My Behavioral
Philosophy
H Perry
EDLC 623
L Universit School of Education
D . T Blank
N 6, 2023
Classroom Description:
●Located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
●7th Grade - United States History
●Students’ common core classes are taught by a team of 4 teachers
●4 students with IEPs (individualized education plan)
●1 part time paraprofessional
●15 Students
○8 Female
○7 Male
Classroom Exceptionalities:
● 2 students have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
○According to the DSM-5, ADHD is defined as “people who show a persistent pattern of inattention and/or
hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning and development.” (The ADD Resource Center,
2013)
● 2 students have Dyslexia
○Dyslexia is defined as “a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by
difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These
difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often
unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.
Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience
that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.” (International Dyslexia Association,
2018)
Classroom Exceptionalities Continued: IEPs
●All four students have IEPs for the school year and stay in general education
classes.
○Each student’s IEP allows them extra time on assignments, as well as the opportunity to test
in class quietly, or another predetermined room with a paraprofessional.
○The students who have Dyslexia are guaranteed a paraprofessional to help them read the
question and answers on quizzes/tests,
○
Diversity in the Classroom
●Students come from lower to middle class homes, most are a 2 income
household.
●Horry County is the third largest school district in South Carolina
●“As of the 21-22 school year, 61% of schools in district received excellent or
better rating on state report card” (Horry County Schools, 2023)
●Student’s primary language is English.
●Predominantly caucasian students:
○85% Caucasian
○10% African American
○3% Asian
○2% Hispanic
“Gracious words are like a honeycomb; sweet to
the soul and healing to the bones.”
- Proverbs 16:24
My Behavioral Philosophy
●As seen in Proverbs 16:24, kind words are sweet to the soul. I believe that
every child deserves to be in a positive, genuine and kind environment. I am
of the opinion that we should be proactive and not reactive.
●I intentionally have chosen middle school because I feel that is where God is
pulling me the most. High schoolers have their minds made up, and
elementary students are too young. Middle schoolers need the love and
guidance through the pre-teen and begninng-teen years, I want to be the
middle school teacher I didn’t have. I aim to be a safe place for all students.
●Each student should feel as though I am championing for them, not against
them.
My Behavioral Philosophy: Continued
●"Teachers who put relationships first don't just have students for one year; they have
students who view them as 'their' teacher for life.” – Justin Tarte.
●I believe that you need to understand the WHY to a behavioral issue to solve the HOW. I
don’t believe that there is a one size fits all solution and instead each student deserves to
be considered as such.
●I will have clear, concise rules, policies and procedures in my classroom that I will model
and expect students to adhere to as well. I believe that this will allow order and
understanding, therefore fostering an environment free of distractions and allow learning
to occur.
●However, if rules are not followed, there will be negative consequences in accordance with
the district or school’s policies.
My Behavioral Philosophy: Continued
●I will use positive reinforcement - at the beginning of the year and the end of each quarter, I
will give out “reward” surveys with options for students. Doing the survey multiple times
ensure students feel as though they have a choice as they learn and grow through the year.
○This will be completely confidential between the student and I.
○This will allow me to reinforce positively in the manner that is most appropriate for the
student, therefore tapping in to what works for what student and my hope is that
students will feel seen/heard and therefore continue to behave appropriately (Curran &
the IRIS Center, 2023, pg iv).
● I will greet students by their preferred name everyday.
● I will create a warm, consistent environment where all students feel included and loved, therefore
trying to foster their best try at completing all work.
● I will have an open door policy where students will feel safe coming to chat with me about anything
that may be affecting them - school wise or other.
● I will build a relationship with them based on honesty, mutual trust, and respect.
My Behavioral Philosophy: Continued
●“Fairness” in my classroom looks like ensuring that everyone has equal
opportunities to everything; from writing utensils to incorporating projects
that show off student’s individuality.
●My students will have assigned seating in groups. I will try to put a students
who have different strengths together to foster teamwork and cooperation,
as well as show off their individual strengths.
