Used with permission of Department of Special Education, Indian University, Terminology has been altered from the original to match trainings by Diana Browning Wright For original, see: http://www.education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/what.html

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At the extreme, the authoritarian teacher gives no indication that he\she cares for the students. Mr. Doe is a good example of an authoritarian teacher. His students receive praise and encouragement infrequently, if at all. Also, he makes no effort to organize activities such as field trips. He feels that these special events only distract the students from learning. After all, Mr. Doe believes that students need only listen to his lecture to gain the necessary knowledge.

Students in this class are likely to be reluctant to initiate activity, since they may feel powerless. Mr. Doe tells the students what to do and when to do it. He makes all classroom decisions. Therefore, his style does little to increase achievement motivation or encourage the setting of personal goals.

One Middle-school pupil reacts to this teaching style:

I don't really care for this teacher. He is really strict and doesn't seem to want to give his students a fair chance. He seems unfair, although that's just his way of getting his point across.

Authoritative

The authoritative teacher places limits and controls on the students but simultaneously encourages independence. This teacher often explains the reasons behind the rules and decisions. If a student is disruptive, the teacher offers a polite, but firm, reprimand. This teacher sometimes metes out discipline, but only after careful consideration of the circumstances.

The authoritative teacher is also open to considerable verbal interaction, including critical debates. The students know that they can interrupt the teacher if they have a relevant question or comment. This environment offers the students the opportunity to learn and practice communication skills.

Ms. Smith exemplifies the authoritative teaching style. She exhibits a warm and nurturing attitude toward the students and expresses genuine interest and affection. Her classroom abounds with praise and encouragement. She often writes comments on homework and offers positive remarks to students. This authoritative teacher encourages self-reliant and socially competent behavior and fosters higher achievement motivation. Often, she will guide the students through a project, rather than lead them.

A student reacts to this style:

I like this teacher. She is fair and understands that students can't be perfect. She is the kind of teacher you can talk to without being put down or feeling embarrassed.

1. Management Style and Philosophical Beliefs The profile of an authoritative teacher most closely matches my preferred classroom management style. It is reasonable to place certain limitations on student behaviors, and there are rules that need to be followed, both for students safety and to ensure the learning and grading processes are as fair as possible. That said, I firmly believe in encouraging students to be independent. Once they graduate from high school, they will be responsible for themselves. Students who are constantly controlled by parents and teachers never learn to manage their own time or behavior because the responsibility for that behavior is removed from them and placed in the hands of the disciplinarian who makes decisions for them. Consequently, when they get to college or the workplace, they are often prone to making poor choices. Furthermore, teenagers who are constantly under the thumb of an adult authority figure are more likely to feel oppressed and subsequently rebel. If you treat young adults like adults and explain the reasoning behind your policies and actions, they are more likely to respond with reason in turn. I am vehemently opposed to the banking concept of education that sees students as nothing more than receptacles waiting to be filled by the teachers knowledge. This belief carries over to classroom management. Rather than presenting myself as an authoritarian teacher who brooks no interruptions, however relevant, I consider myself open to questions, comments, and debateas long as all remarks are framed respectfully, not only toward myself, but also toward everyone in the class. Classrooms managed in this way ensure that students learn appropriate communication skills while allowing their voices to be heard. If they feel they are a part of the learning and disciplinary processes, they are less likely to feel victimized by the system and more likely to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences of their decisions. In keeping with these beliefs, I favor restorative over punitive practices when it comes to enacting discipline. Punishment only teaches the punished that the only way to get what they want is to gain power over others. This not only increases the chances of students acting out toward perceived authority figures, but also creates an environment that fosters bullying mentalities. Students can be held accountable for their actions without being punished for them. Instead of meting out justice by punishing students with humiliation and isolating them from their peers, I intend to separate the individual from the action and explain that making a bad decision does not make them a bad person. Instead of stigmatizing them for problematic behavior and removing them from the classroom so that they become marginalized from their peers, I will encourage them to acknowledge their behavior, express remorse, discuss how they can avoid repeating the mistake, and how they can make amends. The goal of any disciplinary process should be to turn it into an opportunity for learning and reintegrate students into the classroom as quickly as possible.

