Classroom Environment Philosophy

Alexa R. Hollingsworth

College of Education, North Carolina State University

ED 204

Professor Jacobs

November 20, 2020

I will be teaching high school English, grade 11 or 12. My philosophy of education is that

each individual student deserves to have their varying needs met; no two students will start at the
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same level or effectively learn from the same techniques. The strategies I will utilize to meet

these needs will include catering to all learning styles, incorporating engaging information that is

relevant to a student's current life, and moving at individualized paces in order to maximize my

student’s success. I aim for my students to finish my class with a new perspective and the

mastery of new skills; they will feel enlightened and confident that they are prepared for the

classes in their futures and focus on how necessary time management is in school. In order to do

this, my classroom will need structure, high expectations, and emphasis on preparing for grade

levels ahead. As important as it is to hold my students to high expectation levels, it is just as

important for me to be understanding with them. I will provide leniency and support for all

students when they need it. My students will receive the same respect from me as I expect them

to give to me. This is strongly influenced by Rudolf Dreikur’s mutual respect theory, which

states that mutual respect should be the basis for discipline and that mutual respect motivates

learners to display positive behaviors (Hoekstra & Joosten, 2015). Students need to feel

accepted, or they will act out in order to feel like they belong, and I plan on creating that

environment in my classroom.

My classroom will be a space to not only learn, but to grow in other areas-- my students

will learn how to build relationships and friendships, care for others, people skills, and life skills

that are useful within and outside of school settings. It is my job and focus to put my students'

needs above all else and provide them with what they need to grow academically and personally.

My classroom is not just a place to learn educational topics, but a place where students should

feel comfortable to grow as human beings. Part of making my classroom a comfortable

environment is making my students feel like I am not dictating the classroom and handing out

unfair punishments. Canter’s Theory of Assertive Discipline focuses on the teachers approach of
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managing their classroom (Brinkerhoff, 20, 1). It states that the teacher developing a positive

behavior management system is more effective than being dictatorial. I will develop a positive

behavior management system and revise it as needed-- some strategies will work and some will

not. Understanding that my management plan will not always be effective and may need to be

changed is part of my plan to manage my classroom.

The three assignments and topics from ED 204 that influences my classroom

environment philosophy the most were the “Who’s in the Classroom?” activity, the Social

Emotional Learning module, and the “What is Child Trauma?” article. The “Who’s in the

Classroom” activity helped me come to the realization that the students I will have in my

classroom will all come from different backgrounds. This activity helped me understand that part

of my job will be to make accommodations as needed, and I will learn how to cater to different

needs. I also used The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards, where it states that

teachers “Recognize the influences on a child’s development, personality, and performance”

(Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education, 2013). The Social Emotional

Learning module as a whole helped me process the fact that education is not just about learning

materials; it is about establishing a sense of comfort, building relationships, and processing

emotions. This whole unit impacted my classroom environment philosophy because it made me

realize that a student’s mental health and comfortability is just as important as their

grades/learning. As a teacher, I will have to ensure that my students are making progress in their

learning, while simultaneously growing in their mental health. Finally, the “What is Child

Trauma?” article helped further build my understanding of how all of my students have burdens

to carry to school with them, and depending how traumatic their lives are, it will have an effect

on their learning. I will need to evaluate the trauma my students face, and teach accordingly.
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These sources from class helped to prepare me for the personal levels of education that I will

need to master.

I believe that teachers make a huge personal impact on students. Teachers have the ability

to permanently leave a mark on a student inside and outside of the classroom. I plan to present

school and learning as positive concepts to improve the way my students view education,

because it is important that I make an impact on my student’s view of school. A classroom full of

children who are passionate and excited to learn is a classroom of students who will perform

better. Additionally, I plan on teaching my students how to treat one another and actually hold

them accountable for their actions. Making an impact on my student’s by teaching them how to

appropriately treat others will make them better people outside of school. Oftentimes, children

and teenagers do not realize how important it is to learn how to be a good friend and person, and

I will make an impact by incorporating these plans into my classroom. In my classroom, this will

look like presenting school and learning as positive concepts to improve the way my students

view education. I also plan on teaching my students how to treat one another and actually hold

them accountable for their actions. My students will leave my classroom with a new view on

education and how to treat others.

I believe that students learn best when they are genuinely interested and engaged. I plan

on making my lesson plans according to what my students will find interesting and relevant to

their lives. Doing this will help my students find the motivation to lean in and retain the

information I am teaching. Inspiring my students to have motivation to learn is a big deal to me,

because it will make such a positive impact on my student’s learning. This belief of mine was

strongly influenced by Ben Johnson when he said “Students must be willing participants in their
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education, and we have a few ideas on how to help them feel motivated” (Edutopia & Johnson,

2018). In my classroom, this will look like making my lesson plans according to what my

students will find interesting and relevant to their lives.

