As a third consequence I recommend a letter home to parents.

If you haven’t read my first article on the topic, which also includes a sample letter for download, you can find the link above.

In this article I clear up some misconceptions, add a few more details, and expand on the how and the why of sending a letter home.

Let’s get started.

A Parent Information Packet

Few teachers communicate their classroom management plan to parents. This is a huge mistake, especially when it comes to sending behavior letters home.

To avoid a mountain of headaches and parent complaints, and to greatly increase your chances of getting your letters back the next day, send a classroom management packet home with your students before the end of the second week of school.

Included in this packet, among other things, should be your classroom management plan and a sample copy of your letter home.

This way, if and when parents receive a letter, they won’t be caught off guard. They’ll know what the letter means and what steps were taken before the letter was given to the student.

Being upfront about your classroom management plan will result in parents not just willing to support you, but actively standing behind your vision of a classroom where all students are free to learn without interference.

A Rare Occurrence

If you’re a regular reader of this website, then you know that following your classroom management plan, though critically important, is but a small part of effective classroom management.

If you’re not building influential relationships with students and creating a classroom they like being part of, which are core principles of Smart Classroom Management, then you’ll have scores of students in time-out, multiple letters home, and massive frustration.

A letter home to parents should be a rare occurrence.

If you’re sending more than six to eight letters home per year, regardless of where you teach, then the problem isn’t your classroom management plan.

Although every Smart Classroom Management strategy can and will improve behavior by itself, they work together to create an unstoppable, surefire approach of managing your classroom—one that works with any group of students.

A Hand-Delivered Letter

A student who triggers the third consequence must personally deliver the letter to his (or her) parents to be signed. This is a critical part of why the consequence is effective.

By requiring your students to do something to atone for their misbehavior, by placing a burden of responsibility with them, you provide a concrete way for them to acknowledge their misbehavior and take responsibility for it.

Thus, it’s an active accountability.

The return of the letter to you the next day then effectively fulfills the student’s obligation and seals the official end of the incident.

What parents do with the information in the letter is not your concern. It’s between them and the student. A parent’s reaction, or lack thereof, doesn’t make the consequence any less effective.

A Phone Call Heads Up

Depending on the student, you may want to make a phone call home giving parents a heads up that the letter is on the way. Email will work also. This is an optional step, but one I recommend if you’re using the letter-home consequence for the first time.

If you do call home, it’s best to call during the day and leave a message. If you happen to get a parent on the phone, say only that the letter is on the way. If at all possible, don’t discuss the behavior. If asked, just give the facts.

A Lost Or Forgotten Letter

If you’re following the guidelines above, chances are the student will come to school the next day with the letter signed. I recommend keeping her (or him) in extended time-out for the day as a reminder of the seriousness of breaking rules and interrupting your class.

If the student says she forgot to give her parents the letter—perhaps testing you to see if you’ll follow through—take a second copy (always make multiple copies) and staple it to the original. In this case, a heads-up phone call to parents is a must.

If she says she lost the letter, then give her a new one and don’t forget to make your heads-up phone call. In either case, the student stays in extended time-out until the letter is returned.

A Parent Who Doesn’t Sign

It’s important to guard against holding students accountable for another’s mistake. Therefore, never keep a student in extended time-out because the parent forgot to sign, refused to sign, or was working late the night before.

If the student tells you this, simply call to confirm the parent indeed received the letter. If he or she did receive it, then, although you should still ask for the signed letter to be returned, as far as you’re concerned the child has fulfilled her responsibility.

A Parent’s Right To Know

The purpose of a classroom management plan is to teach life lessons in responsibility, accountability, and trust. It’s to compassionately instill in students an intrinsic desire to make the right choices for themselves, their families, and their classmates.

And in doing so, it brings peace and uninterrupted learning to your classroom.

A letter home to parents, personally delivered and backed by the reality of extended time-out, is a powerfully effective consequence that holds students to a maximum level of accountability.

But it’s more than that.

It also fulfills the obligation you have to inform parents whenever their child is behaving in a way that risks his (or her) academic progress or the progress of the rest of your class.

Parents have a right to know.

