Introduction:

Throughout this semester, I have learned many things about classroom management and it
has ultimately led to the development of my own personal classroom management philos-
ophies. Here I will share what some of those philosophies are.

Positive teacher/student relationships are very important to me as a future educator. The

teachers that I remember most from my grade school experiences were not the ones who
taught me the most. Rather, I remember the teachers I was able to connect with on another
level, not just an academic one. They are teachers who taught me important life lessons.
Students spend a lot of time with their teachers in school and that is why it is so important
to have a good rapport with students as a teacher. Sometimes, students have a hard at
home life and they may not get any praise or compassion. "As a teacher, I want to be that
pat on the back for those students, in particular, as well as the rest of my students.

Steps that I can take to build those types of positive relationships are to let students know
that I value their individuality, their opinions and their culture (race, ethnicity). Culture is a
very important thing to me as an Indigenous person. I believe that cultural diversity is inte-
gral for tolerant and accepting societies and instilling this in young impressionable children
is fundamental for fostering the types of citizens we need and this is what I want to teach
my students.

Here are some other beliefs of mine regarding my future classroom:

Human nature: I believe that students are unique and that includes their learning styles.
I want to be inclusive of everyone in that regard.
The role of schools in our society: I want to produce tolerant and accepting pupils in my
classroom. Children can be molded if modeled that at an impressionable age.
The role of teachers: I want to encourage personal growth and free expression amongst
my pupils.
How students learn: I want to include a wide range of activities to meet the needs of all
my learners.

The importance of teacher control vs. student autonomy:

I believe students should respect my authority but not fear my and believe that they can
speak freely and take charge of their own learning. Allowing children to speak freely should
not be a problem if you teach them the importance of accepting everyone.

What I want my classroom to look like:

I want my classroom to be bright because I understand it helps with children who may be
experiencing depression. I want
 Colorful and engaging posters that are informative and not just simply being displayed
for no reason.
A calm reading corner perhaps with dimmer light.
To display my pupils work around the classroom so that they feel pride.
Group desks where students are encouraged to speak and bounce ideas off of each oth-
er. I believe collaborative workers are beneficial to the classroom and you can learn bet-
ter if you discuss you ideas. I would like hexagonal tables to encourage this type of
learning.

Exceptional learners accommodation plan:

For my exceptional learners, I want to have a very close relationship with the EAs to make
sure I know exactly how they are progressing. I want to make appropriate accommodations
and modifications for my students on PLPs. For my gifted students I will have a wide varie-
ty of work for them should they be done. This wont necessarily be more schoolwork but
can be fun lesson related activities like word searches, etc. I dont believe in giving them
more of the same type of work, instead choosing to offer them some fun work. I will make
sure the gifted students have the opportunity to engage in flexible grouping so that if they
are levels above their classmates with numeracy or literacy, they can join another grade for
those lessons. For my students with PLPs, I will make sure they do not feel ostracized. I un-
derstand that most of the time, they want to do the same type of work that they other stu-
dents are doing. They just cant for one reason or another. I will give them work that is as
closely parallel to the rest of the class but at a level with which they can be successful.

Culture in the classroom:

As an Aboriginal person, I completely understand the importance of including culture in a

classroom. However, as a young child I was always embarrassed when something native
was discussed. I always felt as though I was the only aboriginal in the class, because I usual-
ly was. I felt ostracized and made fun of sometimes and that led to me feeling ashamed of
my culture. To change this, I would make sure that there was a lot of cultural awareness
included in my classroom. I would emphasize how important aboriginal culture is because
Canada belongs to Indigenous peoples and most schools are on land that was stolen from
us. For example, in English, I would have a unit on aboriginal childrens literature. This
would help build a positive self- image, which is beneficial for everyone in the classroom. I
love the idea of having a cultural calendar in the classroom to teach some things about our
world cultures.

Norms/rules:

As educators, we are going to need to have a classroom management plan in place in order
to ensure that our classrooms are operating smoothly. Part of that management plan will
be to establish classroom norms and routines. A classroom management plan can be pre-
sented as a contract you have with your students, whereas if students dont follow its
guidelines, theyre considered to have broken their word. On the first day of school, I will
have the students come up with their own set of rules and norms in their groups.