4.1 Philosophy of Discipline
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School
Arkansas State University, Main Campus *
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ELFN
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Philosophy
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
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6
Uploaded by EarlRainTapir36
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Philosophy of Discipline
Linsey Stanley
Department of Education: Arkansas State University
ELFN 6763: Philosophies of Education
Dr. Jackie McBride
February 4, 2024
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Philosophy of Discipline
Overall Philosophy
I teach at a high school in the outskirts of Saint Louis, Missouri, in a large suburban area called Oakville, Missouri. The total enrollment is 1,745 students. The total number of economically disadvantaged students is 15 percent. We are ineligible for Title I funding. The enrollment breakdown is 82.4% white and 17.6% minority enrollment. My philosophy has been a work in progress you might say because I have only been teaching for 2 years. In my student teaching, my philosophy of discipline mimicked my cooperating teachers. In my first year of teaching, I was trying to keep my head above water, while also making sure students knew that I was the teacher, and I was in charge. This year, I have finally felt like I am in a good spot with being consistent with my overall philosophy of discipline. My overall philosophy of disciple is that discipline should not be a way that a teacher controls their students. Discipline should be a teachable moment that allows students to learn skills and behavior that are appropriate for the classroom and everyday life. I think it is important
to set clear boundaries and expectations from day one so that students understand what they can and cannot do in the classroom. I have found that being more open and willing to listen to students, teaches them far more respect than creating an environment where I have the final say as the teacher. Through my discipline, I have created a great rapport with my students. One major area of my philosophy deals with speaking when others are speaking. I want all students to
know that what they have to say is important. My number one rule is to not speak while others are speaking—not to quiet anyone, but to ensure that all students have a voice and feel respected within my classroom.
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Current Discipline Policy
My current discipline policy is something that I go over with students at the beginning of the year and at the start of second semester as a reminder to all. The first rule or expectation I have for students is to be respectful. This is an essential skill that all students will need at some point in their lives in or out of the classroom setting. We discuss there is more than one way to be respectful. Students should be respectful to themselves, each other, the classroom, and me as their teacher. Teaching students about respect is not a black and white thing, there are some instances that fall in the gray area. Also being human, I know that people have good and bad days so that is always kept in mind with dealing with discipline. However, there are certain behaviors that are an immediate redirection of behavior, while others may need to be addressed by administration. Another expectation of my classroom is that phones will only be used at appropriate times. This has become an increasing issue teaching high school. They are constantly distracted by their phones in class. I have adopted the policy of phones off their desks and only used when directed to. This is less about control and more about their learning. I adopted this policy midway
through the semester when students became increasingly more distracted if their phones were visible to them. I give students a reminder when they walk in that their phones should be put away. After that I will tell them one time to remove their phones from their desks before they are
told to put their phones in the phone “jail." Students are then able to get their phone after class. I want students to learn to the best of their ability, and phones are taking away from their ability to
learn and focus on the content. I try to avoid going to administration for this policy because I
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believe it can be handled within the classroom with the students, or with parental involvement. If
it becomes an increasing issue with blatant disrespect, I will then go to administration. Development of Policy
The development of my policy was done through a mixture of student involvement and PLC groups. I, along with my PLC group, came up with a list of expectations and policies that we have implemented in the past. We narrowed it down to phones, respect, and the expectation of participation in the classroom. From there, we allowed our students to develop lists of things that they believed to be important in the classroom. Many of these topics overlapped with our own that we had developed as a PLC group. Students know that they should be respectful, however, they believe it should be in other areas other than just to the teacher. Students mentioned picking up after themselves, being kind to one another, and following school rules inside all classrooms. From there, we narrowed this down to being respectful. We felt that that can be broad and cover many more things other than just to the teacher. Students also knew that there was an appropriate time to use their phones. Most students discussed not being on them during notes and suggested that they should have free
range post notes. We did try to allow phones on desks and out throughout the first semester, however, it led to many distractions. We discussed this at the beginning of second semester, and with little fuss, students began to transition into our new policy of phones away until notes are finished. In my classroom, I want my students to feel heard and seen. I think it is important to involve them in this process and show them where my head is at in the development of these rules and expectations. I have found that doing this has created great rapport with my students and has led to them respecting me more.
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Sending Students to Administration
Last year, in my first year of teaching, I sent students to administration often. I struggled with classroom management and found that I was constantly losing this battle. I wanted my students to see me as the sole person with power and know that I always had the say in the classroom. This backfired when I had no control within my classroom because they did not respect me. Administration at one point had to come sit in my classroom for a day to keep the behaviors at bay. A year later, I have taken a completely different approach. While I am still someone who
believes that students should respect their teachers, I do it in a different way, which was described in the previous paragraphs. This year, I have only sent one student to administration. This was after redirection, conversations, and parental involvement. The student was creating an environment that was not conducive to learning for any student. Once it had gotten to the point where many students were being impacted and nothing seemed to work, I had to get administration involved. My district has a flowchart that shows teachers when administration should get involved, it is after multiple interventions with the classroom teacher and parents. This is not a one size-fits-all chart because there are obviously situations in which this is not applicable. Corporal Punishment
Corporal punishment is not a practice used by my school, but recently was reinstated to a school in Missouri. I think that corporal punishment is an unreasonable thing and has no place to be used in a school. I believe that corporal punishment can have lasting psychological impacts on
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children such as shame, guilt, anger. This then may create a link between these feelings and school. This may put students in a fight or flight mindset, which will negatively impact their ability to learn. Conclusion
My philosophy of discipline has been impacted by many factors. I believe that I have changed routes based off trial and error through my first year of teaching, which has led to a policy that is less strict. Along with this, the culture of my school plays a major role in my philosophy of discipline. My administration has created an environment that listens to the issues that are faced within the classroom and suggest strategies to implement to change these behaviors. The support from my administration helped me in my first year trying to navigate classroom management and this year through continuous support and training. I have attended different professional development opportunities that have discussed at lengths different strategies to handle discipline in the classroom. I believe that my philosophy will continue to grow and change over the course of my teaching career. One thing that will stay consistent is student involvement in creating the philosophy of our classroom discipline. Giving students and active role in their education has transformed my classroom and my overall philosophy of discipline in a positive way.
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