Personal Management Plan

Lorie Wilberg

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Philosophy of classroom management

Education is the basis of democracy. This is a fact that most Political Science classes
will drill into you in college, and it is true. In order for democracy to work, citizens must be
educated; they must be able to read and write and understand their laws, ballots, constitutions,
etc. I want my students to understand how important school is to the freedoms that we enjoy. My
students will be reading and writing on a regular basis in class. I feel that much of kids
education now has been made too easy. Ive had several teachers tell me that their students
dont read, so they dont require them to read; and we wonder why our students are coming out
of school illiterate.
That said, I do want my classroom to be fun. I dont want my students to dread my class
because they have to read and write. I do plan to make the environment a fun one, turning major
historical events into dramatic reproductions, having the class create their own congress, and
many other fun projects.
I feel that teenagers are miniature adults (when I say this out loud, there is always
dissent). They are learning to have independent thought processes, and not blindly follow an
adults lead. Students are not going to follow directions just because I am the teacher. Because of
this, respect is going to be a central theme in my classroom. My students will have some general
guideline rules to follow, but I want them to self-maintain. I want them to learn self-discipline
and self-control. I dont intent to impose rules on to them, but have them design rules that are
agreeable and reasonable. They will be reminded of the rules as daily, at first, and then as
needed. I will give them the respect they earn and deserve, and expect the same in return.
Social Studies is learning about civil society and your role in it. I do want my students to
push boundaries and ask the tough questions, but I also want them to know that they need to

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have respect for themselves and each other. As a whole, I want my classroom to run as a mini
society; students will work hard to earn their grades and have fun doing it; they will learn to
respect others and their opinions and voices, even if they are vastly different; and they will learn
that rules and consequences are in place to establish order and safety for all.
Behavior Expectations
I will expect my students to behave in a manner that is respectful to themselves and to
others around them, no matter what age they are. Even though I stated earlier that I believe that
teenagers are mini-adults, I do realize that they are still kids, and will behave as such. I will
expect my students to behave age-appropriately. The older the students, the more I expect out
of them. I will expect my 12th grade students to act as if they are going to be joining an adult
society very soon; I expect 10th graders to be a little less mature. Behavior expectations will be
clearly posted in class and restated often. Students will be given guidelines on how they are to
behave. I intend to have a seminar style classroom, emphasizing my students freedom to speak
and think independently. For this to work, my students will have to learn self-discipline.
I have a zero-tolerance for hate, and that will be made very clear to all of my students.
This will also be the only rule that will get a student instantly removed from my class, but I will
talk about that more later.
Pre-School Checklist
It is hard to say what I am going to need before school starts every year. I guess I will
develop this list as I progress in my career. I do know that I want to have lesson plans for the first
semester done before school starts, along with some back-up lessons just in case something goes
horribly wrong with the main set of lessons. I also want to have lessons created for a substitute to

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take over, just in case I have to be absent. Books are also going to be a heavy presence in my
classroom, both social studies and leisure, so I will have an extensive collection of books at the
beginning of each school year. I want my students to have access to current news, both for class
and informational purposes, so I want to have a couple of newspaper subscriptions ready for the
beginning of the school year (if money allows). I do want to establish a reward system for both
behavior and academics, which will need to be established before school starts, too. All of this
may change at any point in my career, and Im sure Im leaving something out, but this is what I
know I want to have, for the time being.
Classroom Motto or Slogan
My classroom motto is a little clich: Learn something new every day. I try to live by
this motto in my everyday life, and I think everybody should. I dont want my students to stop
consciously expanding their knowledge. I plan to model to this by having my multi-lingual
students teach me a new phrase, in another language, every single day. I will have them write
these phrases on index cards, and I will pick one to write on the board for the next day. I also
want to start (or end) each class with the students sharing something new that they learned that
day. It will help to reinforce some of the lessons that are being taught in their classes.
Classroom Arrangement
There are a few ways I would like to arrange my classroom. My first choice would be to
use tables lining the outside of the room, instead of individual desks. This allows for more of a
community feel and better group collaboration. There would be less class time wasted on moving
desks around into groups. Students could simply switch chairs. The arrangement also allows for
better class discussions in that students can look at the person talking without having to contort

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themselves into a pretzel. All students would face each other. The only problem I would have
with this arrangement is cheating on tests. I will have to make a couple different versions of the
tests to curb cheating. The extra work would be worth it.

Class Rules
I dont intend to impose rules on my students. Since Social Studies is based on the study
of civil society, I want my students to create their own version of classroom rules. I will facilitate
this by telling them my rights and responsibilities as a teacher.