Without spot-on classroom management, dealing with unruly students can be maddening.
It’s easy to lose your cool.
And when you do, when you yell, scold, and wag your finger, you’re often rewarded with immediate improvement.
A thorough dressing-down can stop misbehavior in its tracks. But the price is exorbitantly high.
Yelling is a costly mistake.
Here’s why:
1. Improvement is temporary.
Yelling only works in the moment. Like a playground bully, it’s used to intimidate students into compliance. The only reason why it works is because the teacher has an unfair size and/or authority advantage.
2. It doesn’t change behavior.
Behavior only changes when students want to behave better–which is the result of strict accountability combined with a teacher they like and trust. In the end, yelling causes more misbehavior, not less.
3. It weakens your influence.
Yelling will cause students to secretly dislike you, distrust you, and desire to disrupt your class. Let’s face it. Even one revengeful student can make your life miserable. You need your students on your side.
4. It replaces real accountability.
Teachers who yell tend to do so instead of following their classroom management plan. Students learn quickly that if they can endure their teacher’s outburst, they can be on their way without being held accountable.
5. It sabotages real accountability.
Teachers who lecture, yell, or scold while escorting students to time-out, drive a wedge through the teacher/student relationship, causing anger and resentment. So instead of sitting in time-out and reflecting on their mistake, your students will be seething at you.
6. It causes students to tune you out.
When you yell, you train your students to listen to you only when you raise your voice. In other words, they learn that unless you’re shouting, you must not really mean it. Before you know it, you’ll be giving directions like a carnival sideshow barker.
7. It’s stressful.
Yelling is a sure sign that you let misbehavior get under your skin. It’s an expression of frustration, of taking behavior personally, and of trying to get even with students. It’s also terribly stressful. It’s bad for your health. And it makes teaching a cheerless slog.
8. It’s difficult to defend.
Yelling at students is near the top of the list of parent complaints. And it’s difficult to defend. “I’m sorry, I just lost my cool” is about the best you can do. The fact is, no misbehavior, and no level of disrespect, warrants yelling at students.
9. It’s graceless.
Have you ever seen yourself on video losing your cool? Probably not, but one thing is for sure: it ain’t pretty. You might as well grab a megaphone and shout, “Hey everybody–students, fellow teachers, administration–I don’t have control of my class!”
10. It provides a poor model.
Students are more influenced by what you do than by what you say. When you yell, react emotionally to misbehavior, or otherwise lose your composure, you provide a poor model for your students for how to behave when things don’t go their way.
Instead Of Yelling…
No matter how frustrated you may get with your students, yelling should never be an option. Although it often works in the moment, the cost of gaining momentary control is much too high.
So instead of being that teacher, the one with the reputation for yelling and for “being mean,” why not be the one that every student wants as their teacher?
To start, create a classroom management plan that works–and stick with it. And then work on building influential relationships with students; the kind of personal leverage that causes them to want to behave.
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Truthfully, in an ideal environment no one should ever yell, yelling is a verbal act of aggression. Aggression and/or violence is the product of an exhausted mind, and its a dead end in regards to productivity.
Behaviorally speaking, first in this list should be: dont yell, because when you yell as an consequence for a behavior, you are in some cases actually reinforcing that behavior…when means you will continue to see that behavior you wish to stop.
I agree organization is key to managment of any situation; if you have most everything orchestrated, you can address behavior before it happens.
It’s very sad, but you hear teachers yelling quite often in some of the the federally- funded preschools in the Deep South States. It’s probably that these preschool teachers are modeling their discipline and teaching styles on how they were raised. When some of these women were growing up, their mothers probably hollered and were really “strict” and harsh with their children. It seems that yelling, punishing, being strict, overbearing, and controlling is a family tradition for some of these preschool teachers. They run their classrooms like jail wardens where they march around glaring at the children and demanding submissive behavior. Some of these teachers “blow their tops” at the children and will yell and scold until the poor child has broken down in tears. It’s terribly wrong. Until the “powers-that-be” lay down the law and require that these preschool teachers learn and follow “positive guidance” strategies, then these jail warden types will continue to manage their classrooms like they’re the wardens managing a juvenile detention facility.