And when a student misbehaves repeatedly, despite the courtesy of a warning and a post-time-out second chance, the best person to break the news, the most suitable person to explain what happened and why, isn’t you.

It’s the child himself.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

Do you follow your classroom management plan yet still struggle with behavior?

Do your students seem unfazed by your accountability measures?

Do they return from time-out with a shrug, no more inclined to follow your rules than before?

Then chances are you’re interfering with the accountability process.

In an effort to improve behavior, many teachers get too involved—and end up easing the burden of responsibility on misbehaving students.

And unless your students feel the full weight of their transgressions, they won’t improve. It’s as simple as that.

To ensure strong accountability, it’s best to take a hands-off approach.

Here’s how:

Don’t discuss why.

It’s common for teachers to approach students in time-out to talk through why they did what they did. Let me save you the time. Students misbehave because, ultimately, in that particular moment, they wanted to.

When you coax a reason from them, you’re giving them a ready-made excuse. So if Thomas says, “I pushed Karla because when I get mad, I have trouble controlling myself,” then you’ve allowed him to justify for his rotten behavior.

The responsibility for his bad behavior, then, resides not so much with him, but with his now teacher-endorsed difficulty controlling himself.

The fact is, there is no acceptable reason, excuse, or justification for bad behavior. There is no reason to discuss why. Thomas did what he did because he wanted to, and leaving him alone in time-out to stew underscores the lesson that he alone is responsible for his actions.

Don’t cause resentment.

When you enforce a consequence, resist the urge to add a lecture, a scolding, a sarcastic remark, or anything else that could cause students to resent you.

Let your stated consequence be the only consequence.

If Thomas pushes Karla, and you lay into to him before sending him to time-out, then Thomas is likely to sit in time-out and seethe. So instead of feeling remorse about what he did, which is what we want, he’ll be angry at you.

And more inclined than ever to misbehave.

Don’t sympathize.

No matter how difficult home life is for your students, or how tough it is for some to make friends, you do them no favors by sympathizing with their poor behavior.

Don’t tell them you understand why they’re misbehaving. Don’t drape your arm around them and tell them that their anger, disrespect, and attention-getting silliness is normal given the circumstances. And don’t look the other way because you think they can’t help it.

Doing so is akin to giving up on them.

You have to believe in your students and their capacity to improve, to change, and to overcome challenges. You have to expect them to behave. And if they don’t, regardless of who they are, you must hold them fully accountable.

It’s the most compassionate thing you can do for them.

Let Them Stew

To allow accountability to work, let your classroom management plan do its job.

Avoid pep-talks, lectures, arguments, or trying to discover why they did what they did. Stop kneeling down to counsel, persuade, or force assurances from them. Stop absolving them of their responsibility.

When you send students to time-out, leave them alone to think. Let them miss being part of the class. Let them feel disappointment in themselves and in their behavior. Let them see how much fun you and your class are having without them.

Let remorse seep in.

Let them stew in their own juices.

Let accountability work.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

As a third consequence of your classroom management plan, I recommend a letter home to parents.

But probably not for the reasons you may think.

I can’t emphasize enough that consequences for misbehavior are only a small part of classroom management.

By themselves, they cannot deter students from misbehaving. No set of consequences is strong enough on its own.

It’s all the other stuff—what this site is about—that makes for foolproof classroom management.

As Effective As Possible

The three consequences I recommend—a warning, a time-out, and a letter home—when delivered in a certain way, make them as effective as consequences can be.

When combined with the right classroom management strategies, techniques, and procedures, you can create the class you really want—no matter who is on your roster or where you teach.

How To Send A Letter Home

Sending a letter home can be remarkably effective when done the right way.

Here’s how:

1. Use a form letter.

A form letter—official looking and impersonal—strikes the right tone in communicating the seriousness of breaking rules and interrupting learning.

Click the link below to download a sample letter. Please take a look at it before reading the rest of the article. Also, feel free to use the letter or change it in any way you wish.

Sample Letter Home

2. Hand it to the student immediately.

As soon as a student breaks a rule for the third time in one day, fill out the letter and hand it to him or her immediately and in full view of the class.

Following through publicly reinforces the message that you always do exactly what you say.

3. Keep the student separated.

Keep the student separated from his or her classmates and in time-out the next day whether the letter is returned with a signature or not.

