Dion Keasling

Behavior Management Philosophy Paper

Theories that are developed through research are vital to the educational field. They find
the best research practices so that we as teachers can better teach/manage our classrooms. I have
found both ideas and mindsets from a total of ten leading behavior theorists. Of these ten
researchers I have found things that I feel connect with my philosophy and others that do not.
Below I will address both in detail. To start, I would like to briefly explain my personal goals
regarding student behavior and growth in my classroom. First, I believe in teaching the child as
a whole. I feel that so often in our current education system, many teachers slip into teaching
brains instead of teaching the child that brain is connected to. Second, my classroom will model
skills such as collaboration and other 21st century skills. These skills will be vital in the future
workforce and must be practiced every day. Third, I want to inspire and help my students
become life-long learners. School may end when one graduates an institution, but learning
should never end. Inspiring my students to live by this is a key to success. Next, I will put
procedures in place to minimize classroom disruptions to increase the learning of everyone.
Finally, I personally find every way possible to stay positive and calm when handling a behavior
issue. All of the goals mentioned above are what I feel is vital to the running of my classroom
and are in best consideration of my students.
Behavior is part of the classroom, but how it is managed is key to having an effective
classroom. Lee & Marlene Canter have developed the Assertive Discipline theory. I feel that
their idea of using only positive behavior techniques when talking to my students is vital. Using
negative behaviors such as anger are not beneficial to the students or myself. Next, I feel
Barbara Colorosos work continues on how teachers should behave with her idea of being a
backbone teacher and not a jellyfish or brick wall teacher. What is meant by this is not being

Dion Keasling
authoritative but also not being passive. My ability to control myself is key. Third,
understanding that different children need different ways of discipline is the work of Curwin &
Mendler that coin the phrase be As tough as necessary This means when I am working with
one student I approach the situation in a different way than if it was another student. I want to
deliver my message in a way that is most beneficial and less detrimental to my students. Next, I
feel Marvin Marshall makes a distinct clarification on the difference between classroom
management and discipline. According to Marshall, classroom management is setting up
classroom rules, procedures, and routines whereas discipline refers explicitly to the behavior of a
student. I feel that when talking about classroom management, discipline is what is being talked
about and understanding that it is so much more. Personally, it reminds me not to focus on just
discipline and possibly ignore other factors. Finally, the work of many people created the Leader
in Me program. I feel that teaching The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a key part in the
management of everything in my classroom. Teaching my students to be proactive, form plans,
work together, and strive to be the best they can be in my mind will help in managing problems
that may arise in my classroom.
The following ideas from theorist are ideas that I do not plan on implementing. This is
not because a theory or a theorist is bad it is just against my personal teaching values. First,
Glassers Choice theory is an excellent model. I do believe that everyone has a choice and that
consequences (good or bad) arise from these choices. However, he says that a problem
relationship is always part of our present life. I do not believe that this happens in every case and
I think that problem relationships can be forgotten. Likewise, Alfie Kohn has many great ideas
in his many books but, I feel that I could not implement his ideas on homework. Kohn feels that
there should be no homework given, I find this difficult because I feel if homework has purpose

Dion Keasling
and expands learning then it is worthwhile to give it to students. Another idea that I do not agree
with is Fred Jones model. He feels that putting students in rows of desks should be required as
doing this minimizes distractions. I feel however that doing this also eliminates collaboration
which is a skill that is needed in the future workplace. Moving on, Character counts is a widely
used program with many great features but, I do not like their focus on giving extrinsic rewards.
I feel that intrinsic rewards should be given with the occasional extrinsic reward. Finally, the
PBIS system is another tool that is emerging in many schools but, it comes at a cost to the
teachers in staff. In order for the PBIS system to work properly it costs an exuberant amount of
time that is almost entirely spent on data collection. I feel that this time would be better spent on
working with the students instead of data tracking.
To conclude, during my research of 10 of the top educational theorist I have found ideas
that I like and dislike from each. I plan to continually use positive behavior techniques with my
students. This means thinking in a positive way as a model for every student in my room. I will
be what Coloroso calls a backbone teacher that is not as strict as a brick wall and is not as
passive as a jelly fish. Along with that I will treat discipline As tough as necessary as coined
by Curwin & Mendler. Doing this means giving each student the discipline that is not too harsh
or too lenient for their actions. I will need to always remind myself to look at my classroom
management if students continually need discipline as it could like Marshall Thought, be a
classroom management issue. I plan on using more intrinsic rewards versus extrinsic rewards to
motivate my students. I always want to focus on my teaching and remembering the whole child
versus a piece of data that needs recording. Finally, I want to implement the Leader in Me
program that focuses on teaching The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to all my students in

Dion Keasling
my classroom. I know that doing all of this will make my classroom an efficient and effective
one.