Final

Classroom Discipline Plan

• Be respectful.  It is important to be respectful so that other students, teachers, and other personnel can get a chance to speak without being interrupted, and it creates a classroom environment where students feel welcomed.  Students also develop a system of trust within the classroom.
• Consequence: Class starts to lose trust with the offender(s).  The classroom would also not feel as safe or as welcoming (natural).
• Refrain from using electronic devices for personal reasons.  I do not want my students to use their iPods, cellphones, and other electronic devices to conduct personal business while in class.  I provide them with my attention and refrain from using electronic devices to conduct personal business while I am in class with them and I expect the same from them.  If there is an emergency, there are other ways to contact the student.  There will be only a few exceptions to this rule (i.e., iPods may be used when a student has an A in the class, has no make-up work, and is finished before the rest of the class and every student can use them after finishing their tests and final).
• Consequences: If I see a cell phone out, it will be taken away and the student may get it at the end of the day.  If a student continuously uses his/her cell phone, I will take it away and the student may pick it up at the office.  The same applies to iPods.  If students continually break this rule, then they will have to surrender their cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices to me at the beginning of class and they can pick it up after class ends (logical).
• Raise your hand to answer questions.  It is not fair for students to blurt out answers to a question, especially when they are not called upon.  In order to be called upon, or to be acknowledged, it is proper to raise one's hand to answer a question.  Raising one's hand allows people to respect each other and allows the teacher to remain in control.  It also allows students to have a chance to be active and participate in class.
• Consequences: If a student blurts out an answer, the student will be pulled aside and talked to about how his/her action's were disrespectful (logical).  If students constantly blurt out answers, then other students will not bother to try in class and will become silent and not participate (natural).
• Be in your seats when the bell rings.  It is important for students to be in their seats when the bell rings so that it is easier for the teacher to see who is absent and who is tardy.  It also allows the teacher to maintain control over the classroom and it will be easier to start the day's lesson if students are in their seats when the bell rings.  Students will have assigned seats after the first week, and they will be seated with individuals with whom they work well with, based off of observations.
• Consequence: If students are not in their seats, then they will be marked tardy and will have to follow the school's rules on tardies (if school-wide tardy rules are established).  The more tardies a student has, the more it will affect his/her grade (logical).
•  Be honest.  Be honest with the work that is turned in, make sure that the work you turn in is your best effort, and tell the truth about why you did not turn in your homework when asked.  It is a lot easier to tell the truth than to lie and then reveal the truth later.  If honest, I will allow the student to turn in work that is of better quality by the end of the day.  It is easier to bear with the consequences of not turning in your work immediately than to suffer from the consequences in the long run.  I provide honest instruction, and in return, I expect the same from the students.  Honesty also builds trust in the classroom and helps build a welcoming classroom environment.
• Consequences: If a student lies or cheats on a test, their work, and the student being copied's work will be confiscated and will receive a zero and will not be eligible to retake the test (logical).  If a student isn't honest with the work they turn in and it is not their best effort, they will receive a lower score (lower than what they are used to receiving) and will suffer in the long-run in their grades (natural).  If a student is not honest, then trust will be broken and it will be harder to re-establish trust and build a warm classroom environment (natural).

Reading Response 5 - The Hows and Whys of Peer Mentoring

I chose "The Hows and Whys of Peer Mentoring" because in class, we have often discussed the benefits of peer mentoring and other peer activities, but rarely have gone into what those benefits are and how they have helped not only students, but teachers as well.
In the article, the authors briefly explain some of the problems they encountered when setting up observations, mainly scheduling issues, but then they mentioned the solutions they came up with.  However, the meat and potatoes of the article described the benefits of peer mentoring on teachers, along with new challenges that emerge from these observations.  The benefits include: observers were exposed to a variety of children (ages, learning styles, needs, etc.) and a variety of teaching methods that have enhanced their teaching experiences, teachers became more focused in the classroom when they were not being observed (they pretended that they were being observed), colleagues acted as a reality check, and teachers really will practice what they teach, so students will see how their teachers struggle to refine their skills applies to the working world.  The new challenges that emerge from such an activity are: effecting change within the school and district based off the observations, having teachers put self-reflection and constant change on the top of their list, working with the broader community on such issues as poverty, child abuse, and other problems, and how do we work to improve the life of our students, if we choose to do so.
I can use this information when I teach by constantly reflecting upon my practices.  I found it interesting that teachers would pretend that they were being observed so that they could focus easier, so I am going to try that.  I will take the advice from when I am observed to heart and try to implement some of the suggestions that may be offered.  I will also step up to try to make change at the school that I am at and will become an advocate for the children who are suffering from any societal "ills."  I can also use this information to improve my teaching techniques as well.  I did not really realize during my first semester of observing classes during CP 1 that I was picking up techniques until I started student teaching.  I think that it is important for students to see a model of someone trying something new and working with peers, so that they can gain a sense of what it is like in the working world.