Students need a full day to feel the weight of their poor choices and understand that if rules aren’t followed, they’re not welcome members of the class.

4. Get the letter back.

If you don’t get the letter back the next day, chances are you’re being tested. Stick to your guns. Once you prove that you always follow through, you won’t be tested again.

Keep the offending student in extended time-out until the letter is returned.

5. No surprises for parents.

Your classroom management plan and a sample of the letter should be included in the parent information packet you send home to be reviewed and signed during the first week of school.

Therefore, exactly what the letter means and what happens if it isn’t returned shouldn’t be a surprise to parents.

6. No surprises for students.

Because you’ve taught your classroom management plan thoroughly, your students, too, shouldn’t be surprised when handed a letter. They should know the process of receiving consequences backwards and forwards.

Why A Letter Home

There are three reasons why you should send a letter home as a third consequence. None of which has anything to do with parents providing punishment or further consequence.

1. Parents have a right to know.

If a child breaks your classroom rules three times in one day, the parents have a right to know.

One of the most common complaints parents have is that they’re not adequately informed of problems and concerns. A third-consequence letter ensures that they are.

2. A letter has impact.

Teachers tend to sugarcoat behavior when talking to parents. It’s in our nature to hedge bad news with a child’s positive attributes. But this takes the focus off the hard facts: The student broke class rules and interfered with learning.

A business-like form letter lays bare these facts. It also places the responsibility to inform parents on the child—where it should be.

3. It forces full-scale accountability.

A letter home forces students to be accountable to those affected by their misbehavior.

They’re accountable to you because they must get the letter signed and returned to you—honoring and respecting your authority.

They’re accountable to their classmates because until the letter is returned, they’re not active members of the class and therefore cannot be counted on to contribute.

Finally, they’re accountable to their parents—however that plays out. What the parents do with the information contained in the letter is up to them. It’s not your issue or concern.

The effectiveness of the consequence isn’t reliant on a particular response from parents.

Remarkably Effective

I think you’ll find the letter-home consequence to be remarkably effective—as effective as consequences can be.

But like so much of classroom management, the power is in the how. Therefore, if there is anything I didn’t make perfectly clear and you have questions, please email me.

I’m happy to help.

If you like this article, please share it with your friends and colleagues.

Also, if you’re not yet a member of this site, I urge you to join us. It’s easy—and free! Click here and enter your email address, and each week a new article will appear in your email box.

- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

In my previous article I wrote about how a warning should be your first consequence.

This week I’m going to explain how to give a warning so it will have the greatest impact on student behavior.

Here we go.

The Purpose Of A Warning

A warning is just a warning—and nothing more. So when you give one to a student for breaking a rule, leave it at that. You ruin the effectiveness of a warning by adding a lecture, a scolding, or anything that shows your displeasure.

That may sound counterintuitive, but a warning only works when its purpose is to allow students to fix their mistakes on their own.

A warning is another way of saying:

You broke a class rule, but I trust that you will check yourself and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

When students are given the freedom to make the right choice, rather than having it forced upon them, it says loud and clear that you believe in them and their capacity to control their behavior.

And this makes all the difference.

But so many teachers mess it up by giving a warning and then adding, “I don’t want to see you do that again. Do you understand me?” or something vaguely threatening like that.

You have to give trust before students will show you they’re worthy of it.

When a student first breaks a classroom rule, give them the opportunity to show you they can get themselves back on track by letting your warning be a warning. Keep your personal feelings out of it.

Again, and I’ve written this before, we want students to look inward when they break a rule. The last thing you want is for them to get mad at you for their mistakes.

If your students get angry with you or blame you when they break a rule, then classroom management will be infinitely more difficult.

Finger-wagging lectures, added reminders, scolding, sighing, threatening. They’re all self-sabotage.

How To Give A Warning

There is only one way I recommend giving a warning:

Quickly, dispassionately, and with as few words as possible.

However, there are two variations depending on the situation. We’ll go over both so you can begin using them tomorrow.

First Variation:

If a student breaks a rule, and you’re sure the student knows what rule was broken, then you simply write his or her name on the board, place a yellow card in the student’s designated pocket, or do whatever you do to signify a warning.

