Classroom management

I think that classroom management is something that a person can have a good concept of before entering a classroom to teach for the first time, but I also feel that in order to fully understand how to best manage a class a teacher must take the time to get to know their class.
To me the most important part of classroom management is being approachable and making the classroom as comfortable as possible. The reason that I feel that this is the most important is because it is crucial that your students respect you and your authority and I feel the best way to do that is to make sure they realize they can be comfortable around you and don't need to feel intimidated when they walk into your classroom. The more comfortable the students are in class the easier it will be for them to learn. I would connect this aspect of classroom management to behaviorist learning theory. Through repeated behaviors and actions I will be able to show my students that they can talk to me and that the classroom is a place to feel safe and to grow as an individual.
I also think it is very important to set high expectations for the class and help them attain those goals. If your students don't feel that they have expectations to meet then they will have less motivation to work hard in the class. I don't plan on coming out and telling them my expectations, but I will show them what I expect from them by treating them as adults and not letting them give up. I think that this would also fall into behaviorist learning theory because I will have to show them repeatedly what I expect from them and I will reward and punish them when needed. This could also be explained by developmental learning theory because I will be giving them concrete examples of how to succeed, not only in my classroom but in the future, also.
When it comes to whether I want to be strict with my rules or more lenient, I think it is important to have a good mixture of both. Teachers have to be strict when it comes to actually teaching to ensure that the students learn the material, but I think it is also important to be flexible and lenient with the students and the pace that they are learning. If one topic takes more time than originally thought, it is important to not move on if the students aren't prepared. This may mean taking less time on another area or maybe even cutting out some things, but I think it is better to understand a few things really well than to kind of understand a lot of things. 
I know I wil need a lot of work on actually disciplining my students, but I feel that is a skill I will develop through practicums and student teaching. One thing that I have learned thus far in my practicum is that I don't want to be "that teacher" that allows their students to do whatever they wish and talk over me. My practicum teacher has rather poor class management, so I feel that observing him will give me a great understanding of the things I don't want to do in my classroom.