“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” -Obi-Wan Kenobi

There exists a quiet cadre of teachers who can take over any classroom—out-of-control, disrespectful, or otherwise—and get the students under control, quiet, and working within minutes.

They have a certain presence about them, a certain unmistakable quality or vibe that reverberates from one student to the next, signaling that business is no longer usual.

Almost magically students sit up straighter, listen more intently, and show a level of respect their former teachers would scarcely believe.

This powerful, Jedi-like presence can only be described as the force of their personality. It’s an attitude, or state of mind, that elicits in students a strong desire to give their best.

Upon asking students why they’re so different around such teachers, the common answer is, “I don’t know why I behave so well for Mrs. Jones. There is just something about her that makes me want to be a better student.”

But the strategy these teachers use to command such reverence is no Jedi mind trick. The truth is, those who possess this “force” simply think differently than most teachers.

Here’s how:

They take full responsibility.

No matter where they teach, under what conditions they teach, or who their students are, these Jedi-teachers take responsibility for everything that happens in their classroom—even if a heard of buffaloes were to come stampeding through their midst.

By offering no excuses for themselves or their students, they become empowered like a great surging wave to transform lives, set hearts afire for learning, and inspire their students to the highest mountaintops.

They have unshakable confidence.

Because they’re experts in effective classroom management, thoughts of failure, defeat, and uncertainty never enter their mind. They have such confidence in their ability to manage behavior that it manifests itself in everything they do.

You can see it plainly in how they move, speak, teach, and relate to students. And it is this confidence that causes students to want to place their trust in them and follow them to the ends of the galaxy.

They believe in their students. 

These remarkably effective teachers have a deeply entrenched belief in their students and their ability to overcome circumstances, rise above difficulties, and stare down the demons conspiring to pull them away from their dreams.

This isn’t just what these Jedi-teachers believe, but it’s part of who they are. It brightens their every smile. It secretes from their pores. And it glows like embers in their eyes. For them to think otherwise would be the ultimate betrayal.

They know their students will behave.

Teachers who struggle with classroom management often feel as if they’re one rainy day, one school assembly, or one fire drill from losing control of their class. On most days, they merely hope their students will behave.

Jedi-teachers, on the other hand, don’t do any hoping. Backed by a classroom management plan that works, they have the mindset that no matter what comes up, or how many interruptions, their students will behave. And that’s just the way it’s going to be.

You Can Do This

Extraordinary classroom management isn’t the province of a lucky few.

You don’t have to have a certain upbringing or personality. You don’t have to be early in your career nor especially experienced. You don’t have to have a booming voice, a comedic wit, or a duchess’ grace.

Short or tall, reserved or outgoing, anybody can do this.

You can do this.

But you have to believe in yourself. You have to be a student of effective classroom management. And you have to start thinking like the Jedi-teacher you want to become.

Now go and do it.

And may the force be with you.

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

Hooray! It's the best of Smart Classroom Management 2011!

Happy New Year! And thanks for being a regular reader of Smart Classroom Management!

2011 has been an exciting year.

I know from the hundreds of emails we receive that many of you for the first time are experiencing the freedom and deep satisfaction of exceptional classroom management.

I love hearing your success stories and the remarkable transformations you’re making to your classrooms.

This week I’ve been looking ahead at the article topics planned for 2012, and I can’t wait to get started. Some of my favorite and most effective strategies are on the list, as well as many of the topics you’ve been requesting.

But before we jump into the new year, I’d like to share with you the very best articles of 2011. They’re based on your enthusiasm via retweets, Facebook shares, emails, and comments, and are in no particular order.

