple of weeks before school starts. I would try to find out enough about my students and families so that friendly connections could be made before the first day of school. We would begin to get to know each other before meeting in the classroom. Building a community takes time, so the sooner the process is begun, the better!

I think that it is important to connect with each child as the day begins. I will greet each one at the door as they enter and look them in the eyes. This initial contact may alert me to the kind of day that this child may already be having so that I can provide extra support or attention as needed.

The first week of class will be spent making sure that the kids feel safe and welcomed, establishing good student to student and student-teacher relationships, and learning rules and procedures. I realize that I will have to be very clear and firm about behavioral expectations during the first few weeks of class. After the expectations are clear and students are comfortable with the established boundaries, we can relax a little bit as a community and allow for more creativity.

Parent Communication
Every Friday, I will send home a progress report so that the parents can see how the week went for their child. If there has been a noticeable milestone reached in terms of scholastic achievement, that will be noted on the report. Cooperative and troublesome behavior will both be noted. Questions or suggestions can be added and the parent will be asked to sign and return this report on the following Monday.

I will welcome parents into the classroom at any time after making a few procedures clear. They will need to sign in at the front office before coming to the room, for example. If they come in during a lesson, they will sit in a special visitor chair at the back of the classroom until I can greet them, and, if they are willing, incorporate them into the classroom activities.

If the parents wish to help in the classroom on a regular basis, they will need to divide their time fairly among all of the children and exhibit kindness and fairness. If their presence in the classroom becomes a problem, I will work with them to find a more limited way in which they can be helpful to our class.

Classroom Rules and Procedures
One of the first activities we will do as a class is to create our classroom rules. They have to be rules that everyone agrees to abide by and encourage each other to follow. The rules that I would hope to include in this list would be:

Respect each other
Help each other
Protect feelings and belongings
Practice kindness
Do your work

I would like to keep the list positive instead of having a list of “don’ts.” Following the rule “Practice kindness” would prevent, for example, name calling or exclusion of certain students.

If there is a student who is not following the classroom rules, then a class meeting would be in order. During the class discussion, names are never mentioned. A student can just refer to the problem student as “someone.” Class meetings will not only be held if there is a problem. We will also meet to give credit to students in the class who have done something special or made outstanding progress in some area.

If the class is mature enough for group work, I will facilitate the “Tribes” approach in the classroom where groups of students work together to help and support each other. If one group is struggling to follow rules, I will assign specific jobs to each of the members to help keep the group on task. One member of the Tribe, for example, could be the “Husher” in charge of getting the group to quiet down quickly when the teacher needs the attention of the class.

When a student consistently fails or refuses to abide by one of the rules and a class meeting does not appear to alleviate or solve the problem, I will sit down with that student for a “Head-to-Head” talk. The student will be responsible for coming up with solutions to the problem and will sign a contract agreeing to follow through. Reasons for the continued behavior will be discussed, but these reasons will not be allowed to become excuses. The student will ultimately have to take ownership of his or her behavior.

This initial contract will be the property of the teacher, but if the behavior still does not change, the contract will be shared with the parents and the principal. A new meeting, a more serious “Heart-to-Heart” talk will be scheduled with the students and parents present. Together, we will decide on new agreements and consequences.

Students will be regularly encouraged and praised as a group when appropriate, always giving specific reference to the behavior or accomplishment being praised. I think it is appropriate to praise students individually for work that has been well done as long as it is done in such a way that does not belittle another student’s efforts.

Organization & Evaluation
A teacher’s organization and routine helps the students’ organization. The pattern that the students should follow for turning in homework and completing assignments has to be taught and reviewed many times before the students are able to follow through on their own. I will hang a reminder chart next to the door for the first few weeks to help students (and myself) remember, for example, to take their homework out of their backpacks and turn it in at the beginning of the day. I will give verbal or signal reminders as often as is necessary to establish the routine; this is especially needed with younger students.

Because students will be completing work at different times in the classroom as abilities and various intelligences and strengths will differ, there will be a routine in place to encourage students who finish early to continue working on appropriate supplemental content in that particular subject. When math sheets are completed early, for example, a student may have her or his work checked by myself or an adult classroom assistant, and then he or she could go to one of the math centers to play a math game, attempt a math challenge, construct a mathematical shape or even experiment with rhythms and tunes on a keyboard with headphones.

Students will get every possible chance to correct errors before turning in their seat work. If all the problems are correct, they could get a special stamp on their paper. If they are able to help another student complete their seat work, they might also get a “Good Helper” sticker or stamp to thank them for their assistance.

Problem Solving
While a teacher should be the main identifier of problems in the classroom, the students need to be instrumental in coming up with a solution. I will model problem-solving strategies and have a more active role towards the beginning of the year, but as the year progresses and the students learn how to cope with various situations, they will be encouraged to come up with their own creative fixes to classroom problems and issues.

As a teacher, I am not only responsible for helping my students to acquire knowledge and to become lifelong learners, I also need to help students become socially and emotionally healthy functioning members of society. The classroom is a perfect place to learn social skills and coping strategies that the child will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

As for punishments and rewards, I believe that these can be useful and sometimes necessary but only when they are clearly linked in a cause and effect relationship. If a student has not finished his or her desk work because they have been fooling around instead of applying themselves, they may have to stay in from a recess so that the work can be finished. It should be made clear to the student, however, that they are staying in because their work was not done and this is the only time available for them to finish. If this is a chronic problem, the student should help in coming up with a solution. Perhaps this student needs a more isolated and distraction-free area in which to do the work so that they will not continue to miss out on a much-needed recess.

While intrinsic rewards are the ultimate goal of a classroom, an all-class reward can be linked to an expected and needed behavior. If, for example, the class is wanting to go on an exciting (and, of course, educational) field trip, the teacher can make it clear that because the field trip is not in within the walls of a classroom, any group being allowed to go must first demonstrate good listening skills and self-control. The need for this high standard of behavior can be explained through story examples that show what might happen if a student is not listening or staying with the group.

In extreme cases, a student might be recommended for suspension or expulsion. I think that this action would be acceptable if the problem has been clearly identified and a proven program is available to alleviate the problem. Merely sending a problem child home to an environment that is detrimental or dangerous to that child is unconscionable. A school should do everything possible to help a student succeed, but the safety and welfare of the other students is also a priority. If a student becomes a real danger or threat to other students at a school, that child needs to be moved.

Teaching Humane Values
While the teaching of humane values is not a specific subject area in a school’s daily schedule, it is, in my view, an essential requirement in a balanced education. In order for humanity to thrive, or even survive, humans must learn to live up to their name and treat each other humanely. Along with respect for other humans, students should also be taught respect for the earth and all of its creatures.

Because values are, to a great extent, caught and not taught, a teacher must consistently model the expected behavior. I will treat all of my students with respect and tenderness, showing them with my words and actions that they are valuable and worthwhile human beings. Each student will be encouraged to discover and polish the gifts and individuality that each one possesses. They will also be taught that while striving for one’s own success is healthy, helping others to also succeed benefits everyone in the long run.

Conclusion
My classroom will be a welcoming, safe and stimulating enviroment where students are encouraged to grow and flourish. The soil will be the content-rich environment of books, resources and experiences. The water will be the daily routines and rules that all students are expected to keep. The sunlight will be the attitudes of acceptance and high expectations that I will hold for my students and that the students will hold for each other. I will do my best to protect and nurture every sprouting student so that each one might reach the full height of their potential.