by Rick Newton

Created on: April 11, 2009

Philosophies are nice cohesive thoughts that amount to nothing unless they are put into action. Fortunately for my students and myself my philosophy has developed and matured over time. When I entered my first education class I felt that subject knowledge and an effective way of imparting that information were foremost in teaching. After many more classes, methods books such as Harry Wong's The First Days of School, and experience in the classroom, my beliefs have changed drastically. My personal philosophy of education, simply put, is that every child at every educational level, regardless of their ability, is entitled to a feeling of safety, security, community and accomplishment. A teacher attempting to put this or some other philosophy of choice into practical use needs to employ all means at his/her disposal to achieve the best possible results for each individual student, both academically and socially. This is accomplished by classroom management, consisting of behavioral and procedural rules, communication, effective instructional style and differentiation.

Behavioral and procedural rules are among the first things to be clarified for students as they enter a new class/grade. The rules should be concise and posted where they can be seen. While the procedures help define the routines that are part of the day, behavioral rules explain and set limits for students' conduct in the class. As much as children appear to dislike limits, these statutes for the classroom give a sense of order and security. As in society these objectives for behavior effectively govern the conduct of a majority of the students. The classroom is a small community unto itself. The enforcement of these behavioral rules is a reminder that its members should respect each other in their commonalities and differences. Those students who require more guidance in this area need to be dealt with expeditiously and effectively in order to keep lessons on track and students on task. This needs to be the case from the first moments of the first day of class. It is much easier to relax the rules once they are understood and obeyed than to attempt to establish rules after losing control of a class full of students.

Communication and familiarity with the students and parents/guardians can be a great help as well as a deterrent in regard to behavior and discipline problems. During the first days of school student records may be the only data a teacher has to judge students by. Yet as insightful

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