Philosophy of Education

Often characterized as a time of change, middle grades introduces the student to a more
independent world. It can be difficult for some students to responsibly handle this new
independence. As a middle school teacher, I hope to guide my students down the road less
travelled to responsibility, encouragement, and successes. I hope to foster positive growth in all
my students, as well as inquire about the world in which they reside. I believe that middle grades
are one of the adventures of your life!
It is my privilege to guide the student down their future path. I hope to instill inquiry,
adventure, and a sense of purpose in the students. High motivation among middle school
students has been associated with having teachers who know, support, challenge, and encourage
them to act autonomously(Midgley et al., 1989; Murdock, in press; Wentzel, 1997). I will keep
in mind that adolescences develop a capacity to hold in mind more multidimensional concepts,
and are thus able to think in a more strategic manner. (McCarthy,2008) Knowing this, I will
challenge my students to think about problems as a mystery that they must solve, or an
adventure, were the students are Indiana Jones! Challenging students is essential to being a
middle school teacher. Teachers communicate information regarding the value of schooling and
their expectations for individual students success both directly and tacitly through behaviors
such as grading, goal setting, and feedback. (Murdock,1999) We must stretch their minds, help
them develop a sense of purpose, of self-confidence, and intuitive. Being a middle grades teacher
also means giving them direction, but letting them practice making independent choices. We
must teach our students that making mistakes is normal, and learning from your mistakes is part
of adulthood. This profession encompasses much responsibility, but with that comes the great
reward of seeing the students grow.
McCarthy, M.M.(2008).Estradiol and the developing Brain. Physiological Reviews,Vol.88,
No.1,pp.91-124.
Midgley, C. M., Feldlaufer, H., & Eccles, J. S. (1989). Student/teacher relations before and after
the transition to junior high school. Child Development,60, 981-992.
Murdock, T. B. (1999). The social context of risk: Social and motivational predictors of
alienation in middle-school. Journal of Educational Psychology,91, 1-1.
Wentzel, K. (1997). Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical
caring. Journal of Educational Psychology,89, 411-417.

Management Philosophy
My management philosophy includes creating a positive learning environment where
students can discover efficiently and be motivated to learn. With preventive crisis management,
understanding student relationships, and being engaging, I hope to create this environment.
Knowledge about a students private life gives me more insight on the best way to develop,
support, and discipline the student. By engaging my students in the content, I foster motivation
for them to learn and not misbehave from boredom. Have procedures, plans, and preventive
strategies in place for behavior management, makes more me equip to handle stressful or crisis
situations. I believe in preparing for crisis situations so that you can more easily prevent them.

Theories put to practice

Barbara Coloroso, states three main principles for classroom management; kids are worth
it, to treat the child as you would be treated, and practices that keep childs and teachers dignity
intact. Her main focus is to help students make their own decisions and take responsibility for
their actions. Influence by role modeling and supporting students is the best way to prevent
misbehavior. She calls for teachers to be Backbone; providing support and structure for the
student to take responsibility and reason through problems. I follow this classroom management
theorist, for I believe that as a teacher I should empower my students to take a positive power
over their own lives. I do not believe in pressuring students to behave or complete an action out
of fear of approval or disapproval. I want to provide my students with the respect, dignity, and
responsibility so that they may grow in character. My classroom management will not punish
students, but will discipline students through appropriate practices equivalent to their actions.
My classroom management will being at the very beginning of the school year, following
Harry and Rosemary Wongs Frist Days of Schools practices. Structures and procedures are
important for making students work efficiently, behave responsibly, and reach achievement.
Procedures in the classroom provide the students with guidance as to what to do efficiently and
effectively. Preparing the classroom before student arrival, modeling behavior, and time spent in
discussing procedures are key in establishing Wongs management style. I believe this is
important in my classroom management, for following Wongs steps allow for more effective
teaching for the rest of the entire school year, instead of managing behavior for the rest of the
year. Wongs and Colorosos management strategies relay on mutual respect between student
and teacher, preventing misbehavior with the establishment of procedures, and following
through with consequences.

Classroom Rules
1.
2.
3.
4.

