“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.

When students get bored their minds drift.

And while some settle on daydreaming, tile-counting, and general inattentiveness, other students are drawn to more…ahem…destructive pursuits.

For where there is boredom, there is misbehavior percolating just under the surface, ready to pounce.

Although there is a lot you can do to counter the onset of boredom, understanding what not to do is the first step to avoiding its negative effects.

What follows is a list of the most common things teachers do to cause boredom. By steering clear of these eight attention killers, your students will spend more time on task and be far better behaved.

And you’ll be a more effective teacher.

1. Sitting too long.

Although it’s important to increase your students’ stamina for both paying attention during lessons and focusing during independent work, if they’re made to sit too long, you’re asking for trouble. Good teachers are observant and thus learn to know precisely when to switch gears and get their students up and moving.

2. Talking too much.

Students need room to breathe or they’ll form an unspoken mutiny and turn your classroom upside down. Talking too much is especially smothering. It communicates that you don’t trust them, teaches them to tune you out, and causes their eyes to glaze over. The more economical and concise you are with your words, however, the more attentive your students will be.

3. Making the simple, complex.

Many teachers misunderstand the oft-heard mandate for more rigor. They take it to mean that they need to make their instruction more complex, more involved, more verbose—which is a major reason why students don’t progress. Our job, if we are to do it well, is to do the opposite. The most effective teachers simplify, break down, and cut away the non-essentials—making content easier for students to grasp.

4. Making the interesting, uninteresting.

Most standard grade-level subject matter is interesting, but your students don’t know that. In fact, many assume, based on their learning experiences in the past, that it’s boring. It’s your job to show them otherwise. It’s your job to give them a reason to care about what you’re teaching. So many teachers just talk at their students, forgetting the most critical element: selling it.

5. Talking about behavior instead of doing something about it.

Teachers who struggle with classroom management tend to talk endlessly about behavior. They hold class meetings. They hash things out. They revisit the same tired topic over and over, much to their students’ eye-rolling chagrin. Effective classroom management is about action. It’s about doing and following through and holding students accountable. It isn’t about talking.

 6. Directing too much, observing too less.

Most teachers are in constant motion—directing, guiding, handholding, and micromanaging students from one moment to the next. This is not only remarkably inefficient, but it dampens enthusiasm for school. Instead, rely on sharp, well-taught routines to keep your students awake, alive, and responsible through every transition and repeatable moment of your day—while you observe calmly from a distance.

7. Leading a slow, sloppy, slip-shod pace.

Good teaching strives for a focus and efficiency of time, movement, and energy. The day crackles and glides cleanly from one lesson or activity to the next. As soon as one objective is met, it’s on to the next without delay. Moving sharply and purposefully forces students to stay on their toes, their minds engaged. Boredom never enters the picture.

8. Failing to adjust.

Regardless of what you’re trying to squeeze in by the end of the day, or how important it seems, the moment you notice heads wilting, you must make an adjustment. It’s never worth it to plow through. Sometimes all your students need is a moment to stretch their legs or say hello to a friend. Other times, you’ll simply move on to something else.

Learning In The Spotlight

The ability to concentrate over time is a critical and often-overlooked aspect of learning, and so pushing the time-on-task envelop is a good thing.

But there is a fine line.

And when students cross that line and into boredom, misbehavior is sure to follow. The good news is that by avoiding the common mistakes listed above, you can keep boredom at bay…

And inspired learning in the spotlight.

Note: I wrote an article last week for Jessica Balsley’s excellent blog, The Art of Education. If you’re an art teacher, or you just want to improve art in your classroom, I recommend checking it out.

Also, 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.

Most teachers talk to difficult students too much, because somewhere along the line they’ve gotten the idea that the more attention they give them, the better teacher they’ll be.

So they pull them aside for pep-talks, reminders, and lectures. They warn. They scold. They threaten. They flatter and debate. They micromanage and manipulate.