Unfortunately in the inner city many children do not interpret calm consequences as a sign that they have messed up. Certain cultures use emotion and loudness to convey anger and if the teacher doesn’t occasionally use these in serious situations, the students of that cultural parenting style do not take the teacher seriously.
Hi Jillian,
I appreciate your comments. I really do. But I respectfully disagree. I think you’re on the wrong track. Yelling worsens behavior in the long run, and will never change behavior. I’ve been working in inner-city schools for twenty years, and I’m living proof you can have exceptional classroom management without raising your voice or resorting to other hurtful methods.
Michael
Hello Michael, I have found this article to be the most important one on the internet about education. It seems students have behavioral rules, but the same does not apply to teachers, many times being backed by the school’s principal.
The many wise and important points you make should be made into a big poster and posted in the school grounds. Teachers that shout, yell, and bring their personal frustrations to the classrooms should be banned from teaching. I understand there has to be certain discipline, but unfortunately my daughter in 3rd grade has a teacher that thinks that constantly yelling at it’s students and demeaning them with horrible comments is called “teaching”, furthermore, he is in “gifted” class, so really at this point I make the principle accountable for putting this teacher there, he DOES NOT BELONG in any teaching atmosphere. Not only should teachers go through academic exams to get their licenses, but go through a seminar with someone like you, to make sure they belong teaching our children. Thanks again, I am planning to forward this article to many mothers! Keep the good work!
Hi Victoria,
Thanks for your kind words. I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s teacher.
Michael
My 14 year old child has special needs and has a teacher who shakes her finger in her face when upset. The teacher denies this but it has been seen by other students. Is this acceptable?
Hi Courtney,
No, I don’t believe there is any justifiable reason for a teacher to behave that way.
Michael
My daughter is in 1st grade and her teacher allows the kids to spend a whole day (or days) struggling with a paper by themselves until they are weeks behind their classmates. They do not get to participate in other class activities because they are behind and get tested on topics they have never had the opportunity to be instructed in. And they are not allowed to bring the work home, because the teacher fears that parents or older siblings will do the work for them. She has a parent volunteer that will come in and work with some of the students on a regular basis, but she Yells at the children constantly. I am talking beet red in your face yelling. She will belittle the children in front of the entire classroom and then yell at them more when they are “guessing”. i would be guessing too, in hopes that my guess was right, in order to get her to stop screaming at me. I feel like I should confront her, as well as the teacher for allowing this to go on. i have tried talking to the principal, but haven’t had any luck.
Hi Melissa,
I would absolutely have a discussion with the teacher about the parent volunteer. Behavior like you described, from a parent volunteer no less, should never be tolerated.
Michael
Great article Michael. After a while, kids get numb to when teacher goes into their yelling rants. When you yell in class, you are out of control. Students like being able to say that they made the teacher crazy.
I agree. It scares people to death, and it just makes things a lot worse than it does better, especially when they have some sort of learning dissability, and unfortunately, it becomes a dictatorship feeling to kids with dislexia.
Jesus Christ the Lord the Son of God said Treat others the way that you want to be Treated in the Old and New Testament of the Holy Bible, and I do believe yelling is a sin yet thus commandment of the Bible, and I do not think that God likes it whenever teachers yell as a feedback, and I think it is a demon sign of Lucifer Satan the Devil himself our enemy of disworship.
Very early in my career when I was a casual teacher I can remember seeing two Year 4 primary school classes side by side. In one class the children sat quietly listening to their teacher while, in the other, the children were loud and unruly. My psychology training made me curious.
On delving into the background of the children I found they had been in Year 3 without any noticeable problems. At the end of Year 3, they had been reorganised into Year 4 classes. From a distance I observed the class interactions.
In the quiet class, the teacher spoke softly, never raising her voice. Children listened intently not wanting to miss what was being said. The dominant expression was the smile.