2. Establishing a Positive Classroom Culture Establishing a positive classroom culture is one of the most important aspects of teaching, not only because it fosters mutually beneficial relationships between the teacher and students, but also because it lowers students affective filters and creates an environment in which they can learn. While the organization is geared toward supporting LGBTQIA youth, to me, the GLSEN safe-space symbol represents the teachers mission to provide a safe space for all students, as well as the duties of an ally: Know the issues, support, educate, and advocate. Displaying this symbol on the door is only the first step toward establishing a positive classroom culture. To truly foster a safe space and develop student-teacher relationships, I intend to actively get to know my students as people by talking to them before and after class more about their lives. I will incorporate students interests into class content as much as possible to show them their perspectives are valued. I will, whenever possible, take students interests and recommendations into account when selecting my personal reading/viewing/listening material to let students know they are heard and I am genuinely interested in what interests them. Most importantly, I will always advocate for my students, whether that means helping them stay engaged and motivated, dealing with disciplinary issues, supporting them through personal issues, finding help for learning difficulties or suspected disabilities, guiding them through post-secondary options, or simply offering a friendly ear.

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3. Developing Classroom Rules and Procedure My preferred form of establishing classroom policies is to include them in the syllabus and discuss them with students on the first day. The syllabus would include all major policies, such as grading scale, late work, and academic dishonesty. In addition to the standard rules of operation, the syllabus will also include a brief description of the course goals/objectives, and an outline of expectations for student behavior and participation. Because students are prone to losing loose pieces of paper, in addition to being distributed in hard copy, the syllabus will be posted on the course page and/or Infinite Campus (whichever the school uses) so that students and parents can access it. There will also be a copy displayed in the classroom for students to reference. Some policies, such as bathroom and cell phone usage, will be discussed on the first day of class and posted on the wall, but not included in the syllabus. My bathroom policy is based on the belief that high school students are old enough to decide for themselves when they need to use the toilet. I will allow students to use the bathroom at their discretion with the caveat that they must sign out on the miniature whiteboard posted on the door for that purpose so that I know where they are. If they are gone for an inordinate amount of time and are not in any gastrointestinal distress, their prolonged absence will have an adverse affect on their participation grade for the day. In this way, students must learn to be responsible about their bathroom usage, but will not be penalized or embarrassed for needing the toilet. Requests to go to the nurse, office, library, or computer lab must come directly to me, both because they require permission and because most schools require hall passes. While the official rule and goal is to disallow cell phones during class unless they are needed for an activity, studies have shown that asking students to quit cold turkey for an hour or more at a time causes anxiety that interferes with their learning. Thus I would ease my students into the practice of putting away their phones during class by allowing them one minute cell phone breaks at 15 minute intervals, gradually increasing the time between breaks until they can go the whole period without checking their phones.

I will model procedures and routines until they become automatic. In the Japanese classroom, my efforts to model procedures and establish routines will be aided by a rotating daily assistant. This student will be responsible for distributing and collecting any handouts/assignments to the class, as well as collecting handouts and assignments for anyone who is absent and placing that work in a marked folder at the front of the room for the absent student to collect upon his/her return. This serves the dual purpose of making every student individually responsible for learning the class routine as well as organically introducing students to an element of Japanese culture.

Bookshelf

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Teachers Desk

Comfy Chair

Comfy Chair

Whiteboard

TARDIS Book Box

English Classroom

Trash Graffiti Wall

Bookshelf

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Teachers Desk

Comfy Chair

Comfy Chair

Whiteboard

TARDIS Book Box

Japanese Classroom

Trash Graffiti Wall

4. Classroom Layout The layouts of my ideal English classroom and my ideal Japanese classroom are roughly the same for two reasons. First, my principles of classroom management and belief in student-centric instruction remain the same regardless of which course I am teaching. Second, there is a very real possibility that, were I to obtain a position where I would be teaching both classes, I would need to do so using the same room: Thus, the only element I could easily change between classes would be the desks. For the English classroom, Ive arranged the desks so that all students can see the front of the room, while at the same time providing easy access to classmates for pair and small group work. Additionally, the arrangement allows the desks to quickly be pulled into a large circle for seminar discussion. In the Japanese classroom, the desks are arranged in three rows of paired desks that face each other. This design pairs students for conversation practice while also allowing all students to see the front of the room. The desks can easily be pulled apart into more traditional rows for testing. Both classroom designs reflect my desire to provide students with sufficient reading material by lining the walls with well-stocked bookshelves. The positioning of the teachers desk at the back of the room emphasizes the student-centric nature of the classroom as well as affording me the vantage point to keep an eye on them if Im conferencing with a single student. The reading corner, graffiti wall, and TARDIS book box are meant to reinforce my efforts to build a positive classroom culture. The graffiti wall will be a large board painted with magnetic primer and dry-erase paint on which students will be encouraged to draw and converse with each other about book recommendations in English class, and book, manga, anime, drama, and music recommendations in Japanese class. The TARDIS will be a small cabinet containing books and graphic novels that students are free to either borrow or keep. They will also be encouraged to donate their own unwanted books to the cabinet. This cultivates an atmosphere in which students are eager to share their interests and provides students without the means to purchase reading material with books of their own without drawing attention to their socioeconomic circumstances.

