My Discipline Plan

Introduction

Discipline at workplace, discipline at school or even in community is an important aspect that should be always focused by the educators, mentors and even business high profile executives.  As a beginning teacher, I found a proper comprehensive discipline plan for the academic year should be prepared well before the commencement of the year and it should be implement throughout the year accommodating the needs of the changing environment and situations in classrooms and in school complex.  We should always believe too rigid rules and regulations for the students may finally be left with lack of self-respect and responsibility in part of the students, So that a more-flexi plans are required to be executed. However, it is very unlike to have a separate set of actions for individual students.

My Philosophy of Classroom Management

            Without a classroom that is organized and disciplined, learning is close to impossible.  This is why I believe as a teacher, that it is imperative that a teacher begins a classroom with a well thought out management plan. In other words, a proper classroom management is essential and it is an integral part of teaching and learning to foster active learning happening in a safe, comfortable classroom environment and that boost opportunities for student learning. I believe optimization of learning opportunities inside classrooms will produce good citizens with high hope and aspirations of life. To maintain classroom management I believe student-centered, activity-based lesson plans play a vital . These lesson plans   provide a base for the classroom, and it arouses the enthusiasm and interest of the learner. Simply make them more engage in learning activity actively. My classrooms will be very stimulating and visually appeasing with my displays and students’ activities displays. The economic concepts like circular flow of income, economy, production, firms, industries and opportunity cost would be illustrated in pictography and economic data would be tabulated in displays. This will help more the visual learners to fetch the content easily and for not my surprise, more than 80 per cent of students in Maldivian classrooms can be categorized as visual learners.  I will make sure all formula, equations in economics are displayed in display corner with the help of the students.

Another additional advantage, I will get again from this strategy is that it will help to eliminate (minimize) possible students’ distractions, as they attention might be focused on these stimuli in non-teaching hours in classrooms. As a teacher I also believe that classroom discipline problems cannot be avoided 100 per cent, but I would rather be more happy to take preventative measures for the same learning underlying causes for them (classroom discipline problems) day by day. One way of making aware students about the classroom discipline problems is to communicate the teacher expectations from students through agreeable classroom rules for both teachers and students and pointing the punishments for not abiding these rules agreed by the students.  I will therefore, make my expectations about my students very clear like crystal at the beginning of the academic year and during my initial weeks of contact with students simply after learning their names and a bit more about their socio-economic background. Again I believe bombarding students with too rigid rules and emphasizing always what is not allowed in first days will create a negative attitude about the master/ teacher.  I would again be a good care-taker about my students and will provide a paternal love towards them, and this will develop a strong sense of mutual friendship humanistic attitude with meager distance and gaps during the times of need.

Also movement management, by having a proper classroom set up/ seating arrangement for the desired lessons will eradicate discipline problems and maximizes the time available for instruction.

Another large mile stole I have achieved and will be achieving more in coming days is using of instructional variety in my lessons.  From dictating of notes to role plays, real debates with journals and students projects will be used as delivering strategies and assessment methods.All of my materials are organized in terms of accessibility and availability so less time is spent accessing them. These efforts help ensure that class time is used wisely for furthering education. Students will be given to show their talents with an autonomous degree of freedom to the rest of community and their colleagues and I rather play more role as a facilitator, and a guide rather than be someone always teaches.

Furthermore, I will maintain the consistency in implementing and executing my discipline plan indiscriminatingly to all students all times of the year to my best level of ability. Time-out during punishments in my classrooms will be used to reteach those students with previous lessons and again to make them doing lesson related work. I will carry some simple worksheets for students who may need a time-out during punishment hours.

            My efforts as a care-taker to respond to all student questions and to remain patient and calm contribute to my comforting; welcoming classroom environment will definitely help me to reduce classroom problems. Though some people it might be odd, I would rather communicate my classroom established rules with students’ parents so that students will be more responsible and students are highly encouraged by their parents to behave in certain outlined ways.  I am interested to have quality instruction rather than quantitative instruction for my students.  Notifies and reminders at frequent intervals will be used more effectively to alert upcoming due dates for weekly calendered events like assignments, revision classes, remedial classes, group projects etc. This is to minimize confusion and provide a proper timeline as a direction for them to be prepared on time for events.  

