Background

• Tauber explains that a teacher's philosophy of discipline, model of discipline and discipline strategies should all match for effective classroom management. This advice asks the teacher to "examine and...form a philosophy of education, study available classroom management models, and select a model...consistent with your fundamental beliefs." Tauber recommends James Dobson's "A Place for Punishment," Lee Canter's "Assertive Discipline," Fred Jones's "Tools for Teaching" and several other studies on classroom management as starting points for research.
  
  

Democracy

• Tauber notes that discipline done well can be supportive and nearly invisible. One way to accomplish this is to incorporate democracy into the classroom. Students who feel that justice, choice and liberty are present in their classroom time and activities will feel empowered, trusted and mature. Since it is difficult to measure the concept democracy, Tauber suggests that the teacher brainstorm terms that are relevant to democracy with his students. Equality, voting, voice, self-determination, right and responsibilities are a few examples of democratic ideals. Once these ideals are established, the teacher should make sure that her students have mutual understanding about the meanings of these ideals. The teacher should continually assess how well she is upholding each ideal with her class.
  
  

Choice

• Choice may be one of the most effective democratic ideals incorporated in a classroom. Giving students choice tells them that the teacher want their input and finds their opinions valuable. Rather than simply assigning tasks and projects, the teacher might ask for student ideas on lesson plans, projects and timelines. The teacher can also give a student choice when he is misbehaving. Rather than assume a student misbehaves with the intention to hurt or disrupt, the teacher should express "the expectation that the student can come up with a solution that meets everyone's needs," as written by Tauber.
  
  

Differences

• Deslea Konzo, author of "Classroom Management: A Survival Guide" notes the importance of recognizing student diversity in classroom management. Every classroom contains individuals who will "differ across a broad range of variables" such as learning style, learning ability, cultural background, level of family support and personality. A teacher must be sensitive to each student in his class, especially those he has a hard time understanding. If the teacher is confronted with a student who expresses herself in an unfamiliar way, he may have to familiarize himself with her background and how it could affect her time in the classroom.
  
  

Environment

• Creating a positive learning environment is a simple way to help manage a classroom. Taking care to decorate the classroom and display student accomplishments, such as particularly good papers or projects, will show that a teacher cares about his students. The way a teacher arranges desks will have a strong impact on how well students pay attention. If desks cannot be arranged in a U-shape, there should be a regular rotation so that the same students will not always have to sit in the back. Students should also be required to sit next to students that compliment their learning styles and behavior.