(The mode by which you indicate a warning is irrelevant.)

And that’s it. You never speak to the student. The student sees the yellow card turned over and knows that a warning has been issued. The onus, then, is on the student to do what he or she needs to do to avoid further consequence.

This is how you’ll give a warning about 75% of the time.

Second Variation:

The other 25% goes like this:

If a student breaks a rule, but you’re not sure the student is aware of it, then approach the student and say, “You have a warning because you broke rule number two.”

Say it matter-of-factly and then immediately walk away.

At your first opportunity, write the student’s name on the board—or however you prefer to indicate a warning.

Make Sure You Do This

To make your warning most effective, make sure you do the following:

Include everyone.

Even the most well-behaved students make mistakes once in a while. Resist the urge to look the other way when they break a rule. In fact, when your top student breaks a rule, it’s a great opportunity to show the entire class your consistency and integrity.

Back it up.

A warning is only effective when backed by a consequence your students don’t like. They need to know that if they break a second rule, you will hold them accountable.

Use Enduring Classroom Management Strategies

The classroom management strategies and methods you’ll find on this site are enduring; no tricks or trends that weaken over time.

This “hit and run” method of giving warnings is a good example. The longer you consistently use it, the more effective it becomes.

The reason is simple.

When your students begin to grasp that the responsibility for breaking rules in your classroom falls firmly—and solely—in their laps, behavior will improve.

And this kind of improvement is permanent.

Note: This past week Dream Class was announced as a finalist for the sixteenth annual San Diego Book Awards. The winners will be announced in a ceremony on June 5th. I’ll let you know if it wins.

Thanks so much for reading.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

I’m frequently asked whether I recommend giving a warning as a first consequence.

My answer is an emphatic yes.

Giving a warning eliminates the need for three commonly used strategies that make classroom management more difficult.

Teachers who struggle with classroom management tend to lean on one or more of them.

What about you? Do you do any of the following?

Reminding

The teacher reminds students when they don’t follow classroom rules.

Example: Mrs. Fowler asks a question during a lesson. Eric calls out an answer. Mrs. Fowler says, “Good answer, Eric, but next time raise your hand.”

Mrs. Fowler often reminds her students to follow classroom rules. Predictably, they break them often.

Glaring

The teacher glares at students when they don’t follow classroom rules.

Example: Mr. Penn sees Michelle and Elsa giggling during writers’ workshop. He positions himself where they can see him and then, with arms crossed and eyebrows raised, gives them “the look” until they get back to work.

Mr. Penn is proud of his ability to stop misbehavior in its tracks with his well-practiced “look” but has grown tired of the constant battles to get students to follow his rules and focus on their work.

Correcting

The teacher corrects students when they don’t follow classroom rules.

Example: The class is lined up for lunch. But one boy, Terrence, is out of line and acting up. Frustrated, Mr. Stallings barks, “Terrence, close your mouth and get in line!”

Mr. Stallings is a ball of stress at the end of each day. The burden of having to command students to do this and don’t do that is causing him to reevaluate his career choice.

Giving A Simple Warning Is Easy

Instead of the stress and frustration of reminding, glaring, and correcting, all three teachers could save themselves a lot of trouble by giving a simple warning.

A warning works best as a first consequence because…

It’s easy to be consistent.

When you have a classroom management plan that includes a warning, it takes the guesswork out of handling initial misbehavior. Student breaks rule…teacher gives warning. It’s as easy as that.

It’s not personal.

By consistently giving a warning whenever a student breaks a rule (for the first violation), you avoid the drama that can result from a direct and personal confrontation.

It builds trust.

Doing exactly what you say you will do builds your students’ trust in you, which makes it easier to influence behavior.

It’s quick and easy.

There is no interruption when giving a warning. You just give it and move on without a second thought.

It’s stress free.

You don’t have to rely on persuasion or intimidation to stop misbehavior. You don’t have to yell, remind, glare, or use any of the other stress inducing methods so many teachers feel trapped into using.

It makes sense to students.

When you follow your classroom management plan exactly as stated—which includes a warning—there is no confusion for students. They know exactly what to expect, which gives them a sense of safety and frees them to be their best selves.

