Classroom Management Plan
Robert F. Kennedy said the future "will belong to those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment of the great enterprises and ideals of American society." Our education system needs to prepare our children to be able to blend passion, reason and courage to act as a part of the global community that is our world. These are not skills that are identified in a standardized test or in the curriculum of the science lab. These are very important parts of classroom management. The classroom becomes a mini-lab or preparation ground to help young scholars become strong inquisitive, problem solving, caretakers of our future. My classroom management plan is based on a combination of progressivism and existenialism. The student is the focus and understanding, building and maintaining relationships are vital. The classroom must be a caring community where all students are valued and honored. Each student is held accountable, not because of my authority as the teacher, but because we each owe it to each other. The classroom contract and circle time establish the expectations for the learning environment and the communication needed to make it happen. There will be times when a student struggles with our contract therefore there must be opportunity for recovery in a dignified manner. Quiet, nonverbal signals will be our first line of offense, with real relationships to follow as needed. Life skills will be taught on a daily basis because life happens everyday. These life skills must include social and emotional literacy, with emotional vocabulary and strategies to understand our emotional well-being and communication skills to facilitate interactions with others. The classroom management plan must include others that can help us as needed. Sometimes the best action is to take a break and go somewhere else in order for recovery to take place. In the end, education must be about the student. As needed there is the support for each individual that needs it. In our democratic classroom, we take care of each other and communicate our personal needs. This invites the strengths of many to enable and empower the one. We are not teaching children, we are inspiring the future.