Sarah DeGraaf

Leading and Managing

Rationale:

I believe that each person is created in the image of God. Therefore, all people

are image bearers of God, and should be treated with this value. I believe the world is

broken and in need of repair. The world is Gods kingdom and it is our responsibility to

be Kingdom builders. I am an image bearer of God, and a citizen of the Kingdom. Our

role in this world is to grow our understanding of Gods creation and to help repair and

restore what is damaged and broken. My job in this world is to grow in my

understanding of Gods creation in ways that will make me a more effective Kingdom

builder.

Knowledge is the information that can be known. To different people, different

things are worth knowing and learning. I believe that what is worth knowing and

learning is not only information about the physical world but also knowledge about how

we can be better people. We come to know through a variety of means. We come to

know through other people, through experiences, through books, and through places. I

will, as Parker Palmer writes, invite students to learn by interacting with the world, not

by viewing it from afar (1993, p.35). The purpose of learning is become more skilled

and purposeful people. The conditions/atmosphere that contribute to and support

learning are those that are make students feel loved and cared for and supported

(2017). Teachers must comfort and challenge students, give them a voice, make them

feel important, and give them responsibility. The ways in which students and teachers

contribute to either a positive or negative learning environment are countless.

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Covenant:

Covenant management is the part of management that deals with relationships.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of healthy and meaningful relationships

between teachers and students, students with each other, and with teachers and

parents. Froyen and Iverson (1999) highlight the importance of each of these

relationships. The way that students feel in the classroom is crucial to their ability to

learn. A student will learn much better in a space where they feel cared for, and that is

why it is so important to foster good relationships in the classroom.

This can be achieved through a variety of ways. As the teacher, I will conduct

sharing circles with students, giving them opportunities to share with one another about

their lives. If I am teaching in a Christian school setting, I will ask students how we can

pray for one another, asking for pray requests every morning before starting the day. If I

am teaching in a public school setting, I will prompt students to share pieces of their

lives with the class by asking questions about their days, their weekends, their plans,

their fears and their worries, just without ending in a prayer. I will make sure that

students know that it is important that we share with one another so that we can

continue to grow in understanding of other people, as well as to be able to support each

other. Having conversations such as this will also give students a voice, and an

opportunity for their voice to be heard.

It is also important to foster healthy relationships in the classroom so that

students will behave in a manner that is appropriate for the classroom. Smith, Fisher,

and Frey write, Simply said, it is harder for students to act defiantly or disrespectfully
 Sarah DeGraaf

toward adults who clearly care about them and their future (2015, p. 4). This is just

another reason why I will do my part to make each student in my class feel valued.

Realistically, I know that it will be difficult for me to give specialized attention to

each student in my room to the extent that I will want to. Smith, Fisher, and Frey write,

every child needs at least one person who is crazy about him or her (2015, p. 31). I

know that I will not be able to be that person for each student in my class, but I know

that with the help of other staff member in my school that I can ensure each student

has someone who is crazy about them. I think that this is one of the most important

ways that I will be able to meet the social and emotional needs of those in my class.

When my ideal hopes for the relationships in my classroom fall short, we will

have to gather as a class to amend relationships. This may look like conversations as a

group, one-on-one conversations between myself and a student, or conversations

between students that are mediated by the teacher. It is also important to note that

potential relationship problems should be addressed before the problems emerge. If

students have strategies for dealing with issues that may arise, there will be less

problems that need to be dealt with after they happen.

Content:

Froyen and Iverson write, Content management includes planning use of the

physical environment, procedures that occur during the instructional day, and

instruction (1999, p.49). In my classroom, I will be careful about how I set up the desks

or tables, making options for students to work collaboratively, or individually, so that

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each student has an option that will allow them to succeed. I will make sure that our

classroom has a communal area where we can come together for intention relationship

building, such as a group rug. I will tell my students that they have options for seating in

the classroom, and that they are expected to be responsible to choose a good spot

where they can best learn. It students struggle with finding an appropriate seat where

they can learn well, I may have to step in and help the student make a better choice. I

will do my best to make the physical space of the classroom as open and inviting as I

can, seizing opportunities when they arise to explore outside of the walls of our

classroom.

Managing instruction can be a very challenging aspect of being a teacher as each

student has their own set of unique strengths and weaknesses. Students need lessons

that are neither too challenging, nor too easy, and this balance can be hard to achieve

for a class full of learners who are at different levels. As a teacher, I will plan my

instruction to include areas for every child to succeed and be challenged. Students will

be expected to accept challenges and regulate their own learning. When this does not

happen, conversations about repair will need to occur between myself and the student.

Smith, Fisher, and Frey write, When students have strong, trusting relationships

both with the adults in the school and with their peers, and when their lessons are

interesting and relevant, its harder for them to misbehave (2015, p. 3). I will make my

lessons interesting and applicable to students lives not only for the benefit of learning,

but also as a way to prevent behavior problems in my classroom. To make lessons

engaging, I will build my lessons off of students interests, and build on what they know. I
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will make sure that the lessons are authentic, and applicable to real life.

Conduct:

Conduct management is the aspect of management that involves behavior.

Smith, Fisher, and Frey (2015) criticize the use of rewards and consequences,

encouraging instead, restorative practices. Smith, Fisher, and Frey write,

Punishments dont teach, they just create more distance between teachers and

students (2015, p. 9). I am very wary of awarding rewards and dishing out punishments

after reading about how they do not teach.

In my ideal classroom, the students will help design the classroom guidelines

regarding behavior, and because of their contributions to the creation of these

guidelines, the students will feel more responsible for their own behavior. I will prompt

students to come up with guidelines that create a loving community in the classroom. I

will help students to abide to the guidelines that they have created. This will not always

happen, and when students fall short I will help them to see where they have gotten off

track not by punishing them or giving them consequences, but by talking through with

them where they went wrong. When speaking to children who have disappointed us,

Smith, Fisher, and Frey suggest using lines such as, Thats not the (name of student) I

know. Whats happening? (2015, p.66). This statement and question do not attribute

the wrongful behavior to a character flaw, but rather invite the student into a

conversation about their behavior (2015). I want to use restorative practices such as this

to keep the community of my classroom strong, as a place where everyone has value,
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where mistakes can be learned from, and no one is labeled a bad kid.

Sources:

Froyen, L. A., & Iverson, A. M. (1999). Schoolwide and Classroom Management (3rd ed.,
pp. 46-65). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Palmer, P. J. (1993). To Know As We Are Known. San Fransisco: Harper Collins.

Smith, D., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2015). Better Than Carrots or Sticks. Alexandria, VA:
ASCD.

Woolfolk, A. (2017). Educational Psychology (13th ed., p. 604). Boston, MA: Pearson
Learning Solutions.
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Student chairs

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Teacher
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Student Table
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Student
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