Drum roll, please…

• 10 Reasons Why You Should Never, Ever Yell At Students

• Why Laughter Makes Classroom Management More Effective

• Losing Control Of Your Class? Here’s How To Get It Back

• 3 Simple Strategies To Get Your Students To Pay Attention

• How To Respond To A Disrespectful Student

• Why You Should Never, Ever Be Friends With Students

• 6 Personality Traits That Make Classroom Management More Difficult

• How To Have A Fun Classroom Without Extra Planning

• The Biggest First Day Of School Mistake You Can Make

• Why You Should Smile The First Day Of School

• How To Handle Misbehavior The First Two Weeks Of School

• Are You Boring Your Students Into Misbehavior?

• Why Speaking Softly Is An Effective Classroom Management Strategy

• How To Handle Whole-Class Misbehavior

• How To Handle Temper Tantrums, Emotional Outbursts, And Other Outrageously Immature Behavior

• 8 Ways To Fuel Your Students’ Intrinsic Motivation

There you have it, the best of Smart Classroom Management 2011. Thanks for being part of it. And thanks for sharing your favorite articles with your friends and colleagues.

Here’s to creating your dream class in 2012!

Happy New Year!

Michael

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

The one thing standing in your way of creating the class you’ve always wanted is believing that you can.

With no shortage of teachers willing to tell you why you can’t—and how naive you are to think otherwise—this is no easy task.

There are also dozens of justifications and excuses right at your fingertips, just waiting for you to pull out whenever you’re feeling discouraged.

The parents don’t care.

My classroom is overcrowded.

There is no support from administration.

I have a challenging class this year.

My students are noisy and won’t listen to me.

I have too many difficult students.

And on and on…

The truth is, no matter where you teach or what your circumstances are, you can have what you want. You can create your dream class. Everything you need, every proven strategy, technique, and solution is right here on this website—with more to come.

But if you don’t believe deep down in your heart that you can, if you don’t think it’s possible for you, then you never will.

What follows is a practical way to put all the doubts to rest and start believing in YOU.

Create a vision.

Think of your ideal class. What would it look like? What would it sound like? How would the students behave? How would they respond to you and interact with you? What would you look like teaching this class? Calm, confident, commanding respect, in complete control?

Now close your eyes and see yourself in this role. See yourself loving your job, enjoying and inspiring your students, and having the most rewarding experience you can possibly have. This exercise may seem silly, but it is remarkably powerful.

You must first visualize your goal before in can become a reality. Keep a sharp image of your perfect class in your mind’s eye and review it daily—both before and after school. Refuse to let it go until you see it manifesting before you.

Eliminate excuses and negative thoughts.

It’s so terribly easy to entertain thoughts of defeat, so easy to wallow in commiseration with colleagues who are all too ready to offer up more excuses than you could ever think of on your own. Indulging in failures and disappointments and conjuring up justifications is as effortless as slipping into a warm bath.

But getting down on yourself is devastating to your dreams of becoming the teacher you really want to be, making the chances of actualizing them next to impossible. When negative thoughts and excuses pop into your head, cancel them out with positive affirmations.

Repeat to yourself, “I can do this!” Then get busy doing it.

Hang out with like-minded teachers.

The staff lounge is a dangerous place. The old adage that you should avoid it is spot on. Unless, that is, your lunch companions are like you and refuse to engage in negative talk. You and I both know, however, that this is exceedingly rare.

Either seek out those on campus who have a cheery, positive outlook on teaching or eat lunch alone in your classroom. When staff members do corner you, and they will, let their venting go in one ear and out the other.

And stay far away from those who bad-mouth, gossip, or criticize students. They will suck the life out of you—just as they do their students.

Choose to like your students.

How you feel about your students is a choice you make that deeply affects your ability to manage your classroom. And if you choose not to like them, or if you allow yourself to become annoyed by them, they’ll know it. It’s something you can’t hide. Negative thoughts about students always bubble to the surface.

To create the rewarding and successful teaching experience you really want, you have to see the best in your students. You have to choose to like them, get a kick out of them, and enjoy being around them.

Having a positive relationship with your students is the difference-maker that gives you powerful leverage to influence their behavior.

