Management Philosophy

    In a society that appears at times to be completely obsessed with pleaseing only one's self, I hope to provide a learning community of students that is grounded in four main principles. First, respect and politeness are they key expectation. It is necessary that the students show I, other faculty, and their peers the respect that they deserve. It is important for me to have a respectable relationship with each of my students. Thus, requiring that I show them the same respect and politeness that I require from them. According to Dreikurs, showing such respect and politeness gives students the feelings of acceptance, belonging, and self worth which directly impacts their behaviors within the classroom. Therefore, I feel as if it is essential for the students and myself to acquaint ourselves with each other and build meaningful relationships with one another in the best way possible.

    Secondly, honesty and integrity are expected within my classroom. Again to gain the students honesty and integrity in the academic or behavioral realm, I must be honest and show them integrity. It is expected that students are honest with me in all situation and show integrity in their academic work and behavior. Both of these are included in the largest expectation of classroom which is repect.

    Third, I find that perserverance and hard work to be my next expectation. This is a classroom expectation to challenge the students to do their personal best. A class goal is to learn together throughout the year. Having a large classromo goal in combination with working together to reach that goal again brings belonging and acceptance which can greatly impact a student's behavior within the classroom. This expectation too falls into the first. If not everyone is working hard, then those people choose not to show respect to their peer that they are working with. This is not acceptable.

    Next, is the expectation of friendship and fun. While this expectation may appear out of place, it is not. Adults do not learn in an environment that is not pleasurable. Therefore, why would I expect a child to do so. Order and organization are important in a class; however, I wish for each child to come to school expecting to have fun while learning with their peers.

    I greatly value the idea of expectation over that of rules. Students rise to expectations while the abide under rules. If I can provide each student with a sense of worth and high expectations for themselves and others in the class, then the studenys will fulfill the positive prophecy and not be caught by a ceiling of endless rules. While some written rules and procedures are necessary for classroom order, I hope that expectations of positive behavior, hard work, and diligence radiate from my classroom entrance into the minds and hearts of my students. However, realizing that classrooms are not utopias, I plan to use Skinne's theory of positive reinforcement within my classroom as well. While disciplinary action may need to be taken at times, my goal is to reward positive actions in the classroom knowing it will bring further positive action.