They spend more time addressing them, conferencing with them, and trying to persuade them to behave than the rest of their class put together.

And for the most part, it’s a waste of time.

This doesn’t mean that talking with difficult students can’t have a positive effect. When done in a certain way, and in the right moments, it most definitely can.

Here’s how.

Make it infrequent.

Difficult students have been on the receiving end of near-constant talking-tos for as long as they’ve been in school. So when they see you coming, with that same familiar look on your face, they roll their eyes. They’ve heard it all. To get them to see themselves as capable of following rules like anyone else, you shouldn’t touch base with them more than anyone else.

Make it honest.

In a desperate attempt to improve behavior, many teachers will say just about anything to difficult students—regardless of its truthfulness. But trying to coerce students into behaving, particularly while being less than brutally honest, doesn’t work. Neither does false praise, bribing, or any other form of manipulation. The most effective way to talk to difficult students is to give it to them straight.

Make it meaningful.

The only reason to talk to difficult students about their behavior is to inform or to deepen the meaning of a lesson already learned. Never ask them why they did this or that. Never force assurances or explanations. Never give them a dressing-down. Let their mistakes and subsequent accountability, or their successes and subsequent good feelings, be the lesson. Don’t ruin it, absolve it, or weaken it with your overinvolvment.

Make it a challenge.

When a difficult student misbehaves, let your classroom management plan do your talking for you. However, if the right moment strikes, and you know a word or two can provide additional strength and meaning to the lesson, then make it an encouraging challenge. For example, you might cruise by their desk or time-out chair and say simply, “You’re better than this” or “I still believe in you.”

Make it wordless.

When a difficult student does something well or has a particularly good day, it’s often best not to say anything at all—which is a startling change when compared to most of his or her former teachers (who’d all but throw a parade). By simply not making a big deal out of them doing what they’re supposed to do, what they’re expected to do, you send a powerful, behavior-altering message.

Make it a gesture.

If the student has had several good days, or you’re convinced they’ve made real improvement, and not just a brief period of acceptable behavior, then a simple gesture like a fist bump or a knowing smile can be most impactful. It can deepen the meaning of a positive lesson already learned. And unlike silly, over-the-top celebrations for moderate improvement, the student’s heart will soar—internally, privately, and resoundingly.

Make it free of strings.

Most teachers only talk to difficult students when they want something from them (i.e., improved behavior), which effectively poisons the relationship. To influence their behavior you have to build mutual, trusting rapport—which only comes with no strings attached. Decide to like and enjoy your most difficult students, no matter how unlikeable they can be, so that when you do talk to them about behavior, what you say will pack a punch.

Let Them Stand…

Teachers spend so much time and attention on difficult students because it makes them feel like they’re doing something, anything, to help improve their behavior. They figure that if they work hard enough on the problem, if they can just somehow come up with the right words to say, they’ll be able to turn them around.

But the more attention you give to difficult students, the less attention they’ll pay to what you say and the harder it will be to improve their behavior.

So instead of telling them how they should feel, what they should think, and what lessons they should be learning, give them a chance to feel the weight of their mistakes and the inner joy of their successes.

Let them stand on their own two feet.

Then, and only then, will the wellspring of change come bubbling up from the only place it truly can…

From within.

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

Building rapport with students can be a remarkably effective way to improve classroom management. But there is some confusion over what rapport is and how one goes about building it.

Rapport is nothing more than a connection you make with your students based on their positive feelings for you. When they like you and trust you, and when you in turn like and believe in them, you’ll form a bond that makes classroom management a lot easier.

It’s as simple as that.

But rapport isn’t something you can force upon your students. Teachers who try to engage individual students directly… “Hey, what’s your favorite video game?” …often find the interaction brief and awkward and the results less than influential.

To build genuine rapport, you have to draw students to you. You have to use your personality, your humor, and your charisma to get students to want to be around you and take an interest in who you are.