Better Than Imagined

Changing your thinking isn’t some silly self-help new-ageism. Our thoughts always go first, leading us wherever we direct them. To a large degree, they determine our success or failure.

By disciplining them, by refusing to indulge in negative, self-defeating thinking, you can make the dreams you have for yourself and your classroom a reality.

We didn’t get into teaching to snivel about students, complain with colleagues, or gin up excuses for ourselves.

We got in it to make a difference.

Decide right now to start believing in you and in that wonderful imagine you have of your ideal class. See yourself confidently and lovingly inspiring your students to become more than they thought they could.

Never let it go.

With this vision, and the strategies on this website, I promise you’ll get there.

And it will be even better than you imagined.

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

It’s common practice for teachers to interrupt misbehavior as it’s occurring. The idea being that if you react quickly enough, you’ll be able to cut off the wrongdoing before it escalates.

This is a typical response from anyone wanting to stay on top of classroom management. And like a beat cop who aggressively tamps down neighborhood trouble before it gets a toehold, it makes sense.

But you’re not a police officer, nor should you be so gung-ho to get in on the action. The truth is, becoming involved too quickly is a mistake.

It’s best to observe from a short distance, responding only after the misbehavior has played itself out.

Here’s why:

It allows you to be the witness.

If you get involved too soon, it will be a challenge sorting through what happened and who is deserving of a consequence. Confusion is a difficult student’s best friend, and by diving in too quickly, you’ll be swimming in a sea of denials, arguments, and accusations. Better to let the misbehavior play out and see with your own eyes what happened.

It deescalates the behavior.

By calmly observing misbehavior from a noticeable distance—whereby making students aware of your presence—you keep others from becoming involved, you ensure the safety of all your students, and you eliminate the chance that your early involvement, and the subsequent tension it creates, will cause an escalation in misbehavior.

It saves learning time.

When you allow misbehavior to play out, when you’re able to witness what transpires, you save time otherwise spent interviewing students and getting to the bottom of what happened—or what was about to happen. Knowing for certain who is responsible allows you to enforce a quick consequence and be done with it.

It allows for introspection.

A delayed response gives your students a chance to think twice about their misbehavior. In fact, your observing presence all but forces them to make a choice. This window of time provides an opportunity for them to turn from their poor conduct and take responsibility for it. Acknowledging their mistakes without your prompting makes the lesson much more effective.

It keeps you cool.

Interrupting misbehavior is personal, for both them and you—making it easy to lose your composure, raise your voice, say things you’ll regret, and incite anger and pushback from your students. When you observe first, on the other hand, you’re able to keep your emotional distance and follow your classroom management plan without causing friction.

Watchful Eyes

In taking this more clinical, observant approach to misbehavior, you’ll notice a remarkable thing begin to happen. Your students will be less inclined to misbehave. I’ve observed this phenomenon enough over the years to know it to be true.

There is something about misbehaving under the direct gaze of a fair and objective teacher that makes students very uncomfortable, like having a video camera recording your every move.

Being observed from a noticeable distance by a teacher committed to following her classroom management plan elicits in students a strong, uneasy feeling to turn from their misbehavior and get busy doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

And as you get better recognizing the early seeds of misbehavior, and getting into position to observe it, your students will grow more and more uncomfortable under the weight of your discerning, watchful eye.

They know that if they misbehave on your watch, there is no arguing, finger pointing, or clever misdirection. Just consequences.

Following classroom rules, then, becomes a most attractive option.

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

A lucky few students—those cute, smart, and well-behaved ones—are accustomed to big smiles and open body language from their teacher. For others, though, it’s a half-hearted greeting and barely a glance.

Some students are afforded the privilege of helping out in the classroom before school or during recess, but others are rarely invited.

Some call-outs are answered without a second thought. Yes, Lily, of course you can sharpen your pencil. While others get an entire different reaction. Anthony, how many times do I have to tell you? We raise our hand in this classroom!

