Classroom Management: Philosophy

My ideal of classroom management harks back to something my high school physics teacher said about an entirely different subject: janitors. He had spent several years working as a school janitor and said that it's a job where you only hear feedback if it's done poorly; the work of a good janitor is almost "invisible." Likewise, classroom management, if well-handled, should be almost "invisible" unless you're specifically looking for it. I strive for management techniques to be as unobtrusive as feasible toward the end of creating a safe, interesting and challenging space for students such that they come to see it as their right, which it should be but often is not.

While strategies for specific behavioral issues are important, the first step is to attempt to reduce incidences of such problems by ensuring students a safe environment, appropriate and interesting curriculum, and some voice in classroom matters. I agree with Kounin that teaching and discipline are not separate but interrelated and must be developed in conjunction (Charles, 1999). Rules should be based on mutual respect and safety, and the consequences should fit the cause, good or bad or otherwise.

My own teaching style tends to be humorous. However, I am good at initiating one-on-one contact with students, whether on mathematical concerns or outside interests, and I make it a point to treat them with respect: "Good morning," "Buenos dias," or "Magundang araw" when they enter the room, "Excuse me," when I need to squeeze through a narrow space, "Thank you" when they put a book away (which, at the beginning of the year, elicited a number of startled "You're welcome"s). I wish to encourage them to think for themselves: "Why?" is a question I ask of students offering "right" answers at least as often as those offering "wrong" answers--and feel comfortable making errors in the course of learning, as well as develop the ability to catch their own mistakes.

Having suffered through numerous unengaging classes during my own high school career, I also wish to develop a varied curriculum that elicits student interest and involvement and that is flexible with respect to multiple learning styles. Students should have the opportunity to learn in depth no matter what their ability or communication style, while broadening their skills in these areas.

I am under no illusions that this will be easy, but I can reach toward this goal by offering lessons with multiple and meaningful entry points, giving students some flexibility in how they carry out projects or homework assignments, and building cooperative learning norms in which students are accountable for each other's ability to understand. English language learners will be another challenge: I hope to draw upon their knowledge of other languages and cultures to broaden students' appreciation of each other in a world where we can afford to ignore diversity less and less.

Copyright © 2002 Yoon Ha Lee <requiescat@cityofveils.com>
Last updated on 20 May 2002