It’s this natural appeal that allows you to effortlessly make personal connections with students and influence their behavior choices—often without ever having to say a word.

The idea of using one’s everyday personality to draw students in and build rapport makes sense to most teachers, but many struggle with how to put it into practice. What exactly does it look like?

I’ve gotten this question a lot over the years, and the truth is we all have different personalities. We all have our own unique talents, traits, sense of humor, and joie de vivre.

The simple answer is to just be likeable and rapport building will take care of itself. However, I know how helpful it can be to hear specific examples. So in that spirit, here are two easy-peasy ways you can build rapport today—and see results almost immediately.

1. Smile until they smile.

I love this strategy and find it works even when I’ve never met the students before. You can use it anytime you’re passing out materials, checking student work, taking attendance, or anytime you have occasion to make eye contact with individual students.

Let’s say for example you’re taking attendance. As you say each student’s name, you would take a moment to look up and smile at the student. You would then continue making eye contact and smiling until the student smiles back at you. And that’s it.

What it does is allow you to make an instant positive and personal connection with each student. It communicates a thousand wonderful things in just a couple of seconds. And when you’re finished, each student will see you in a different light.

You may notice other students begin to giggle as you do this. That’s okay. It’s all good. Sometimes I make funny faces instead of smiling or I’ll exaggerate a frown until they do the same. It’s really fun. And lest you think your students are too old or too cool, I’ve used this strategy with sixth-graders to great effect and wouldn’t hesitate to use it with older students.

2. Tell a story about your childhood.

If you’re a regular reader of this website, or if you’ve read the book Dream Class, then you know the power of storytelling. Nothing… nothing, nothing, nothing is more effective. Done a certain way, it can put your students in the palm of your hand. It does, however, take some practice.

Telling a story about your childhood is a good place to start. It places you in an environment they’re unfamiliar picturing you in, but one in which they can closely identify with. You become, then, not so different than them—making connections easier.

I’ve found stories about adventures or comedic hard luck to be most effective. But really anything with a twist or a surprise works. Acting out the story is also especially effective. But it’s important you have fun with it; stories about your dog Snowflake dying are verboten.

Why storytelling works so well is in some ways still a mystery to me. There is no doubt that your students will love it and love you because of it. If you become a good storyteller, it will completely change your teaching and will dramatically affect the influence you have with your students.

Tearing Down Walls

It’s important to note that one of the keys to building rapport is what you don’t do. Many teachers have a hard time building rapport because they respond emotionally to misbehavior. They show frustration, they scold, they lecture, and in so doing they erect a giant wall between themselves and their students.

Building rapport is about tearing down walls, some of which are put up by your students before you even meet them.

There is a lot to this topic, and we’ll touch on more in the weeks to come, but one thing is for certain: Building rapport has the potential to impact every important area of your teaching—classroom management, difficult students, motivation, independence, academic progress—and then some.

How’s that for a smile and a five-minute story?

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

Five of the most frequently recommended strategies for dealing with difficult students can actually cause an increase or a worsening of misbehavior.

Which begs the question: If they cause behavior to get worse, then why are they recommended?

Well, for a few reasons.

• They’re easy to explain.
• They’ve been around so long people assume they work.
• They make sense. In other words, they seem like they should work.
• They offer tantalizing hope for teachers at the end of their rope.

And the frustrating, almost cruel, thing is, even with the most challenging students, a few of the five strategies do result in almost instantaneous improvement. Yes, I think this is going to work! I think I found the answer!

But alas, the improvement disappears nearly as soon as it arrives—lasting for a day or two, perhaps a week.

And after that, all bets are off—which is why the familiar strategies listed below are cycled over and over again with the same students, year after tired year.

So let’s set the record straight. Let’s ruffle some feathers. Let’s throw these ineffective, pull-the-rug-out-from-under-you ways of dealing with difficult students on the scrap heap.

But be forewarned.

They are among the first strategies many of your colleagues will enthusiastically recommend to you, rolling off their tongue like they’ve recommended them a thousand times before.

