Mr. M is a fifth/sixth grade teacher in the Quest program in an elementary school in the Lake Washington School District. Because his students are intellectually gifted, they are required to sign a “Student Contract,” which sets forth much of Mr. M’s classroom philosophy. The contract essentially recognizes students’ needs as well as expectations for those students. While most of these expectations are academic and scholastic in nature, it also requires that 
students contribute regularly to classroom discussions in a thoughtful and positive manner, to work independently and collaboratively, and to display appropriate behavior, as well as to practice ethical modes of conduct.
However, in addition to these rather generalized and generic principles, Mr. M also puts his own spin and personalization on his specific classroom management. Being extremely blunt and straightforward, Mr. M dismisses notions of achieving equity and “fairness” in the classroom, calling such ideals “baloney.” He feels that such attempts at classroom democracy fails to take all of the many facets and attributes of individual students into account, and that no two students are alike, so it makes little sense to try and foster an atmosphere of equality in a environment where not all students are “created equally.” Accordingly, he has relatively few classroom rules or behavior models, having little use for them. As long as learning is not being disrupted, he is fine with whatever a student does or doesn’t do. He says he doesn’t care if they do the work, since their academic success is entirely within their control and domain. He quite obviously believes in empowering the child, and believes that kids have to learn how to fall down, sometimes even to fail. He also conveys this message quite adamantly to parents, urging them to allow their child to take the consequences and fix their own mistakes and errors. He believes that it is not the job of teachers or parents to “rescue” children, and not to do their work for them. In Mr. M’s view, elementary school is meant to prepare a student for junior high school and beyond, believing that in the lower grades, content fades away, but developing good work habits and study skills are all-important. If students learn how to work hard, to develop skills of critical thinking and self-directed learning, then success and good grades will inevitably follow. He believes that the brightest children (as represented in Quest classes) often do not associate hard work with success, and that elementary schools often give bright children the wrong message that being bright means work should not be difficult. He encourages his students to challenge him/herself to do their best work on every assignment, but that it is best left in their own hands to determine their academic fate. This is not to imply that Mr. M deems himself superfluous to the educational process. Rather, he sees himself as a facilitator, to focus on authentic and rigorous academics, but also to develop strong task commitment and encourage creativity. He gives them all the necessary guidance and tools to achieve success, but it is up to the student whether or not he or she achieves such success.
Similarly, Mr. M’s classroom arrangement reflects his philosophical approach to classroom management. Basically, the room is divided amongst five tables (see photos), with four tables seating six students, and a fifth table seating four students. Because Mr. M’s class is a fifth/sixth grade hybrid, he makes sure that each table contains a roughly equal ratio of fifth and sixth graders. There are nine girls out of a class of 28, so he places either one or two females at each table. Finally, he tries to pair up different types of personalities, often seating a shy, introverted student next to or across from a more socially outgoing, boisterous personality. Additionally, the table closest to his desk contains the students that he feels are the most “disorganized,” in terms of their work habits (although there is no correlation between being disorganized and intelligence), just so that he can keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t go too far afield in their work habits. However, it is also important to note that Mr. M is constantly moving his students, depending on the subject matter or if they are in a particular learning group (he divides his class into completely different groups for social studies units, literature circles, science projects, etc.), believing it is important that they experience as much diversity and change with regard to working within a group (this is also a good introduction to the displacement that many of them will likely experience when they start junior high school). Mr. M is not shy about placing students who may not like each other or who have clashing personalities in the same group, as a way of forcing them to learn how to handle difficult, sometimes unpleasant encounters. Consistent with the rest of his classroom management style, he believes it is incumbent upon the students themselves to work out any differences they may have with other kids, reminding them that their success or failure as a unit depends on them working together as a team.