My Core Components: Classroom Rules
●“Making a classroom a pleasant place is both beneficial for students and
teachers.” (Maag, 2018)
●Classroom Rules:
○Phones are put away and on silent
○Headphones are out of ears and put away unless given permission to use.
○Students will raise their hands and wait to be called on.
○Students will stay engaged with lesson and quiet,
○Students will treat everyone with mutual respect and care in my classroom.
○Students will treat others how they want to be treated.
○Once a week, we will choose a student and the classroom will go around and give a genuine
compliment to this student.
My Core Components Continued: Classroom Procedures
●Classroom Procedures:
○When the bell rings, we will be ready and enthusiastic to learn with our materials
out and a writing utensil handy.
○Students will raise their hands to answer a question or ask to go somewhere (IT
department, restroom, nurse)
○Students will sign out when leaving class and take a pass.
○All homework for the week prior will be due on Monday into the “Monday
madness” folder on my desk.
○Students will remain in assigned seats unless given permission to move about.
My Core Components Continued: Rewards
●Students may earn bonus points to boost their grade by:
○Answering the bonus question at the end of the test or quiz
○Submitting their study guide to me on the Friday of the quiz/test to prove it was done
○At my discretion
●Students will receive rewards chosen from me at times they have shown they deserve it.
●At the beginning of the unit, students will collaborate and vote on how they want to celebrate
the end of a unit after their test.
○This may be something educational, like a dish from a specific time period
○This may be something fun like a board game
○This may be a free period for students to get caught up on work for other classes.
My Core Components Continued: Consequences
●1st Offence: Redirect
●2nd Offence: Verbal Warning
●3rd Offence: Written warning
●4th Offence: Note home to parents (may also call parent dependent on nature
of the student and behavior exhibited)
●5th Offence: Write up
●6th Offence: Refer to school’s consequence policy
My Core Components Continued: Record Keeping System
●Per school policy:
○All grades will be input into our online learning management system
○Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class and turned in; if a
student comes late, they will be marked as tardy.
●I do not believe in publicly shaming students, so all records kept are
confidential and only for myself, the school and/or parents when necessary.
●Each offense I will write an incident report that I will keep in a locked file in
my desk, but also uploaded to my drive in the event something happens to
the hard copy. This report will include the date, time, what lesson we were
on, what happened/who was involved, how many times it has happened and
what number offense this is.
●I believe you cannot have too detailed records!
Collaboration: Within the School
● “The productivity and adaptability of schools can be enhanced by creating
structures that facilitate collaboration among teachers.” (Tschannen‐Moran, 2001)
●Collaborative teaching is a huge benefit for both teachers and students. Students are
assigned to a team of four teachers who will teach them the common core classes (English,
Social Studies, Mathematics, Science) and all share a planning period and as such create the
classroom rules and procedures together. This allows for individuality in how the rules are
implemented per classroom, but has a united front as all students are expected to follow the
same rules and conduct across all classes.
●The procedures are the same on each grade level and that is dictated by the school.
●Meetings:
○Biweekly the departments each meet on Tuesday after school.
○Weekly each team will meet during a planning period.
○Monthly there is a mandatory staff meeting that is building wide.
Communication: With Parents
●I believe that ongoing parent communication is a crucial key to a successful
student.
●Like my students, I have an open door policy with parents. I am available via
email, phone or the Remind app.
●I will offer parent-teacher conferences twice a year - per district policy.
●All of my communication home about student performance or behavior will
be done via email so that both the parents and myself have written record.
●I believe in “tattling” on my students with good behavior - if someone is
really rocking a concept or showing exemplementry skills, I believe in letting
their parents know how great they’re doing.
Communication: With Parents - Continued
An example of an email I would sent home:
Hello!
My name is Hanna Perry and I am looking forward to teaching your student in US History this year! I graduated with
my masters in Education from Liberty University and am a Myrtle Beach Native. I wanted to touch on my
communication policy with parents this year. I believe in offering positive feedback on student behavior, as well as
anything negative or concerning. I have an open communication policy and therefore will be available via email,
phone call or Remind from 7-3 Monday-Friday and by conference at your request. Any communication from me will
be either email or Remind, unless requested otherwise by you. I believe that students can conduct themselves in an
appropriate manner by following our team’s classroom rules and procedures. If you’d like more info on those, please
click here. If your student violates those procedures, then consequences will be placed in accordance with the school
and district’s procedures. If you’d like to review those, please click here. I look forward to an amazing school year
with you and your student! Please do not hesitate to reach out!