1. Behavior Contracts

Behavior contracts are perhaps the most favored strategies for dealing with difficult students because you’re guaranteed to see immediate and often stunning improvement—which can feel great, exciting, the answer to your prayers.

However, that improvement will be short-lived. Any strategy that involves a “do this and get that” scenario weakens over time and does nothing to spark intrinsic motivation—which is the one ingredient necessary for real, lasting improvement.

Behavior contracts also label students, providing a daily reminder that their teacher doesn’t believe they’re capable of controlling themselves like a regular member of the class.

2. Ignoring

Anyone who has ever tried this one knows it doesn’t work with difficult students. It might sound good in theory, and you’ll find no shortage of people lining up to recommend it to you, but in a working classroom ignoring difficult students usually ends in disaster.

Most of the time the student being ignored will respond by ratcheting up his or her attention-getting behavior, at times going so far as to sing, yell, or even laugh while you’re trying to teach.

When a student misbehaves, no matter who it is, you have an obligation to address it as soon as you’re able using your previously agreed-upon classroom management plan—the same one used for every student in your class.

3. Recess Time-Out

If your school has a recess time-out or detention area, then chances are it’s poorly supervised by someone other than the teacher of those particular students. And therein lies the problem.

Recess time-out only works if you, as the classroom teacher, are the one doing the supervising. Otherwise, it’s a weak consequence, sitting there with a whole band of troublemakers from all over the school. For most students, it’s little more than a nuisance.

If you don’t show your students, prove to your students, that you care enough to supervise them during recess time-out—preferably in your own classroom—then the consequence won’t have any meaning to the student.

4. Permanent Time-Out

It’s not uncommon to see difficult students seated in peculiar areas of the classroom—in the corner, up against the front wall, pushed against the teacher’s desk.

I call this permanent time-out, and it’s another form of labeling. It communicates to difficult students that the teacher has given up on them. It says, in effect, “I don’t believe in you or your capacity to change, so we’re going to keep you forever separated, regardless of how you behave.”

Permanent time-out merely reinforces in the student’s mind that he or she is a behavior problem. It becomes part of who they are, like their eye color or where they were born.

5. Special Rewards And Praise

This strategy is typically used in conjunction with ignoring. In an effort to build self-esteem, difficult students are showered with rewards and praise whenever they behave in a way that is a common classroom expectation.

The idea is that if you “catch them doing something good” or doing what they’re supposed to, and praise them heartily for it, then they’ll feel good about themselves and their behavior will improve.

And yes, there can be immediate, on-the-spot improvement. But over the long haul what it does is tell difficult students that they’re not good enough to be treated like everybody else. Furthermore, excessive awards and praise carry with them a whiff of condescension. You can almost see the embarrassment in students’ eyes when they know, deep down, it’s not real.

Note: This is true for difficult students in regular education classrooms. For more info on this topic, see the article, Why You Shouldn’t Reward Students For Good Behavior.

The Same Plan For Every Student

Most difficult students are able to make lasting changes in behavior when they’re subject to the same solid classroom management plan as everybody else.

They’ve been made to feel somehow different for so many of their school years that when they meet a teacher who really believes in them, who places them on equal footing with everybody else, they blossom.

A Radio Interview With Smart Classroom Management

I was interviewed yesterday by Nicole Eredics and Terri Mauro of Special Needs Talk Radio. It’s available as a free download at iTunes. Just click here and then scroll to The Inclusive Classroom 1/6/12.

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.

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

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.

Telling students exactly what you want is good teaching.

It seems obvious, but if you’re unable to communicate what you want from your students, then they’re never going to give it to you.

Too often when giving directions teachers begin talking before they’re ready. They think out loud. They hem and haw. They hesitate. They appear unsure of themselves. “Okay, um, let’s see, here’s what were gonna do…”

And they wonder why their students struggle to follow directions.