I believe the teacher is not meant to have perfect, unlimited knowledge, but rather possess

the ability to effectively teach content. I plan on putting emphasis and effort into how I present

information to my students. It is not entirely about what I am teaching, but also about the process

I choose to teach it. At the end of the day, my students should be able to remember the content I

taught them because of how it was presented to them. In my classroom, this will look like putting

emphasis and effort into how I present information to my students. For example, if I am teaching

my students a complicated topic and I use strictly text materials to teach them, my visual and

physical learners may not remember the content from class. By using flashcards, visual project

assignments, games, and more, learners of all learning styles will be able to retain the

information I teach better. This belief statement is extremely important to me because students

need to retain the information they are taught, because it is useless to teach information when it

is immediately forgotten.

I believe that grades are not the best tool to measure a student’s progress. I plan to use

other methods to check the progress of my students learning besides grades. A letter or number

grade is definitely a way to measure it, and it is beneficial to use grades to track progression, but

these numbers can be discouraging to students who are not doing well. The North Carolina

Professional Teaching Standards state that teachers “Use a variety of assessment data throughout

the year to evaluate progress” (Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education,

2013). I will monitor the confidence of my students throughout the lesson and use their behavior
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to track progress in addition to distributing grades. In my classroom, this will look like using

other methods to check the progress of my students' learning, such as giving out confidence

surveys, letting students apply their knowledge to projects, and focus on the feedback I receive.

This belief statement is supported by what Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond has to

say about student assessment. She said that test scores are a way for students, parents, and

teachers to track progress, but other methods are appreciated and effective, as well. Darling-

Hammond shared “how using well-crafted formative and performance assessments, setting

meaningful goals, and giving students ownership over the process can powerfully affect teaching

and learning” (Edutopia & Darling-Hammond, 2008).

I believe that students come into a classroom with a need to be taught more than just a

required curriculum of information. I plan to teach more than the bare minimum of what is

required of me. I want to teach life skills, friendship skills, and extra information surrounding the

topics in the curriculum to help my students learn as much as possible in my class. Sometimes

background information or review will be necessary before diving into new topics. Ultimately, I

plan on teaching the curriculum plus more. In my classroom, this will look like teaching the

information that is required of me and also tying in personal relations and other life lessons that

could branch off from the topic. For example, if my class was reading an autobiography about a

young woman finding herself, I could help my students talk about their own lives so they learn

about themselves and the author of the autobiography. Going the extra mile as a teacher is

appreciated by students and helps them learn more than just what's on the test.

The first scenario I chose to respond to was: “Your principal is requiring that every

teacher set up a way to communicate weekly with parents. Create a plan for communicating

information with your student’s parents.”

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I need to address this scenario in a way that is not confusing for parents, and I also need

to make sure it is consistent every week (sent in a timely manner, and includes useful

information.) I need to make sure I am communicating with my student’s parents and making

them feel included in their child’s learning. Taking this into consideration, my plan to address

this is to get all of the parents and students involved in Remind101, which is a great platform for

quickly sending out information. I will ensure that I get every student’s parents phone number.

Every Sunday night, at a decent time around 7-8 p.m., I will send out a reminder titled “Week #

Work and Announcements” for the parents to review my expectations for the students for the

week. By using this platform over email, for example, the information would be more accessible,

especially for those who do not check their emails religiously. I would address the scenario this

way because I want to solve the issue quickly and effectively, and using this platform is not only

easy, but effective. Walden University says that parent-teacher communication is more effective

when it is often and makes the parents feel connected (Walden University, 2020).

Based on this, I believe that the parents of my students will feel like they are involved and kept

up to date with the class when I execute my plan. My plan to address this scenario connects with

my belief statements because communication helps establish relationships with students and

parents, and I have stated how important it is to me to build these relationships.

The second scenario I chose to respond to was: “Develop a plan for when students fail an

assessment or show they have not mastered an objective.”

I would address this scenario seriously because it is very important and needs to be taken

care of immediately. If it came to my attention that my students were not responding well to my

teaching and failing assessments/ not understanding topics, I would want to ask them directly

what would work better for them. I would not make them feel stupid or like failures. I would
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reassure them that it is okay to not understand something, and I would definitely offer help.

Depending on how many students failed, I would offer help sessions after school and possibly a

retest option. If the whole class needed help, or at least a majority of the class, I would take a day

to reteach and review the topic until the students understood. I would address it this way to make

the students feel better about themselves, while also re-evaluating if my teaching style is

effective for my students, and offer help when the students need it. Needing review and help is a

normal thing and should not be avoided. My ideas to solve this scenario link to my third belief

statement, “I believe the teacher is not meant to have perfect, unlimited knowledge, but rather

possess the ability to effectively teach content.” It is about being able to teach the content in a

manner that students will understand and grasp, and therefore utilize to pass assessments and

master objectives.

The third scenario I chose to respond to was: “Uh oh! Your students have found your

personal social media accounts. Develop a plan for social media use. Why is it important to set

boundaries? Will you create accounts to interact with your students professionally? How would I

address this scenario?”