Note: A warning is only effective when backed by a strong, take-action consequence.

Next week we are going to continue with the same theme. The topic will be how to give a warning so it has the greatest effect on student behavior.

Thanks for reading.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

Why does it pain teachers to hold students accountable?

Why are some so quick to ignore misbehavior, look the other way, or make excuses for it?

Accountability is important, right? So what’s the problem?

I have a few ideas.

Teachers are slow to hold students accountable because…

• It can be stressful and at times seem more trouble than it’s worth.

• They fear that strict accountability could make students resentful and therefore increase bad behavior.

• Holding students accountable hasn’t worked well for them in the past; the same students break the same rules over and over again.

• Ignoring misbehavior can seem like a better, less stressful option.

• They have deep compassion for students with tough home lives and can be reluctant to hold them accountable.

• They don’t want students to think they’re mean.

I understand these concerns. They’re valid and can feel too big to overcome. But it’s possible to hold students accountable for every incident of misbehavior while eliminating these concerns.

Here’s how.

Accountability Is An Attitude

Effective accountability requires a particular attitude on the part of the teacher. It is a way of thinking that produces (in the teacher) behaviors that eliminate the concerns associated with holding students accountable.

Acquire the attitude, and accountability will work the way it’s supposed to.

This accountability attitude is easier to remember if condensed into a single strategy. I call it the it’s-not-me-it’s-you strategy.

It’s Not Me, It’s You

The it’s-not-me-it’s-you strategy is a personal reminder that student misbehavior is not about you. It’s about them.

You’re not the one who misbehaved. You didn’t decide to play around and be silly during literature circles. You didn’t make fun of another student. You didn’t leave your seat without permission. They did.

So why should you carry the burden or suffer any consequence, angst, stress, fear, or guilt for doing so?

The it’s-not-me-it’s-you strategy says that:

1. Breaking classroom rules is a choice students make.

2. The responsibility for making such choices lies solely with them.

3. You are bound by your classroom management plan and therefore have but one choice when a student misbehaves: enforce a consequence.

4. In holding students accountable, you’re doing what is best for them.

Once your students understand the first three points, accountability will become much more effective. Number four is a reminder for you that you’re doing the right thing despite how difficult some students have it outside the walls of your classroom.

Rest assured, holding your students accountable is an act of compassion.

Carefree Thinking

According to the it’s-not-me-it’s-you strategy, when a student breaks a rule, your thinking should go something like this:

Oh man, Joey. You didn’t raise your hand. And that’s your second time today. That’s too bad, dude. What does the classroom management plan say? We better look at it.

Oh, no. You’re going to have to go to time-out. Gosh, sorry you have to miss a part of the cool science experiment. That’s a shame. Oh well… next time follow the rules and this won’t happen to you.

You might not actually speak this way to your students. But your attitude will. Sending students to time-out is something they decide, not you. You’re merely doing your job: following the plan you agreed to in the beginning of the school year.

And here’s what is so cool about this:

Your students will adopt the same attitude. They will mentally separate the consequence (which they’ve earned of their own accord) from the enforcer (which is you).

Suffering a consequence is a disappointment for students to be sure, but there is no reason for them to harbor ill feelings toward you. Instead, we want them to look inward, take a critical look at themselves, and consider the cost of their poor choices.

But they won’t do this if (A) they are angry with you or (B) you don’t actually hold them accountable.

Stand Apart

There are scores of teachers willing to lighten the load on their students by ignoring poor behavior, looking the other way, or giving second chances. And by doing so, they are harming their chances for success.

Ironically, these are usually the same teachers who resort to hurtful methods in order to control behavior.

Don’t be one of them.

Stand apart from the crowd. Really mean what you say. Really do what you say you will do. And stop taking on—mentally or otherwise—what are your students’ burdens and responsibilities.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

World-class archer Kristin Braun practices six hours a day trying to do the impossible.

Standing 230 feet from her target, she takes a deep breath and, while simultaneously lifting her bow into place, draws a steel-tipped carbon arrow.

She peers over her left hand, taking aim by lining up the target’s bulls eye with the tiny pin sight attached to her bow.