Hanna Perry
Phone number ext. 123/Email/Remind link and activation code
Laws: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
●Signed into law by President Ford in 1975
●This law governs how students with disabilities receive services and
education.
●This law requires students with certain learning abilities access to
Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) tailored to their specific and unique
needs and requires schools to provide special education and services to help
support learning.
●This law helped establish procedures for the identification, evaluation and
placement of students with disabilities.
●This law was put into place to help accommodate students with disabilities
and better their learning outcomes. (United States Department of Education,
2022)
Laws: Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
●A subset to IDEA, this law mandates that students with disabilities receive an
education that is provided at both public expense and tailored to meet the
student’s unique needs in a way that is appropriate and effective.
●This includes the development of IEPs to address each student’s unique
needs with the goal of enabling students to be sufficient and get into general
education classes when possible.
●This ensures that students with disabilities are getting the same quality of
education as their peers. (United States Department of Education, 2010)
Laws: Manifest Determination Review (MDR)
●A subset of IDEA, this is a legal process that covers students with disabilities.
●A MDR is when a team of professionals (usually a student’s IEP team) meet to
determine if a student’s behavior was caused by their disability or is a related to
their disability.
●The team will also consider and judge on if the school has followed the IEP and
provided appropriate support to the student.
●If the team finds that the behavior is a result of the student’s disability, the student
is not subjected to certain disciplinary actions (like suspension or expulsion).
Instead, the team must modify or change the IEP to meet the needs of the student.
●If the behavior is not a result of the student’s disability, they are subject to the
discipline outlined by the school district. (Disability Rights of South Carolina, 2021)
Laws: Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
●This is a guiding principle that falls under IDEA; it is the idea that students
with disabilities are in general education classrooms as much as possible.
●This law plays an important part on both where students will receive their
education, but how services will be provided.
●This law states that students will not be removed into a special education
classroom unless learning cannot take place among a general education
classroom, even with services provided. (IRIS Center & Vanderbilt
University, 2019)
References:
●Staff, B. (n.d.). Proverbs 16:24-33 - gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul ... Bible Study Tools.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/proverbs/passage/?q=proverbs%2B16%3A24-33
●Definition of dyslexia. International Dyslexia Association. (2018, July 16).
https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/
●The ADD Resource Center. (2023, October 30). DSM-5 Criteria for ADHD. ADD Resource Center.
https://www.addrc.org/dsm-5-criteria-for-adhd/
●About HCS / Quick Facts 2023. Horry County Schools. (n.d.).
https://www.horrycountyschools.net/Page/18664#:~:text=James.,Carolina’s%20third%2Dlargest%20school
%20district.
●About idea. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (2022, November 7).
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/#IDEA-History
●Vanderbilt University. (2019, September 25). Least restrictive environment (LRE) - vanderbilt university. IRIS
Center.
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_info_briefs/IRIS_Least_Restrictive_Environ
ment_InfoBrief_092519.pdf
References: Continued
●Curran, C. M., & IRIS Center (n.d.). Encouraging appropriate behavior. IRIS Center.
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/standards/encouraging-appropriate-behavior/
●Erwin, H. (2022, August 4). Building teacher student relationships in the classroom. Moving Minds
Blog. https://blog.moving-minds.com/2018/09/12/building-relationships-in-the-classroom/
●Maag, J. W. (2018). Behavior management: From theoretical implications to practical applications.
Cengage Learning.
●Tschannen‐Moran, M. (2001), "Collaboration and the need fortrust", Journal of Educational
Administration, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 308-331. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005493
●US Department of Education (ED). (2010, August). Free appropriate public education under Section
504. Home. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html
●Discipline of students with disabilities. Disability Rights South Carolina. (2021, August 20).
https://www.disabilityrightssc.org/discipline-of-students-with-disabilities/