It’s best to compose yourself first, decide what it is you really want your students to do, and then give it to them straight. “When I say ‘go’ I want you to stand up, push in your chair, and line up for lunch.”

This is good. This is excellent.

The teacher informs her students that she is going to use the ‘go’ signal, which improves listening and keeps them from moving too soon, and then tells them precisely what she wants—simple, direct, and effective.

But what if you need to give your students directions to be carried out over a lengthy activity? This can be a challenge for students and a major source of frustration for teachers.

The students start out strong enough, but soon everything falls apart. They forget. They get confused. They lose motivation. They become distracted. They start goofing off and misbehaving.

It can make you want to run screaming for the parking lot.

To be an effective teacher, to keep your students on-task and to encourage independence, you must be able to give unforgettable directions.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Make your directions a story.

Your students will pay close attention if you make your directions sound like a story progressing from beginning to end. This is easy to do if you picture one of your students working his way through each of the tasks you want them to complete.

Stories are powerful and can make mundane directions come to life for students—especially when they see themselves in the story.

Step 2: Use “going to” to spark visualization.

To insert your students into your directions/story, use the words, “going to,” as in, “First, you’re going to pick up your materials from the front table. Then you’re going to…” When students hear “going to” they begin picturing themselves actually doing it.

“Going to” is a memory device that causes students to create a moving picture in their mind. It’s also predictive. They take it as fact that they’ll indeed be able to do everything you ask them—without your help.

Step 3: Include anchors.

As you walk your students through your directions, add a few simple but insignificant tasks along the way. For example, you might say, “When you finish writing your hypothesis, you’re going to run out and touch the basketball pole on the playground.”

Silly tasks like this act as anchors along a memory map for your students. The novelty and goofiness has a way of helping them remember the path that leads from the beginning of the activity to the successful end. It’s also a lot of fun.

Step 4: Act out your directions.

Detailed modeling can be impractical for lengthy, multi-step activities. But you can always act out what you expect without ever leaving the front of your classroom. Use your body and facial expressions to dramatize the steps you want your students to take.

It provides additional support for their visualization and helps them to better picture themselves completing the tasks you place before them.

Note: When giving directions you want followed immediately, it’s best to stand in one place and not act them out.

Step 5: Use a winding path as reference.

On an easel or whiteboard, draw a winding path of boxes. In each box write a one or two-word reminder for your students to refer to. Each box represents a task, leading to a successful finish. This supports the idea that the activity is a story and they’re the lead characters.

The last box should refer to the final anchor, a fun way to culminate the completion of the activity. For example, after your students record the final results of their science experiment, they hold their journals triumphantly in the air and say, “I did it!”

Step 6: Hang responsibility on their shoulders.

Before releasing your students to begin, ask, “Is there anyone who doesn’t know exactly what to do from the moment I say ‘go’ until you finish the activity? I want to know now. I don’t want to find out during the activity that you don’t understand.”

By being proactive and asking if anyone doesn’t understand, you effectively put the onus of speaking up on your students—saddling them with a greater feeling of responsibility to do it right.

Step 7: Increase the challenge.

When you first try this new way of giving directions, you may only have a few tasks, or steps, on your path—especially if you’re a primary teacher. But as your students get better, and as they grow more independent, you’ll be amazed at what they can do.

Bring it On

Great teaching doesn’t have to feel like hard work. You don’t have to strain and stress to be effective. You do, however, need to be able to communicate with your students in a way they understand.

For most day-to-day classroom business it’s best to be direct and straightforward with what you want. But for multi-step directions that take time to complete, you must create a story for your students.

Many teachers place giving individual help at the top of their priority list and don’t give a second thought to how they provide the directions—which creates needy, dependent students whose first inclination is to look to their teacher rather than relying on themselves.

But when you can provide unforgettable directions, when your students can see what you expect from them and picture themselves doing it, they’ll rarely need your help.

