My classroom management style compared to Fredric H. Jones's Positive Discipline Method

Rachel Harmon's High School Classroom

My classroom management in a nutshell

• Relationship Based - if my students don't trust me, what motivates them to learn in my classroom?
• Classroom Setting - desks are arranged so I can easily get to students who need my attention but also to easily make eye contact with each student.  The atmosphere in the classroom is lively with lots of color, positive and humorous affirmations and loads of books.
• Privileges can be Earned - I start each semester with a seating chart, but that can be dissolved if students demonstrate the maturity to be able to make appropriate choices of their own in seating.

Why do I manage my classroom the way I do?  
Teaching should not be a power struggle. My job is to teach and guide my students, and their job is to work as hard as they can to learn and understand WHY I am teaching the different concepts we cover.

What is my back up plan for when things don't go "as planned"?

Individual Consequences:
1st Issue - verbal warning
2nd Issue - eye contact and body language warning (I see you, and you know you need to stop...)
3rd Issue - student/teacher conference in the hall
4th Issue - parent/counselor communication (and possibly coach or advisor)
5th Issue - teacher/administrator/counselor confer and plan

Classroom Consequences:
1st Issue - verbal warning
2nd Issue - tighter control/management of use of class time (watching Chromebooks, walking around during work time, etc.)
3rd Issue - put seating chart in place or reset seating chart

Privileges:

• Ability to choose own seats
• Ability to choose own partners for partner and group work
• Time for homework in class/less out of class work
• Less policing of Chromebook activity - show me you are mature enough to do what you need to do, get your work done and understand the material, I won't be on your back all the time.

The Positive Discipline Method

Developed by Fredric H. Jones

• Follow the Golden Rule
• Act as you want others to act
• teachers need to convey dignity and cooperation, modeling how they want students to act in class
• "Good disciplinarians are relaxed and emotionally warm, not harsh."

How can one create this type of classroom management style?

Probably not with this face...

• Create a logical seating arrangement - so you can get to the kids and they can see you
• Use limit setting techniques - body language to keep students on task and not let students get out of control during seat work or teaching
• Use incentives to motivate students

Similarities between Harmon and Jones

• Focuses on setting of classroom and incentives.
• Not focused on negatives, but encourages positives.
• Teaching is not a POWER struggle - not focused on the POWER of the teacher or student.

Specific Examples from my classroom:

When students are "caught" using their cell phones in class, they know they get a warning before I take the phone.  Instead of making a big deal about it, once I notice a student is on his/her phone all I say is, "Put it away," and they do. I just make eye contact with the student; I don't state his/her name.  They know who I am talking to.  I don't turn it into a power struggle by forcing the student to turn the phone over to me.  If it becomes a consistent issue, then I will address that with the student and ask them to hand it over.  However, the first warning lets them know I understand the "need" to stay in contact, but expect students to save that for later.

What could Harmon take from Jones's practice?

• I need to be better at enforcing/following through on consequences.
• Incentives should be whole class based, not individually.
• Announcing and teaching are different- focus on the teaching.