Some students are encouraged to go on and on about the time the family beagle had puppies. Wow, what a great story! Others are cut off at the knees. We don’t have time for stories, Jocelyn. I asked if there were any questions.

Favoritism is an insidious snake that wriggles unnoticed under your classroom door, poisoning morale from the inside out. Left unchecked, it will slither into every area of classroom management.

If asked, few teachers would admit, even to themselves, that they play favorites. Although plain as day for students to see, favoritism is often hidden from the teacher beneath a veil of justifications. I don’t play favorites. I just let those with good behavior know I appreciate them.

Make no mistake. Many, many teachers play favorites.

Maybe you do too.

No teacher wants to confront the possibility that he or she favors some students over others. It’s never easy to take a hard look at yourself and be honest with your heart’s intent.

But self-examination is crucial, because favoritism is not only bad for classroom management, it’s worse for your students.

Here’s why:

It creates a class system.

When you play favorites, you give rise to a class system—where certain students are socially grouped and labeled as special or entitled or somehow better than others. This causes hurt, confusion, and fist-shaking unfairness. It discourages teamwork and creates friction and jealousy among students. At its worst, it brings about bullying behavior.

It causes resentment.

Students are often underestimated. They may be short, gangly, or self-absorbed, but they’re real people with real feelings, and they’re more observant than given credit for. If you play favorites—affording special privileges or attention for some and not others—every student will know it. And they’ll simmer with resentment because of it.

It weakens self-confidence.

To see certain students given a level of attention you know is never reserved for you can be a blow to your self-confidence—particularly if you have a shy personality. Yes, kids are resilient, and we’ve all experienced hard lessons that make us better people. But favoritism can be especially hurtful, making students less trusting, less inclined to participate, and less willing to take healthy social chances.

It further alienates difficult students.

Some teachers have a quid pro quo relationship with their students. In other words, if you’re well behaved and likeable, you get my favorable attention. If you’re a behavior problem, however, or if you get on my nerves, you get eye rolls, sarcasm, and indifference. This is a highly manipulative and surprisingly common form of classroom management that reinforces outcast, rebel-like, and unruly behavior.

It creates an unhappy classroom.

It’s obvious to students when a teacher plays favorites. In most circumstances the only one unaware of it is the teacher herself. The resulting resentments, dislike, and distrust create an unhappy classroom—which is the death knell of classroom management. For if your students are unhappy, if they don’t like being in your classroom, you’re going to struggle with near-constant misbehavior.

It undermines your influence.

Playing favorites will undermine your efforts to increase your likeability, build rapport with students, and acquire behavior-changing leverage. To create a dream classroom, to create the teaching experience you really want, you must continually work toward a trusting and influential relationship with your students. Playing favorites makes this an impossibility.

A Notable Difference

It’s inevitable that you will connect with some students better or quicker than others. And there is nothing wrong with appreciating or admiring particular students—some will be more approachable, more willing to help, or more trustworthy with special projects.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll give them more time and attention than others or reward them based on their likeability, personality, or appearance. Doing so is flat-out favoritism—clear to anyone paying attention—and it’s wrong.

How To Avoid Playing Favorites

Avoiding even the perception of playing favorites isn’t complicated.

Follow your classroom management plan, regardless of who breaks your rules. Don’t yell, scold, berate, or take misbehavior personally. Be the same consistently pleasant teacher day in and day out.

Make every student a target of your heartfelt smile and kindness. Choose to see the best in each of them, despite how difficult at times that may be.

And when deciding who should go first or who should help out in your classroom…

Pull names out of a hat.

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

At its best, classroom management is elegantly simple.

Take, for instance, your room environment.

A disorganized, unkempt, or clutter-filled classroom sends the message to your students that poor behavior and middling work habits is acceptable—regardless of how often or how forcefully you say otherwise.