Two models of classroom management applicable and Their Evaluation:

I am so sure I can incorporate  William Glasser’s reality therapy or control theory as a discipline model in my classroom management philosophy as I am too much focused to develop human needs  as successful social relationships. This approach will enable me to help students to identify behaviors that are in consisted with accepted social norms, accept them as irresponsible and replace them as more socially desired ones. After identification of the needs of the students,I must interview these groups of student to identify their level of satisfaction of human needs. However, it is very difficult task for me to measure accuratively the satisfaction level of individual students.   Therefore, a relationship of trust is essential in reality therapy (Glasser, 1969).

Also as a Teacher I support the use “time-out” to direct students with undesired behaviors to create a written plan that they believe will solve their discipline problems. The phrase “time-out” is used to explain a simple isolation process from class. The idea behind the time-out technique is to collect statement of intentions from students. William Gasser theory of discipline supports this.

The Control theory (Glasser, 1984) aspect developed by William Glasser also will help Me to address the forthcoming discipline issues. It emphasis the central role of need of gratification. Again, this is more humanistic in approach where, love control, freedom and fun are considered basic human needs for students. Students may believe more what Teacher says when they feel they are being loved by the teacher and they may feel aggressive when they feel teacher uses excessive control over them. I rather advocate in giving an autonomy of freedom in my classroom management philosophy.

Further more,  WilliamGlasser’s“boss-management” rule and  Quality school programs (Glasser, 1990) will help to solve the discipline issues. After satisfying  the basic needs of love, acceptance, control, freedom and fun and I can promote learning teams with cooperative learning environment together with indirect instructional strategies like debate, role model, group discussion so as to avoid misbehaviors arising from de motivation and not engagement in the lesson.Too rigid classroom rules may not work but a set out, properly framed classroom rules should be designed.

Another model of discipline that I have incorporated in my classroom management philosophy is Kounin Model of Dicipline. I support the movement management aspects with customized classroom arrangements for the designed lessons for different days.  So that it will eradicate the discipline issues and will maximize the time available for instruction. Also kounin ideas about group focus and avoiding boredom through development instructional variety are included in my teaching philosophy and I believe this will assist me in having a meaningful lesson at the end of the day.

The cooperative learning that is expected to happen in groups will finally make students more engaged in learning tasks and will create a positive conducive learning environment.  However, this model will not give solutions to serious discipline problems, like extreme bullying, fights between students, major damages to school property.

However, this will help me in creating an established classroom room, and some of the classrooms rules based on my teaching and classroom management philosophy could be bulleted as;

·         Punctuality should be maintained.(turn all works / assignments on time)

·         Students will listen when teacher speaks and teacher is expected to listen when students speaks (clarifying doubts and forwarding the grievances and responses)

·         Students should avoid all unnecessary movements and should ask for teacher permission to move during the lesson.

·         Students should bring required books and other learning materials and this is a self-responsibility of the students

·         Treat everyone with their property respectfully

·         Use polite language and body language

·         Always follow teacher’s directions

·         Adhered to school discipline policy, rules and regulations

·         Maintain always hygienic conditions

·         Always attempt to do your best!

I can also make my classroom rules a long list, but hope atleast the mentioned rules will help me to conduct and to go ahead with my students in a very positive and safe classroom environment. However, at all times, all these classroom rules may not be very active in producing a positive learning environment.

To conclude my discipline plan for the new academic year I could say, a well-managed classroom creates a comfortable, safe place where students want to learn.  It also prevents distracting events and behavioral issues, which allows for more quality instructional and learning time, but the same effort and patience and prior preparation with affirm determination from me is even needed to make such thing happen in real terms.