Practice Chivalry
Be an Active Learner
Respect Property; yours and that which does not belong to you
Respect all things, even if you are unfamiliar with them; people, places, things, and
ideas
5. Be an effective communicator; includes listening, following direction,
communicating ideas, and practicing patience.
Rewards
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are a
paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can do anything you decide to do. You
can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.
Amelia Earhart
Rational: No candy, food, toys, or such as will be given to any student as a reward. Appropriate
behavior is an expectation for my students, it is a choice they make to follow. Students will not
make the choice to act appropriately out of fear of punishment, nor out of the hope for a reward.
A student is not considered good for the actions they chose to do based on this thought, but
would be only mere chasers of Pavlovs classical conditioning. The rational for my rewards are
not to condition students to act a certain way, but to provide them with the opportunity to grow
in character for future success outside of the classroom and American boarders.
Individual and Group Rewards:

Praise
Affirmation
Opportunity to present, share work
Choice to collaborate with selective peers on group assignments
Letter of excellence sent to residency
Recommendation for future opportunities
Respect
Growth in Character
Academic growth

Consequences
Consequences for behavior will be based on these rules, school policy, program policy, and
level of mistreatment of rules. Students who chose to act inappropriately at school will not
receive a warning, but will receive a consequence leveled to the accordance of their misbehavior.
Consequences are not ordered as a step by step, but in relation to the misbehavior or situation.

Individual reminder
Letter and call home
Office Referral
Teacher-Guardian-Student conference
Letter of apology
Reflection and application
You break it, you fix it
Community service
Watch the following audio clip;
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiyYEVcU1tI

Classroom Procedures
Beginning of Class: ( Until the end of a song played by the teacher)

Settle in area- take out supplies, use the restroom, break for water, prepare for
learning, welcome your classmates, and rethink your attitude for the positive.
Handel business; clarify any questions about work with teacher, gather any
materials necessary from teacher.
Begin work on warm-up; once completed review notes/worksheet/activities from
previous class.
Class announcements; changes, exceptions, and school news from teacher.
Class Period:

Be a respectful communicator; respectfully listen, wait your turn to share ideas,

stay focused on topic, save non-content stories/comments for the end of class, and
do not talk over others.
Put away all phones and technology devices, unless they are relevant for the class
work
Participate, be an active learner
Ask questions that are relevant to the topic at hand, for clarification of content
Ending Class:
Thank your peers for joining and participating in class
Share any stories/comments if relevant to days topic
Pack up and clean up all materials
Hallway:
Walk with purpose
No horseplay
Respect peoples space
Do not touch lockers or other material that does not belong to you
Walk on one side of the hallway, not the middle.
Absentee Procedures:
Pick up work from Absentee folder
Take excuse to teacher and the office
Ask classmate for notes missed
Come in the morning or working lunch to retake any missed exams
Whole Class Activities:

Follow Directions from instructor

Do not start until instructed to begin
If test- work individually, no talking when tests are out, not notebooks or other
materials on desk
Small Group:

Work collaboratively with group members

Share ideas respectfully
Do not interrupt each other
Do not degrade others or their ideas
Professional behavior
Communicate effectively; do not waste time on non-relevant topics
Actively participate and divide group work evenly
Complete group grading rubric
Discuss any problems in conference style manner with teacher and group
members
o If private meeting is needed, tell the teacher after class

August (Beginning of Year letter)

Welcome Everyone!

Welcome back from a hot summer and into another exciting school year! I
am Ms.Eaton, I will be teaching Science/Social Studies this year. I am very
excited to share my love of those subjects and wanted to discuss this years
classroom expectations. I believe that by all of us working together we can
make this a very successful year. It is prime importance to me that you be an
active part in my students education.
To become informed of my classroom expectation, standards, and
schedule, so that everyone knows that is expected. I have always found that
guardians are very supportive of good classroom behavior, so that every child
can be successful. I have attached a hard copy of my expectation, standards,
and schedule to the back of this letter. You can access this letter and the
information on my website, listed below. Should any of the students become
fearful or discouraged about school, please communicate with me so that we
can discover the cause of the problem and work collaboratively for a solution.
Contact me if you have any questions or concerns about this school year. I
will keep you informed by posting on my website and sending home
documentation through the students agenda. Progress reports will be sent
home mid of the 9-week period. I am available for discussion of student,
school, or any other school-related topics by phone or email weekdays from
6:00am-6:00pm. I check emails throughout the week-days, but will not access
emails on the weekends. However, if there is any emergency, please feel free
to contact me at your earliest convince. I am very excited about the team you,
my student, and I will make this year!
Thank you for your time,
Ms.Eaton
Hleato3426@ung.edu
706-***-2729