Because if your classroom environment doesn’t match your call for excellence, hard work, and respect, then you might as well be talking to the art projects fading and curling on your walls.

Stacked boxes, messy work areas, disorganized and overflowing cabinets, cramped aisles and walkways, papers piled on your desk, various materials and resources jumbled here and there…

Clearing it all out and replacing it with a clean, organized classroom will do wonders for behavior in your classroom.

Here’s why:

It commands reverence.

Adults and students alike walk into bright, neatly arranged classrooms like they’re walking into a museum. They sort of tiptoe in, taking great care not to disturb its peacefulness and sacred learning environment.

It’s inviting.

An attractive classroom draws students in and makes them want to be part of what is going on inside. All students crave the feeling of being associated with something exclusive. And your classroom environment should communicate to all who enter that indeed it is.

It’s a statement of respect.

Your room environment shows how much you value respect—respect for learning, respect for each other, and respect for property. Although they might not be able to verbalize it, your students can see it and feel it every time they walk into your classroom.

It makes you a better, more confident teacher.

A clutter-free classroom will have a powerful effect on you—calming you and sweeping away the mental clutter and discouragement. It’s a reminder that you’re in control of your classroom, and that creating the teaching experience you desire is within your grasp.

It strengthens your influence.

Creating a classroom your students enjoy coming to every day is a key cornerstone of Smart Classroom Management. A fresh, appealing room environment contributes to the feeling that being one of your students is a special experience—which in turn gives you leverage to influence behavior.

It makes a statement.

There are some classrooms you walk into and know the teacher expects the best from his or her students. It oozes from the walls and hums through the air—even when empty. In fact, your classroom environment is an uncanny predictor of how effective a teacher you are.

It gives students a sense of pride.

Students notice everything—from the way you dress to how you speak to what your desk looks like. If you take pride in your classroom and how you go about your job, then your students will follow your lead, taking pride in themselves, their behavior, and their schoolwork.

It calms and focuses.

Some classrooms look like they’ve been tipped upside down and shaken. Cramped, scattered, uncomfortable…distracting, stale, tense. In 100% of the cases, students in such classrooms are unhappy, unruly, and climbing the walls.

A sharp-dressed classroom, on the other hand—full of pride, respect, open walkways and clear desktops—is a calming, safe-haven to students—allowing them to breathe easy and focus on learning.

Excellence Is Expected

Your classroom environment has such a strong bearing on how your students perceive themselves and the expectations you have for them that you can’t afford to let it fall into disarray or get swallowed up by accumulated materials or cluttered hodgepodge.

Armed with a free weekend and a little perspiration, you can send a powerful and unmistakable message to your students, one that whispers to them every time they walk into your classroom…

“Excellence is expected.”

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

Teacher burnout, which happens when stress and mental fatigue become more than occasional companions, strikes many thousands of teachers every year.

Reports suggest roughly half of all teachers quit within five years.

And it’s no wonder. Burnout saps joy from teaching, makes effective classroom management virtually unattainable, and infuses dread into every drive to work.

It’s also avoidable.

No matter where you teach or who your students are, you not only can protect yourself from burnout, but you can wake up every morning refreshed, excited, and ready to teach.

Here’s how:

Lean on your classroom management plan.

The number one cause of stress among teachers is trying to convince students to behave. Lecturing, scolding, arguing, threatening, manipulating, and discussing misbehavior are all ineffective and terribly stressful.

Instead, when a student misbehaves, simply and dispassionately enforce a consequence, and then move on to more important things.

Be an early bird.

A common cause of teacher burnout is being crunched for time—time to prepare, time to organize, time to sit and gather your thoughts. The solution is simple but remarkably effective: arrive to school early and get down to business.

Don’t ease into your day. Jump in with both feet. You’ll work twice as efficiently and with fewer distractions before school than you will at any other time of the day.

Free your mind.

Being organized is the ultimate de-stressor. Just knowing where every file, set of data, and lesson idea is and how to reach them quickly will give you peace of mind and one less thing to concern yourself with.

