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REID MASTER’S PORTFOLIO

Classroom Management Statement

I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s

my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the

weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or

joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or heal.

In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-

escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized (Goodreads, 2019).

The author of this quote, Haim G. Ginott, believed that he, the teacher, creates the climate

of his classroom. This quote inspired me four years ago when I first read it. Now that I have two

years teaching experience, I believe the quote to be true.

The University of Alaska Southeast, Alaska College of Education states that a teacher

creates and maintains a learning environment in which all students are actively engaged and

contributing members. It also states that teacher candidates should use their knowledge and

understanding of individual and group motivations and behavior among students at the K-8 level

to foster active engagement in learning, self-motivation and positive social interactions, and to

create supportive learning environments. The following will demonstrate my knowledge, use,

and growth in the development of classroom management styles and techniques. Three vignettes

are presented in the artifact; however, I will be referencing only Vignette #1 and Vignette #3.

Vignette #1 is about a 3rd grade girl who is brought to a classroom which I am observing.

The girl’s frustrated teacher tells the classroom teacher that she is to write a letter to her parents

explaining what she did. Sitting in the back of the class, I smile at the student. She takes my bait
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and sits by me. Even though we did not know each other, my smile was the beginning of a

positive relationship. Bailey states, “Early relationships shape our ability to focus and sustain

attention” (2011, p. 65).

My relationship with this young lady was crucial before she would accept any correction

or advice from me. (Vignette #1 of my artifact explains how the she got frustrated with a boy in

her class.) Although the situation ended positively for both of us, I have learned a lot since then.

For example, next time I would explain and practice “not biting the hook.” Simon’s Hook; A

Story About Teases and Put-downs, by Karen Gedig Burnett, is a children’s book that explains

other option for when someone teases you rather than “biting the hook.” For example; walk

away, change the subject, laugh, agree, or ask them to stop. If these do not work, talk to an adult

about the situation. Burnett’s book is part of my social emotional beginning-of-the-school-year

lessons. My 1st graders and I practice it ALL year long.

In 2015, when I wrote the vignettes, it appeared to me that when a student was taken to

another classroom, their misbehavior caused them to be removed. I now know they are called

Buddy Rooms. The purpose of a Buddy Room is to allow the student time to calm down and

refocus. Each new school year, I teach students that the Buddy Room is a safe place to regroup

for five minutes— a place take belly breathes, think about what happen, and what to do next

time. It is not a place to go when you are in trouble. I want students to know and to learn that it is

okay to take a break. Everyone needs to from time to time.

Lastly, restoration after conflict is important. When a child has made a poor choice, we

should ask, “What could you do now that would be helpful?” (Bailey, 2015, p. 183). With the 3rd

grade, strong-willed girl, I sensed that if there was no restoration between the student and the
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teacher, their relationship would be strained for some time. Therefore, I encouraged the student

to write her teacher a note apologizing for the situation, which she did.

Vignette #3 describes a 4th grader who was often off-task and a behavior problem. Most

often when I was in the classroom, the teacher showed frustration towards this student. Looking

back on the situation, I believe this student was using negative behavior to get attention. Studies

show that teachers generally rely on negative feedback strategies to convey disappointment in

student behavior. Students who exhibited more problem behaviors receive more negative

attention, therefore receiving the attention they want or need (Sprouls, Mathur, & Upreti, 2015).

Recently, I started earnestly striving to have a 5:1 ratio of positive to corrective

interactions with my students. Research showed that positive interactions need to be learned then

continually practiced, (Cook, Coco, Zhang, Fiat, Duong, Renshaw, Long, & Frank, 2018), which

I agree with. Continual positive interactions do not come naturally, but I am starting to see the

results of my efforts. Research by Sprick, Sprick, & Rich states that teachers who do not overly

strive to be positive digress into the pattern of paying 3 to 15 times more attention to

misbehavior than to positive behavior (2014).

I have also started using more behavior-specific praise rather than just general praise.

Behavior-specific praise can effectively decrease students’ inappropriate behavior because it

highlights the expected behavior (Floress, Berlinghof, Rader, & Riedesel, 2017). In addition to

teachers using behavior-specific praise, when teachers begin to ignore disruptive behaviors, off

task behavior declines because students learn to recognize which behaviors receive attention, and

which do not (Floress, Jenkins, Reinke, & McKown, 2018).

At the end of Vignette #3 I say, “The one thing that scared me the most about becoming a

teacher was how to handle discipline issues, or how to handle the “bad” kids…” Embarrassingly,
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I thought I would eventually “memorize the procedures for discipline.” Rather, it is trial and

error, journaling and reflecting. Every school day I purposefully work at creating and

maintaining a safe and pleasant classroom climate for my students.

References

Bailey, B. A. (2011). Managing emotional mayhem: The five steps for self-regulation. Oviedo,

FL: Loving Guidence, Inc.

Cook, C. R., Coco, S., Zhang, Y., Fiat, A. E., Duong, M. T., Renshaw, T. L., Long A. C.

& Frank, S. (2018). Cultivating positive teacher-student relationships. School Psychology

Review, 47(3), 226–243. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.17105/SPR-2017-

0025.V47-3

Floress, M. T., Berlinghof, J. R., Rader, R. A., & Riedesel, E. K. (2017). Preschool

teachers’ use of praise in general, at-risk, and special education classrooms. Psychology

in the Schools, 54(5), 519–531. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.1002/pits.22014

Floress, M. T., Jenkins, L. N., Reinke, W. M., & McKown, L. (2018). General education

teachers’ natural rates of praise. Behavioral Disorders, 43(4), 411–422. https://doi-

org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.1177/0198742917709472

Goodreads (2019). Ginott, Haim G.. Retrieved June 12, 2019 from

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/81938-i-ve-come-to-a-frightening-conclusion-that-i-

am-the.

Sprick, R., Sprick J., & Rich, P. (2014). Foundations: A proactive & positive behavior support

system. Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest Publishing.

Sprouls, K., Mathur, S. R., & Upreti, G. (2015). Is positive feedback a forgotten
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classroom practice? Preventing School Failure, 59(3), 153–160. https://doi-

org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.1080/1045988X.2013.876958