5. Monitoring the Classroom and Responding to Student Misbehavior The most basic approach to monitoring student behavior is to maintain an active presence in the room during both activities and downtime. By circulating through the class, the instructor is able to remind students of the task at hand by proximity alone, as well as attend to any behavioral issues as discreetly as possible. This affords the dual benefit of addressing issues without drawing attention to the student, saving them from embarrassment, and saving the rest of the class from significant disruption. As long as they keep their minds on the task at hand and do not disturb those around them, I have no problem with students talking quietly with their peers or doodling in their notes as they work. However, I will not accept students physically interfering with their peers in any way, whether that is kicking the back of someones chair, stealing objects off someones desk, or laying hands on them. In all but the most severe cases, these actions will likely result in a reprimand and/or removal from the immediate vicinity of the target. Depending on the severity of the physical interference, some instances might warrant removal from the classroom or a trip to the office. Though I am not personally offended by swear words, students will be asked to keep their swearing in check to avoid offending their peers, and to remain in line with school policy. As most swearing is not a serious offense, slip-ups will result in a reminder rather than any disciplinary action unless the swearing is directed at another student or the instructor and contains slurs. Bullying and discriminatory language will not be tolerated. The consequences for misbehavior in these areas will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will depend on the schools policies.

While it is best to have a basic idea in advance how to respond to various classroom disruptions and student misbehavior to avoid reacting poorly in the moment, it is also important to remember that it is impossible to plan for every eventuality and that every situation is different. Blind adherence to the rules can have an adverse affect on students wellbeing. It is never appropriate to overlook the individual student or extenuating circumstances in the interest of fairness. If the U.S. justice system acknowledges that while the law is the law, the circumstances of each case must be taken into consideration when judging the appropriate consequences for breaking it, it should not be unreasonable to expect the secondary classroom to do the same. Fair treatment does not mean treating everyone the same. As it is understood for students with special needs, so should it be understood for students who misbehave. In keeping with the principles of restorative practices, all disciplinary action will be framed as an opportunity for students to learn from their mistakes and rectify them. This involves speaking privately with both the offending student and the victim (when applicable) to determine what happened, what students were feeling before, during, and after the event to get them to reflect on why they behaved as they did, and helping them identify the appropriate course of action to take responsibility for their actions, address their misbehavior, and make amends. Sometimes the situation may be too serious for me to address alone. In these cases, I will seek assistance from the appropriate administrators, counselors, parents, and teachers. In all cases, it is important to remember not to take a students actions personally, and to never give up on the students.

1st Annual Metro High School

Bunkasai (Cultural Festival)

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Japanese FoodGamesAnd More!

6. Parents as Partners One of the most basic components of engaging parents as partners in student learning is regularly updating attendance and the grade book, making sure all information is accessible to parents, and, when necessary, encouraging them to keep an eye on their childs progress. It is also helpful to email unit overviews listing the topic, readings (English), grammar (Japanese), and major assignments, as well as a list of resources parents can use to help support students as necessary. This ensures that parents are aware of what their students are doing in class and provides them with the tools to offer their children active support even if they do not possess the requisite academic mastery of the course content to help without training. Furthermore, offering this resource list to all parents as a matter of course eliminates the embarrassment of being seen as ignorant by their childs instructor, helping them save face in front of teacher and student and making them more likely to engage with their child on the subject at hand. It is also important to provide opportunities for parents to get involved with extracurricular class activities that occur outside of school hours when more parents are likely to be able to participate without taking time off work. In Japanese classes, I intend to further engage parents as partners by enlisting their assistance in planning and executing cultural events, such as the fall festivals that are a staple of high school life in Japan. I will also seek their aid in hosting Japanese dinners and game nights over the course of the year. In English classes, I will extend an invite to parents to attend any readings, poetry slams or author talks in the community at which the students will be present. Additionally, I will host an evening event once a semester that is open to both parents and the rest of the school where students can share creative and/or academic writing.