Also, keep your room clear of needless materials, boxes, old projects, and equipment. A clutter-free classroom is not only more appealing and more conducive to learning, but gloriously freeing to your mind.

Leave school at school.

As soon as you pull your car out of the school parking lot, your workday is over. Leave it there. Although once in a while you may have to play catch up at home, those times should be rare and devoid of emotion (i.e., grading math tests).

If you’re in the habit of bringing the disappointments and dilemmas of your day home with you, then you’re on the fast track to burnout. You won’t sleep well, you’ll be less than your best for your family, and you’ll be no fun to hang out with.

Exercise.

Short of a daily massage, nothing will clear your head faster or more completely than exercise. 30-40 minutes most days per week is all you need to reboot the system and enjoy better energy for teaching.

Go for a brisk walk. Dance to your heart’s content. Join a swim club. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something you enjoy. Steer clear of the expensive gadgets and high-octane videos you see on late-night television. They do make excellent dust gatherers.

Eat for energy.

What you eat can have a startling effect on how you feel, how you look, and how much energy you have for teaching. I recommend a simple diet of smaller meals, whole foods instead of processed, and mountains of fresh and varied fruits and vegetables.

Try to cut back or eliminate your consumption of sugar, white flour, and foods high in saturated fat. You won’t believe how much energy you’ll have or how incredible you’ll feel.

Rest.

Every teacher needs down time in the evening—if only for an hour. And a good night’s sleep is a must. Teaching is one of the few professions that never lets you coast through the day—even when you’re not feeling well.

Up late the night before? Fighting a cold? Tough luck. Your students will still be there, waiting, lively as jumping beans. To match them, you need plenty of sofa-lying, good-book-reading, and blissfully-sleeping rest.

Focus on routines.

Classroom routines make everything easier, and the most effective teachers rely on them heavily.

When your students know what to do, and how to do it well, during every moment of the school day, then you’re free from the endless talking, explaining, stress, and misbehavior that affect those who are less routine-driven.

Become a classroom management expert.

Start any conversation about teaching and it’s likely to end on the topic of classroom management, because that’s what it all comes down to. If you have expert skills, and the right mindset, you’ll never be burned out.

When you have the ability to create your dream class, your students will energize you, inspire you, and make you feel like you’re exactly where you should be, doing exactly what you were meant to do.

It’s About You

Teacher burnout is not about the teaching situation you find yourself in. It isn’t about your crazy school, the unruly students on your roster, or the overloaded curriculum you’re saddled with to teach.

It’s about you.

You have the power to avoid the stress and fatigue that make you unhappy and ineffective. You have the power to create the well-behaved classroom you’ve always dreamed of. You have the power to grab hold of the rewarding, energizing career you really want—never to let it go.

Thankfully, wonderfully, it’s all in your hands.

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

If you’re struggling with classroom management and wondering why, one of the first areas to examine is the personality you bring with you to the classroom.

Many teachers become different people the minute their students walk through the door. Sometimes this is a good thing—if being around students makes you brighten like a Broadway singer or become as preternaturally calm as a mountain lake.

But for the vast number of teachers, the presence of a large and active group of students can, at least to some degree, bring about personality traits that are detrimental to classroom management success.

The good news is that with a simple two-minute routine you can condition yourself to eliminate those traits that work against you, and replace them with those that work in your favor.

The following six teacher personality traits make classroom management more difficult. You’ll do well to leave them outside your classroom door.

1. Impatience

Impatient teachers talk fast, move fast, and tend to either look the other way in the face of misbehavior, or react emotionally to it. They rush through lessons, gloss over instructions, and out of necessity have lower expectations for students. This produces a restless, excitable classroom that is primed to cause trouble.

