Heather Kramer

SPE 240- Guidance and Classroom Management

Philosophy paper

"Teach students how to think, NOT what to think," says Barbara Coloroso. This statement is very meaningful and true. A teacher should not tell a student what to think. They need to be able to think on their own.

Coloroso also states that there are six critical life messages that children need to hear every day. They are: I believe in you, I trust you, you are listened to, you are cared for, I know you can do it, and you are important to me. These are important messages that will encourage a child to keep doing well or to keep working. I believe that hearing encouraging words lifts up a child’s mood and helps them to succeed. Students need to know that they are important to their teacher. Once a teacher makes it clear that each child is an individual, the children begin to confine in their teacher.

Another statement from Coloroso, "Our children are counting on us to provide consistency and structure." This is very powerful. I truly believe that in order to have a wonderful and successful classroom, there has to be structure. The classroom rules need to be set and followed by every student. A teacher should not have different rules for each child; otherwise the structure will not stay. The disciplinary actions should be the same for each child as well. If one day, a child is climbing on the book shelf and nothing is said to him, but the next day another student tries it and gets in trouble, they will not understand why. Confusing a child is never the right way to go.

Coloroso also talked about giving children options. I highly agree with her when it comes to giving options. "If no isn’t an option, don’t ask a yes or no questions," says Coloroso. There are many teachers that do this. They expect the child to choose the right answer; however, they give options that only have one answer. If the answer cannot be no, then a teacher should not ask a question that a child would be able to say no to. "If there is no option, don’t give one at all." I have seen many teachers do this as well. They give the children options, but in all reality, the option they choose doesn’t matter. The example that Coloroso gave was, Fire alarms are going off. Do you give the children two options to decide from? No, there isn’t an option; they have to leave the building.

Teachers need to remember that being a role model will help the classroom grow better. If a child sees a teacher smiling and praising other students, they will begin to realize that this is how things should be in a classroom. You can’t expect a child to follow the rules, if the teacher isn’t doing it themselves. Teachers also need to remember that children watch everything a teacher does.

Overall, I believe that structure is a very successful part in a classroom. Once the structure is set up and applied, the children begin to realize that this is how their classroom runs and it needs to be followed. They realize that if it is not followed, there are consequences.