I would expect students to find my accounts at some point, so I would already plan to

keep my instagram and snapchat private to myself. If students request to follow or friend me,

which is inevitable, I will just deny it, and explain to the student why I denied it in person. I have

had teachers in the past allow me to follow them after I graduated, but I do not think I would

even allow it under these conditions. I do not want students knowing personal things about me

such as my age, and seeing personal pictures of me. It is important to set boundaries when it

comes to this because they should know me as their teacher, and if they express that they want

me to follow them or they would be interested in following a strictly professional account of

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mine, I would make one to meet that compromise. My plan to accommodate what the students

want by making a professional account would help me stay professional while also building

relationships with my students outside of the classroom. This connects to my belief statements

because it falls in line with wanting the best for my students and building valuable and

appropriate relationships with them.

My philosophy of education is that every student deserves the same attention and

possibilities in my classroom, whether they all learn the same way or not. I will teach in a way

that caters to all learning styles and keep the information as relatable and engaging as possible.

In my high school English classroom, I will make sure my students are excited to learn and have

a newfound appreciation for school. This is supported by The North Carolina Professional

Teaching Standard which states that “Teachers demonstrate the value of lifelong learning and

encourage their students to learn and grow.” My students will know that I care for them on a

personal level when they see that I am willing to work with them to accommodate their needs. I

will maintain high expectations for academic and behavior performance in my classroom, but

never make my students feel like they have no leniency with me. The North Carolina

Professional Teaching Standards state that teachers “Maintain high expectations for all students;

Engage students and ensure they meet the needs of their students through inclusion and other

models of effective practice.”

I will treat my students with the respect that I expect to receive in return. My students

will learn to be better people and develop important life skills in my class, beyond learning the

curriculum materials. The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards state that teachers

“teach existing core content that is revised to include skills like critical thinking, problem

solving, and information and communications technology (ICT) literacy.” Additionally, the
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North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards also state that teachers “Incorporate life skills

which include leadership, ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity, personal

responsibility, people skills, self-direction, and social responsibility.” By doing this, I am

preparing my students for future classes and life experiences.

My classroom will be a safe, comfortable place for my students to grow and share their

own cultures without judgement. The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards state that

teachers “Establish a safe and orderly environment” and “Empower students” (Public Schools of

North Carolina State Board of Education, 2013). I will manage my classroom by holding my

students to a certain level of expectations, and acting appropriately when rules are broken. It is

important to take a growth-mindset approach when punishing students, so they can learn from

their mistakes and stay in class to learn. My students will see that I want the absolute best for

them inside and outside of my classroom, and my relationships with my students will take

priority. I will ensure that my students are as comfortable as possible, and this will guarantee a

smoother teaching experience for me, and learning experience for every student.

Since the beginning of the semester, I can tell how much I have grown as an educator,

solely based off of my first draft of my Classroom Environment Philosophy. Not only was my

CEP much shorter and generally vague, but I was not sure what my audience would be. Now that

I am certain about my grade level and subject, I am able to better plan who I want to be as a

teacher and gauge what my classroom will look and feel like. I am now able to incorporate

valuable resources to back up my philosophies and learn about how to implement them in my

classroom. I have a much clearer understanding of what I need to do for my students and what I

expect my students to do in my classroom. I have learned a great deal about social emotional

learning, trauma, discipline, and communication and what these factors can look like in the
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classroom. I am better prepared to be a teacher and my CEP has improved drastically since the

beginning of the semester. I am confident that my philosophies will continue to modify as

needed, but will remain rooted in the same principles. I know I will continue to grow as an

educator, and this semester alone shows an amazing start to my career.

References

Brinkerhoff, J. (20, 11 16). Assertive Discipline: Lee Canter. 1.

http://www.unm.edu/~jbrink/595/resources/Assertive_Discipline.doc

Edutopia & Darling-Hammond, L. (2008, 3 16). How Should We Measure Student

Learning? 5 Keys to Comprehensive Assessment. Edutopia.org. Retrieved 11 16, 2020,

from https://www.edutopia.org/comprehensive-assessment-introduction

Edutopia & Johnson, B. (2018, 6 12). How to Inspire Students Who Dislike School.

Edutopia.org. Retrieved 11 16, 2020, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-inspire-

students-who-dislike-school

Hoekstra, W., & Joosten, T. (2015). The Power of Encouragement. Learning Teacher

Network Zagreb. http://learningteachernetwork.org/wp-

content/uploads/2018/01/a2_the_power_of_encouragement_zagreb_2015.pdf
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Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education. (2013, 5 2). North Carolina

Professional teaching Standards. ncpublicschools.org. Retrieved 11 16, 2020, from

https://files.nc.gov/dpi/north_carolina_professional_teaching_standards_2.pdf

Walden University. (2020). 9 Ways to Improve Parent-Teacher Communication.

Walden.edu. Retrieved 11 16, 2020, from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-

programs/bs-in-elementary-education/resource/nine-ways-to-improve-parent-teacher-

communication