2. Quick To Anger

A single flash of anger can undo weeks of rapport building with your students. When you yell, scold, use sarcasm, or otherwise lose your cool, you distance yourself from your students and undermine their trust and respect of you. You become less approachable, less likeable, and less influential—all critical keys to creating a well-behaved classroom.

3. Pessimism

Teachers who are pessimistic in nature are unable to create the well-behaved classroom they desire. Negative thoughts, feelings, and attitudes about students—particularly difficult students—are impossible to hide. They reveal themselves through your words, body language, and tone of voice and make building relationships with them an impossibility.

4. Irritability

Irritability (grouchiness, moodiness) communicates to students that they can’t trust you or depend on you. It creates resentment, confusion, and instability. It also causes you to be inconsistent—both with your classroom management plan and in your interactions with students—leading to more frequent and more severe misbehavior.

5. Overly Sensitive

Teachers with thin skin—those who take misbehavior personally—inevitably, and often subconsciously, seek revenge against their students. They can’t help themselves. Out of their resentment and spite they make the kind of classroom management mistakes like yelling, scolding, and holding grudges that result in a spiraling of student behavior.

6. Easily Frustrated

Frequent sighs, rolling eyes, red-faced lectures. Outward signs of frustration can cause enveloping, knife-cutting tension in your classroom. When you allow students to get under your skin, it not only makes your classroom unnerving and unpleasant, but it causes students to challenge your authority and test you whenever they get the chance.

A Simple Two-Minute Routine

The way you present yourself to your students has a monumental effect on classroom management—more so than most teachers realize. If you’re at all susceptible to one or more of the personality traits above, then you’ll be a more effective teacher if you get a handle on them.

The simplest way is to spend a couple of minutes before your students arrive each day with your eyes closed, visualizing your best self calmly and confidently managing your classroom.

Picture yourself responding to misbehavior with poise. Watch as you joyfully present your lessons to a responsive class. See yourself building rapport, loving your job, and following your classroom management plan to the letter.

Because when you choose to see only the best in yourself and in your students…

That’s exactly what you’ll get.

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

Your lesson ends, the recess bell rings, and you release your students to the playground to let off some steam. But on the way you notice one of your students, call him Anthony, rudely shoving others aside on his way out the door.

How dare him, the little bugger.

So you run out, pull Anthony off the playground, and let him have it. You give him a fire-breathing, finger-pointing, he’s-got-it-comin’ lecture, topped off with a stern, “Do you understand me?”

He hems and haws, looks at his shoes, and mumbles an apology. Semi-satisfied, you send him on his way and head back to your classroom with a sigh.

Of course, not all lectures are so vigorous. More often, teachers lecture because they believe that with the right words their students will see the light and suddenly be transformed.

But does it work? Is lecture a viable classroom management strategy?

On the surface the answer appears to be yes. Lecturing often works in the immediate aftermath. But in the long run, it’s a costly mistake that makes classroom management more difficult.

Here’s why:

1. It’s stressful.

Using words to try and convince students to behave is perhaps the number one cause of stress among teachers. And because lecturing kinda-sorta works in the short term, teachers feel encouraged to keep on doing it—despite the tension headaches.

2. It replaces real accountability.

When you lecture students, they know that your talking-to is the accountability. And so if they can just endure it and tell you what you want to hear, then they can be on their way—free and clear and with no real accountability.

3. It sabotages real accountability.

If you send a student to time-out but give a lecture along the way, then from the student’s perspective your not following your classroom management plan as promised. It feels like a double consequence. So instead of sitting in time-out and contemplating their mistake, they’re simmering with anger over the injustice.

4. It tempts students into argument.

When you lecture, you all but dare your students to argue with you. In fact, it takes a strong-willed student not to. When backed into a corner and forced to listen to something they already know, they’re going to want to fight back.

5. It causes resentment.

Few students respond well to a lecture. More often than not, even the most genteel dressing-down causes resentment. Whether they deserve it or not doesn’t change this fact. Truth is, teachers who lecture struggle to build behavior-influencing rapport with their students.