And as you test them and push them with more and greater challenges, they’ll develop into capable, independent students who will look back at you with eyes that say…

Bring it on.

Note: I’ll be taking next week off to celebrate Christmas, but will be back on New Year’s Eve with a rockin´ new article.

Have a blessed holiday!

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.

Most students are praised too much.

They’re praised too often, too public, and too over-the-top. They’re praised for things any reasonable person would conclude are simply not worthy of it.

And as the bar of excellence drops lower and lower, it squeezes the work ethic right out of our students.

Sure, they smile and blush over their teacher’s enthusiastic backslapping. They hold up their pretty certificates for the camera and smooth stickers on the bumper of the family car.

But unless the praise was earned, it means nothing. And deep down every student knows it.

For every time you praise students for something that didn’t involve hard work or a certain mental toughness to accomplish, a sliver of their dignity is taken from them.

A soft, sinister voice whispers, “Pssst! Hey, you in the third row. Yeah, you with the smiley face sticker. You know you didn’t really earn it, don’t you? Your teacher just gave it to you because average is all you’re capable of.”

When a teacher refrains from giving praise for doing what is expected, however, and instead keeps her eyes pealed for true accomplishment, she adds a jolt of fuel to her students’ intrinsic motivation.

For this kind of praise feeds the churning, unstoppable force that resides in each student and spurs them on to become more than they thought they could.

A triumphant voice then shouts from the mountaintops, “You did it! And you’re capable of so much more!”

Here are eight ways to give your students intrinsic power through your effective praise.

1. Make it deserved.

Unless the praise you offer is based on achievement, which is defined differently for each student, then it will hold no meaning or have lasting effect. This underscores the importance of knowing your students and their unique abilities—so that when you see something praiseworthy, you can pounce.

2. Make it subtle.

Small, subtle gestures of praise are among the most effective. Mere eye contact from across the room, carefully timed, one-word recognition, a single nod of the head—they can send a student’s internal motivation into hyper drive.

3. Make it private.

Make your praise a privately shared moment between you and the student. It may seem counterintuitive, but you’ll find exclusive praise to have more intrinsic value and greater motivational effect on your students than the over-the-top, public, cheering variety.

4. Make it silent.

You don’t always have to make your praise wordless, but doing so can make it especially effective. Quiet applause, fist pumps, winks, knowing smiles, and good old-fashioned handshakes are all wonderful and inherently genuine ways to jump-start your students’ intrinsic engines.

5. Make it written.

A stationery note, written in your careful hand, folded over and stuck to the inside of a student’s desk is perhaps the most effective form of praise you could ever use. If your note is written from the heart, the student will cherish your words—not sharing it with a soul and saving it for years.

6. Make it belated.

Effective praise doesn’t have to come immediately following the accomplishment. Sometimes it’s best to wait until your praise can be more confidential and unexpected. An out-of-the-blue compliment about which the student didn’t even know you noticed can be especially impactful.

7. Make it on potential.

Praise based on untapped ability can provide a much-needed kick in the shorts. When you know a student can perform better than he is showing, give it to him straight. “As smart as you are, you should be getting A’s on your math tests.” Coming from a trusted source like an admired teacher, he’ll believe it—and be changed by it.

8. Make it joyous.

Yes, there are times that call for joyous, enthusiastic celebration. But the key here is that it’s genuine and that it fits the situation. These spontaneous moments are also best shared with a group of students or, better yet, your entire class.

Not Without Praise

Just as important as it is to eschew false praise, it’s equally important not to let a good work pass without your acknowledgement. Worthy praise is the answer to motivating individual students and getting them to move in the direction you want.

But you can’t withhold it.

If you witness them stepping beyond what are common expectations and into the realm of true accomplishment, don’t let them hang there on the vine unnoticed, where the fruit of excellence withers and dies.

Let them know you noticed. Give them your authentic, intrinsically targeted approval. You’ll be amazed at what they’re capable of.

More than you ever dreamed.

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