Her goal is to place each of six arrows into a 5-inch diameter gold ring in the target’s center. Physically, the task isn’t difficult. Anyone with reasonable strength can draw Kristin’s bow into shooting position.

Mentally, however, it is another story entirely.

What separates elite archers from everyone else is their ability to care without caring. Put another way, Kristin must care enough about her sport to dedicate thousands of hours of practice time, but then not give a rip about the results.

The reason is because frustration and discouragement over a bad shot can interfere with one’s ability to focus on the next one, and the one after that, which renders success a near impossibility.

To Care Without Caring

In this one important way, classroom management is like target archery. To be most effective in the classroom, you have to care about your students’ behavior… without caring.

Let me explain.

There is no doubt that you care about your students and want to see them succeed. This is good. But if it bothers you when they misbehave, if it gets under your skin, it will negatively affect your classroom management effectiveness.

Consider this common thought process:

Oh no! Karla is out of her seat again. I’m so sick of her disrupting my classroom (sigh). She is driving me crazy! Maybe I should just let it go this time. If I ignore her, maybe it will stop. No, I’m not going to let her do this to me. I don’t care if I have to interrupt the lesson again. I’m not going to take it anymore. I’m in charge of this classroom, and I’m not going to let her control it!

“Karla! Meet me outside the door right now!”

Is this you? Do ever you think like this when a student misbehaves?

This frame of mind—taking behavior personally, letting it affect you emotionally—will sabotage your ability to build relationships with your students and make classroom management infinitely more difficult.

A Better Way Of Thinking

So Karla broke a rule.

So what? It’s not your issue. Other than enforcing a consequence, it has little to do with you. You didn’t break a rule, so why should you be burdened by it? Karla made the choice to venture beyond your classroom boundaries, so she alone must accept the consequences for doing so.

You are not responsible for the choices your students make.

Every time a student breaks a rule, one way or another, someone pays. Either you dispassionately enforce a consequence and the student pays. Or you pay in the form of stress, frustration, and disappointment and more frequent and severe behavior from your students.

Far too many teachers—and parents—lighten the responsibility on kids and take it upon themselves. They end up discouraged and angry, and the students are running around without a care in the world.

Not only is this unfair to you, but it’s bad for them.

By enforcing a consequence for every rule violation, you’re helping your students understand the cost of their actions. And by not “caring”, you can do this without causing resentment—in you or in your students—allowing you to build influential relationships with them.

So the next time a student breaks a rule, enforce whatever consequence your classroom management plan calls for, and then move on without giving it a second thought.

If you’re not already a member of Smart Classroom Management, I invite you to join us. It’s free! Click here and start receiving classroom management tips and strategies in your email box every week.

- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

At Thanksgiving dinner, my grandfather used to blurt out whatever was on his mind, interrupt others while they were talking, and dominate the conversation.

I was a grade schooler at the time, but if I could, I would have put him in time-out so the rest of us could join in the conversation.

But behavior like this isn’t just rude at Thanksgiving. It’s always rude. And it’s also always rude in the classroom.

If there are students in your classroom who talk when they’re supposed to be listening or working, academic progress will suffer. Talking without permission wastes time, interrupts the learning of others, and leads to more serious disruptive behavior.

A teacher recently said to me, “My students are talking all the time, but I put up with it because I think it’s good to have open discussion in the classroom.”

I was speechless, but thought, “My gosh! Her room must be complete chaos.”

She went on to say that she has major behavior problems every year and has received her share of complaints from parents. She wondered if I thought her philosophy regarding talking had anything to do with it.

Very delicately I said, “I think it might.”

Allowing students to freely talk without permission is like driving an old jalopy; progress only comes in fits and starts, and you’ll never reach top speed.

Besides being a classroom management nightmare and slamming the brakes on learning, talking without permission is remarkably rude. It’s akin to cutting in front of the line at a sold-out movie.

With 20 to 30 or more students in a classroom, asking students to raise their hands is the only way to ensure fairness. Every student has the right to participate and all should have equal access to the discussion—not just those who are more outgoing, aggressive, or obnoxious.

The same is true for side-talking during lessons or during independent work. It interferes with the learning of those within earshot and is therefore patently, and grossly, unfair.