students contribute regularly to classroom discussions in a thoughtful and positive manner, to work independently and collaboratively, and to display appropriate behavior, as well as to practice ethical modes of conduct.However, in addition to these rather generalized and generic principles, Mr. M also puts his own spin and personalization on his specific classroom management. Being extremely blunt and straightforward, Mr. M dismisses notions of achieving equity and “fairness” in the classroom, calling such ideals “baloney.” He feels that such attempts at classroom democracy fails to take all of the many facets and attributes of individual students into account, and that no two students are alike, so it makes little sense to try and foster an atmosphere of equality in a environment where not all students are “created equally.” Accordingly, he has relatively few classroom rules or behavior models, having little use for them. As long as learning is not being disrupted, he is fine with whatever a student does or doesn’t do. He says he doesn’t care if they do the work, since their academic success is entirely within their control and domain. He quite obviously believes in empowering the child, and believes that kids have to learn how to fall down, sometimes even to fail. He also conveys this message quite adamantly to parents, urging them to allow their child to take the consequences and fix their own mistakes and errors. He believes that it is not the job of teachers or parents to “rescue” children, and not to do their work for them. In Mr. M’s view, elementary school is meant to prepare a student for junior high school and beyond, believing that in the lower grades, content fades away, but developing good work habits and study skills are all-important. If students learn how to work hard, to develop skills of critical thinking and self-directed learning, then success and good grades will inevitably follow. He believes that the brightest children (as represented in Quest classes) often do not associate hard work with success, and that elementary schools often give bright children the wrong message that being bright means work should not be difficult. He encourages his students to challenge him/herself to do their best work on every assignment, but that it is best left in their own hands to determine their academic fate. This is not to imply that Mr. M deems himself superfluous to the educational process. Rather, he sees himself as a facilitator, to focus on authentic and rigorous academics, but also to develop strong task commitment and encourage creativity. He gives them all the necessary guidance and tools to achieve success, but it is up to the student whether or not he or she achieves such success.
Similarly, Mr. M’s classroom arrangement reflects his philosophical approach to classroom management. Basically, the room is divided amongst five tables (see photos), with four tables seating six students, and a fifth table seating four students. Because Mr. M’s class is a fifth/sixth grade hybrid, he makes sure that each table contains a roughly equal ratio of fifth and sixth graders. There are nine girls out of a class of 28, so he places either one or two females at each table. Finally, he tries to pair up different types of personalities, often seating a shy, introverted student next to or across from a more socially outgoing, boisterous personality. Additionally, the table closest to his desk contains the students that he feels are the most “disorganized,” in terms of their work habits (although there is no correlation between being disorganized and intelligence), just so that he can keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t go too far afield in their work habits. However, it is also important to note that Mr. M is constantly moving his students, depending on the subject matter or if they are in a particular learning group (he divides his class into completely different groups for social studies units, literature circles, science projects, etc.), believing it is important that they experience as much diversity and change with regard to working within a group (this is also a good introduction to the displacement that many of them will likely experience when they start junior high school). Mr. M is not shy about placing students who may not like each other or who have clashing personalities in the same group, as a way of forcing them to learn how to handle difficult, sometimes unpleasant encounters. Consistent with the rest of his classroom management style, he believes it is incumbent upon the students themselves to work out any differences they may have with other kids, reminding them that their success or failure as a unit depends on them working together as a team.
Finally, with regard to Mr. M’s tips for a successful first day of school, his greatest advice is to lower the anxiety level as much as possible on the first day, and to make the students feel relaxed and comfortable. For Mr. M, putting the kids at ease involves a large degree of humor and sarcasm, much of it self-deprecating in nature. He likes to use evocative illustrations and hypotheticals to make his points, particularly when he is laying out classroom management and behavior expectations, always making the students feel that while they are “in charge” of their own conduct, that there are always consequences for the decisions they make, for better or for worse. He likes to portray himself as something of an “outsider,” as somebody who doesn’t necessarily always play by the rules, who may disagree with a textbook or another teacher’s approach. From the first day until the end of the term, he stresses the three traits that he expects of himself and his students: Powerful, Professional and Personal. In fact, the first day he had each child make an artistic representation of one letter making up those three words, and then hangs the results on the walls of the classroom, combining creativity and art with his own classroom philosophy. It is a reminder that work and ideas that initiate the school year shall follow them and hopefully inspire them for the next nine months.
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