In the other class, the teacher rarely lowered her voice. Much of the time the children had learned to ignore their teacher. The only consequence was yelling and that they were use to hearing. The dominant expression was the frown.
Yelling at children is more an act of frustration than a decision to alter behaviour. It’s very nature is counterproductive and can leave the teacher with little respect.
Your 10 reasons why it’s a costly mistake are valid. Looking back, I wonder how long the yelling teacher remained a teacher until realising or deciding to look for another career?
Ross Mannell (teacher)
Australia
P.S. My classes were full of smiles.
Hi Ross,
Your story illustrates the truth very simply. Thanks for sharing!
Michael
HI Michael,
I’m glad I found this article, my son’s teacher yelled at him today and I felt bad but didn’t say anything at that moment. I think i was in shock at the fact that some teachers think it’s okay to yell at students. I think this article will help in understanding more about it since I will be addressing this with her. Thank you.
Your welcome, Elsa!
Dear Michael,
I was recently displaced from the valley in California and sought work closer to my home which happens to be an inner city school. I hadn’t encountered students with the degree of disrespect that I’ve experienced at this current school. I was a model teacher for my district because of my creativity and ability to relate to the students. What I have found in my current situation is that many of the students aren’t used to the expectations of an active teacher or the respect I give is suspect. I’ve gotten particularly major attitude and “talk back” from my female students and although I tried to give them positive cues they mocked me. So now in the 3rd week of school I feel daunted by my 2nd period class which have jumped on the bandwagon. I did lose it on Friday and I yelled which I’ve never done…ever…so that’s how I found your site. I agree with you on all of your points but you don’t cover what to do after you have made the mistake of yelling with an already difficult class. My question is how do I recover and continue forward. I’m upset that it happened but I also see that the kids are determined to continue their “skating” behavior and not doing work. Finally, I am African American and my class is predominately Latino. The one AA girl in the class approached me at lunch and told me that it was upsetting her that the kids were making racist statements about me and saying nasty things. I told her to refrain from telling me the negative and that on Mon. I would try to focus on the positive but it does hurt and I really feel out of my element. Please advise me and I will follow it. My colleagues are at a loss and the current teachers on the campus think that it is par for the course so why even bother?
Hi Kalua,
I think it’s best to be honest with your students. If you regret raising your voice, then tell them. Just give it to them straight and move on–don’t go on and on about it or open things up for discussion. Be done with it and then get busy earning their respect by being the teacher you know you are and have proven to be.
You’re right about being positive. Ignore all the negative stuff and the opinions of your colleagues. Treat your students with respect–no matter what they throw at you–hold them accountable for misbehavior, and get busy building those relationships. Although some are tougher than others, and many automatically, without knowing a thing about you, will look at you with resentment and disrespect, in the end kids are kids and you can win them over. But it takes time. You’ve only been at the school for three weeks.
Stick to your guns. Stay consistent. This site was created for teachers like you, and there are tons of articles to help. Reading your comments, the first thing I thought of was the article How To Be A Classroom Management Natural. I think it’s a good place to start.
You can do this, Kalua.
Michael
Thank you, unfortunately I received this email today. I did speak to the class about the fact that I respect them and that I want them to respect me. I told them that I give them work because I want them to succeed in school and that I believe that every one of them has an amazing opportunity to work toward getting into a college. Then I gave them a group/pair share activity and as I walked around one of the boys said, “We like you Miss. We just ain’t used to people caring…you know?” It sounds made up but then the kids in that group all agreed. I have since discovered that this is supposed to be an intervention class, although I wasn’t informed of this on the schedule. Many of my students are ELL and I just received their I.E.P.’s. So I sat down with one of the female students and helped her to write her paper by asking questions and writing her answers. She said, “Thank you Miss.” It was a much better week and the fact that we had the weekend as a cooling period released some problems. They love the group/pair share and they also love to perform their findings. Thank you again for this site, it’s amazing and many of your other articles have really given me perspective.
Sincerely,
Kalua
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