Follow Your Classroom Management Plan

Every year it seems, I overhear teachers complain about their talkative classrooms, as if they have nothing to do with it. The fact is, the teacher decides when, how much, and how often the students are allowed to talk.

After all, the teacher is in charge, not the students.

So what do you do when your students call out without raising their hand? How do you react when you notice two students talking during independent work time? How should you handle it?

The most effective way to handle talking is to enforce a consequence. If hand-raising isn’t a classroom rule, I recommend including it. If it’s already part of your classroom management plan, then it should be enforced like any other rule.

Too many teachers feel they’ll be disliked if they strictly follow such ticky-tacky rules. But the opposite is true. Your students will love you for it because it reassures them that they are equal members of your classroom, free to join in the learning process.

It also provides a model for how to behave when working together in groups without a teacher present.

It’s important that your students understand why hand-raising is important. So be direct. Tell them that calling out and side-talking is rude and disrespectful to the class, and that it is your job to protect their right to learn without interference.

Teach your students how to take turns talking and include hand-raising as part of your classroom management plan. And if you want your classroom to run like a finely tuned Italian sports car, then enforce a consequence every time a student breaks a rule.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

If you’re looking for elaborate or decorative classroom management ideas, you won’t find them here.

Though prevalent, such ideas are unnecessary, even counterproductive, for classroom management.

On this site, we’re focused on only two things:

1. What works best.

2. What is simplest for you.

The goal of classroom management is to eliminate distractions, disruptions, and poor behavior, so you are free to inspire your students.

The results are happy and high achieving students.

Anything that interferes with this goal, or doesn’t contribute to it, should be thrown out.

Too many teachers chase the next great classroom management idea and are continually disappointed. They try one thing after the other, searching for the magic solution that will finally “get through” to their students.

In the meantime, they’re stressed and tired of dealing with behavior issues. For them, teaching becomes an act of drudgery rather than what it can and should be:

An act of joy.

So instead of chasing trends, why not focus on what is proven to work? All students respond predictably to certain principles and strategies. Master them, and you will never worry about classroom management again.

True, your fellow teachers may not “ooh” and “ahh” over the cleverly contrived classroom management charts or newfangled methodologies you’re using, but they will marvel at your ability to control your classroom.

And, most important, you’ll be able to focus your energies on what attracted you to teaching in the first place: the chance to make a lasting impression on your students.

A couple of days ago, I spoke to a former student on the phone. I was his sixth grade teacher. He is 24-years old now and a recent college graduate. I’m thrilled with his success and couldn’t be prouder of the person he has become.

But as we were talking, it saddened me to hear him say that he couldn’t remember his fourth or fifth grade teachers. He couldn’t even describe them to me.

Until you have a solid understanding of classroom management and how to implement the strategies that really work, your classroom will be forgettable too.

You can’t be the inspiring, influential, and memorable teacher you want to be unless your students—all of them—follow your rules.

Classroom rules are a fundamental tenet of classroom management, and they form the core of your plan. They’re important, to be sure, but they don’t need to be complicated. In fact, the simpler, the better.

Here are four keys to creating classroom rules that work.

1. Clarity trumps all. Your students must clearly understand your rules in order to follow them.

2. Use only four or five rules. Any more than that will make your rules harder to remember and, thus, harder to follow.

3. Make sure your rules cover every eventuality. You can’t enforce a behavior unless it falls under the banner of one of your rules. Doing so is confusing and unfair to students.

4. Make them specific. Everyone, especially you, needs to know when or if a rule has been broken.

Many years ago, I discovered a set of rules that fit the criteria listed above and have used them ever since. They’re nothing special. In fact, they’re really quite boring.

But they work.

Remember, the rules themselves don’t motivate students to follow them. You do. (To learn how, see other articles, sign up for weekly updates, or read the book Dream Class.) To repeat an often-used refrain on this site, there is no magic in your rules.

But they are an important part of your classroom management plan, and creating them thoughtfully is the first step to having complete classroom control.

Drum roll, please:

1. Follow Directions

2. Raise Your Hand Before Speaking Or Leaving Your Seat

3. Respect Your Classmates And Your Teacher

4. Keep Hands, Feet, And Objects To Yourself

These four simple rules should cover every behavior that threatens to disrupt your classroom and interfere with learning. However, if you need to, you can always add one more.