6. It’s time-consuming.

If you rely on lecturing as a classroom management method, then teaching and learning will be affected. Lecturing students takes time, brings tension into your classroom, and takes you away from preparation, instruction, and the joy of teaching.

7. Actions speak louder.

Your words will never carry as much weight as your actions. And the longer students are in school, the more this is true. By the time they get to you, they may have been on the end of dozens of lectures—making it unlikely yours will have the desired effect.

Speak Less, Act More

The next time a student misbehaves, try saying as little as possible.

Simply tell the student what rule was broken, then enforce a consequence and move on to more important things—like teaching your class. This ensures three things:

1. You won’t be stressed-out.
2. The misbehaving student won’t be resentful.
3. Accountability will do its job.

Instead of lecturing and telling your students what lessons they ought to learn, which go in one ear and out the other, let accountability work…

And they’ll soak up those lessons on their own.

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

When you hear a teacher shushing students, it’s a good sign things aren’t going well.

Behind tight shoulders, tired eyes, and index finger poised over puckered lips, you’ll find a teacher struggling to keep his or her head above water.

Shushing students to quiet them down is associated with shaky-at-best classroom management, chronically distracted students, and a mountain of stress.

And because it becomes progressively less effective the more you do it, shushing promises more and more frustration as the school year rolls on.

Though not as self-sabotaging as yelling or scolding, shushing similarly makes teachers less likeable with students.

It also makes you look like you don’t know what you’re doing.

Follow the steps below and you’ll never feel the need to shush, hush, or plead for silence again.

1. Decide

Before starting any activity, decide the voice level you want from your students. It’s important you consider this ahead of time. After all, if you don’t know what you want, your students won’t know either.

2. Model

Gather your students around you and model precisely the voice level you expect. Make your modeling exercise as detailed and realistic as you can. Your students need to see and experience what you want before it makes sense to them.

3. Practice

Ask your students to turn to the student(s) next to them and discuss their favorite movie or other topic using the voice level you modeled. Have them practice and prove to you they understand what you expect.

4. Observe

Good teachers observe a lot to make sure their expectations are being met. Start your activity and monitor their voice level closely—especially within the first several minutes.

5. Stop

If at any time their voice level gets louder than your expectation, instead of shushing your students, stop the activity by signaling for their attention. Do this whenever they exceed the level you’ve asked for.

6. Remind

After getting your students attention, remind them what the voice level expectation is and put them on notice that if anyone goes beyond it, there will be a consequence—as promised by your classroom management plan.

7. Enforce

Listening and following directions should be one of your classroom rules. As such, if any single student is unable or unwilling to keep his or her voice level as modeled and practiced, then enforce a consequence.

Note: With group discussions, voice levels tend to increase as students attempt to talk over the other voices in the room. If it becomes loud enough to distract individual groups, simply stop them, ask them to take a few deep breaths, and then restart the activity. Do not, however, enforce a consequence.

8. Standardize

Consider standardizing the speaking levels in your classroom. For example:

• Level 0: No Talking
• Level 1: Whispering
• Level 2: Small Group Discussion
• Level 3: Whole Class Sharing

Create a small poster for reference and before every activity say simply, “For the assembly today, we’re at level zero.”

Effective At Any Grade

It may take a week or two for your students to get the hang of it. But when they do, controlling noise and voice levels in your classroom is easy and becomes something you never really have to think about.

Setting voice level expectations—for partner sharing, group work, browsing in the library, or just a walk across campus—through the super-effective one-two combination of detailed modeling and student practice works at any grade level.

And it’s so much more effective than having no clear picture of what you want, no expectation to model for your students, and no sound strategy to modulate the voices in your classroom…

Other than a great big ugly, “Shhhh!”

Note: I wrote an article this month for teachers.net. It’s called, Are You Rejecting Your Neediest Students? I hope you’ll check it out.

If you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.

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