When putting together a puzzle, the most important part is having a guide, or a picture of what your puzzle will look like when it is complete.  When building the perfect classroom, unlike a puzzle, you will never really have a perfect guide and might never know if you are building it correctly.  However, by becoming proactive with your teaching techniques, building the perfect classroom might seem a little bit easier.  I believe that good classroom management will become the most crucial component when I begin to build my classroom puzzle. I feel that effective teaching is based on classroom management. The most important aspects of classroom management in my future classroom will include: keeping parents up-to-date on what is going on in my classroom, teaching with a proactive approach, and making sure my students understand and are held accountable to my classroom rules and procedures.  By finding ways to implement those ideas into my classroom, I feel that I will become a successful teacher and have strong classroom management skills.

I believe it is very important for me to keep in touch with parents so that they are always aware of how their child is doing in my class.  There are a couple of ways that I plan on keeping parents up-to-date. First I plan on having a number of assignments that must be signed by the parents before the students can receive any credit.  While I realize that not all parents will take the time to review the student’s assignment, I am hopeful that by doing this, parents will at least gain a general idea of what their child is doing in my class.  I feel that this will also make students complete more assignments because if they are aware of the fact that their parent will review the assignment. I also plan on creating a website for my classroom.  I want my students to use this site for my classes, but I would also like parents to use it.  The site will be a designed so that my students can retrieve homework, in-class assignments, and worksheets on it.  There will then be a special section for parents where they can log on and find out what and how their child is doing in my class. I realize that not all parents will have access, or understand how to navigate on the Internet.  For this reason, at the beginning of the year I will find out which parents do not plan on using the site; I will then call those parents at least once a quarter to let them know how their child is progressing in my classroom. 

Along with believing that parents must be aware of how their student is doing in my class, I also believe that I must always teach with a proactive approach.  I feel that by taking a proactive stance versus a reactive stance in my classroom, I will be able to solve problems before they happen and will usually be one step ahead.  I realize that I cannot always be prepared for everything that will happen in my classroom, but by being proactive I believe I will be able to react to situations faster and better then I would if I did not have a proactive approach.  One way that I plan on being proactive in my classroom is by creating an internet safety program for my students.  I feel that by having my students complete the program I am being proactive in making sure that even though there are some bad aspects of the internet, my students are aware of them so they are less likely to fall victim to them.  I will also take a proactive approach versus a reactive approach in my classroom by making sure that I always have enough assignments for students to do during down time.  I feel by always having assignments ready and planned I am showing my students that I do not feel inappropriate behavior is acceptable at any time because there is always something that needs to be taken care of. 

While I believe that parents must know how their student is doing, and will take a proactive approach in my classroom, I also believe that students must be held accountable to the rules and procedures I have created within my class. During the first week of class I will spend the majority of the time establishing my rules and procedures. I feel that by continuously reiterating my expectations to my students, they will understand them better and be more likely to conform to them.  I will create a list of laws for my classroom and after the first week have each of my students sign it, almost like the signing of the bill of rights.  I will then post the laws on the wall.  I feel that by having the laws posted and by having the students sign them it will be a constant reminder to my students about what is expected of them in my classroom.  I will also be sending home a copy of the signed laws, so that my students’ parents understand what I expect of their child and so they realize that their child understands what I except of them.   When a student breaks one of the laws in my classroom, they will be given a Behavior Assessment form.  This form will require them to evaluate, and then become accountable for their actions.  The student will need to sign it, along with myself and their parent.  I feel that by having the students get my signature and their parents’ signature the student is less likely to again break a law.