Notice that these rules are related to behavior only. I know some teachers like to include learning expectations as well, like, for example, Complete Work On Time or Work Independently. But combining them with behavior rules can be confusing.

Keep your learning expectations separate from your behavior rules.

I’d love to read your comments. I know writing them can be time-consuming, but they’re very much appreciated.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.

A couple of years ago, I went back to my college alma mater for homecoming weekend. I met up with a few buddies on Thursday evening, and we spent the next day touring our old haunts. It was a great time reliving the past and needling each other like it was yesterday.

On Saturday, we decided to go to the football game. The team had enjoyed some recent success and we wanted to be part of it. After enjoying an alumni breakfast held across the street from stadium, we walked with a throng of people to the front entrance of the massive horseshoe-shaped structure.

After waiting for a few minutes in a line of fans decked head-to-toe in team regalia, we handed our tickets to the ticket-taker. I was eating a banana as I began to push through the turnstile, when a man in a red windbreaker, presumably security, stopped me and said, “Sir, you can’t bring that banana into the stadium.”

I shrugged my shoulders, backed up to finish off the banana, and then threw the peel into the trash bin a few feet away. This took all of about 10 seconds. I was excited about the game and my friends were waiting.

But as I jogged into the concourse, curiosity got the better of me. I turned and headed back toward the security guard. When I got close enough to him I said, “Excuse me. Why aren’t bananas allowed in the stadium?”

Without even glancing in my direction and with an air of authority, he decreed, “It’s our policy.”

Not satisfied with the answer, I smiled and said, “But why is it a policy? Is it a security concern? Are you afraid someone is going to slip on the peel?”

The last question broke his I’m-security-don’t-mess-with-me persona. He looked over at me and let out a small but good-natured chuckle. I knew he was busy, so I thanked him and headed for my seats. Kick-off was approaching.

The incident was brief and inconsequential. It had no meaning in my life whatsoever. That I wasn’t allowed to bring a banana into a football game didn’t bother me in the least. However, clearly something on some level of consciousness bugged me enough to make me go back and speak to that security guard. But what was it?

As it turns out, that something has strong implications when it comes to classroom management and can possibly be the difference between success and failure with your students.

In his two excellent books, The Psychology of Influence and Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways To Be Persuasive, Dr. Robert B. Cialdini describes several experiments that prove overwhelmingly that when we ask someone to do something—or not to do something—the response will be much more favorable if we provide a compelling reason.

Therefore, when it comes to classroom management, the one word you should always keep in mind is because. So every time you enforce a classroom rule with a consequence, to be most effective, go through the same three steps:

1. Tell them what the consequence is.

“David, you have a warning because…”

2. Tell them what rule they broke.

“…you broke rule number two: Raise your hand and wait to be called upon before speaking.”

3. Give a compelling reason for the rule.

“We have that rule because calling out is unfair to the rest of the students, it wastes time, and it interferes with everyone’s right to learn.”

The difference between the experiments cited by Dr. Cialdini and the use of because for classroom management purposes is that we aren’t asking our students to do something; we are telling them. But the positive results are the same.

If your students understand why a rule is important to the success of everyone involved, they are much more likely to buy in to your program and be compliant to that rule. Therefore, it’s critically important when explaining your classroom management plan that you provide reasons that make sense to your students.

It’s interesting to note, however, that experimenters discovered that even when the reasons offered were poor—to the point of absurdity—most subjects were still agreeable to the request. Meaning that the most important aspect to providing reasons for your students is the word because.

Offering reasons to your students is also less confrontational. Creating friction between you and your students when giving consequences is never a good thing, but you’ll do just that if you send them to time-out without explanation.

If your students go to time-out and are angry with you or are complaining about your decision, then you’re doing something wrong. Often, it’s because you’re not using the word because and then following with cogent reasons.

Classroom management doesn’t have to be demanding or dictatorial to be effective—and it shouldn’t be—but it does need to be smart. Children respond to certain classroom management techniques and strategies in predictable ways. Keep reading this blog, and when your classroom is transformed, I want to hear from you.

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- Smart Classroom Management - Copyright 2009-2011, All Rights Reserved.