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.

There are times when you just want to give a student a piece of your mind, when your sense of justice causes a welling up of fiery indignation.

Your eyes narrow. Your heart beats faster. Steam billows from your ears.

You lock in on the little bugger who decided to brazenly interrupt the lesson you spent an hour preparing.

He looks back at you amused, without a care in the world, daring you to lose your cool. But just as you begin opening your mouth to let fly your frustrations… you stop yourself.

And you think of this article.

You’re reminded of all the benefits you and your students will miss out on, and the stress and heartache you’ll bring upon yourself, if you let your emotions get the best of you.

What follows are ten amazing benefits of following your classroom management plan. They’re sure to help you make the right choice the next time a student wakes up the sleeping giant within.

1. Fairness

Most of your class will privately cheer when you hold misbehaving students accountable. They’ll appreciate you for it. So much so, they’ll let you know in whispers, cards, and notes they’ll squeeze into your hands or sneak onto your desk. Following your plan satisfies their inherent sense of fairness and creates an environment that allows them to enjoy school.

2. Likeability

Because there is no need to rely on confrontational methods like glaring, lecturing, or scolding, your likeability will improve exponentially. And when students like you, they’ll want to get to know you better—which then makes building influential relationships an easygoing, organic process.

3. Peace

Your students will be calmer and more comfortable in their surroundings knowing they can go about their day without the nervous stress of interruptions, drama, and tension. Fair and firm accountability brings peace to your classroom quicker and more effectively than anything else.

4. Trust

When you’re true to your word, your trust with students will grow stronger every day. Going back on your word by ignoring your plan, however, either by taking matters into your own hands or by doing nothing at all, will cause your students to question your intentions and grow evermore distrustful of you.

5. Kindness

As a result of following your classroom management plan, you’ll no longer be tempted into angry confrontation or cutting sarcasm. This frees you to model kindness without being viewed as a hypocrite. Students will only follow your example if your words line up with your actions. They can spot a phony a mile away.

6. Respect

Students don’t respect teachers with poor classroom management or weak integrity. How could they? The room is chaotic. School is no fun. Their teacher is grouchy and noncommittal. And the students who cause trouble often get away with it. Following your plan is a guaranteed path to respect.

7. Concentration

With the elimination of noise, chatter, and interruptions comes better concentration and faster academic progress. Students in classrooms with strong classroom management are able to focus on their schoolwork without the ever-present possibility of yet another disruption.

8. Time On Task

Academic progress is largely a function of quality time spent on task and engaged in learning. In classrooms where classroom management is the top priority, where students are held accountable for every act of misbehavior, students enjoy weeks more in learning time.

9. Fair Accountability

When you follow your plan, you can be sure you’re holding students accountable in a way that is fair to everyone. Uncertainty is thrown out the door. You can know that you’re upholding the highest ethics while managing your classroom—without guilt or second thoughts.

10. Parents On Your Side

Parents appreciate the fairness of rules and consequences. A clearly defined classroom management plan makes sense to them. They’re reassured knowing that their child will be safe to learn and develop without the interference of other students. Further, should their child become a behavior problem, they know when and how they’ll be contacted.

A Smart Choice

Following your classroom management plan is a smart choice. The alternatives are always less effective, always more complex and stressful, and always give you less influence with students.

Yes, there is more to effective classroom management than simply following your classroom management plan, much more. But it starts with your plan. It is the foundation from which all other strategies and methods work.

So make no compromise. Allow yourself no escape hatch. Embrace the simplicity of knowing exactly what to do every time a student misbehaves or interrupts your classroom.

And let the giant sleep.

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

Of all the responsibilities you have on the first day of school, teaching your classroom management plan is número uno in importance. After all, your success as a teacher hinges on your ability to manage your classroom.

That’s just the way it is.

Teachers who are nonchalant about classroom management, or who see it as a nuisance, won’t be nearly as effective as those who place it at the top of their list.

To put it more plainly, experts in classroom management are better teachers—hands down. They’re also happier, more confident, and have healthier relationships with students.

So right out of the gate, after a few opening remarks, you’ll do well to dive right in and show your new class exactly what is expected of them…by teaching your classroom management plan in a way they’ll never forget.

Here’s how:

Be Clear

Bring your classroom management plan into high-def focus for your students, making it clear and comprehensible—because ambiguity and confusion are the enemies of effective classroom management. Leave no doubt as to what constitutes following and breaking your rules by shining a light on even the most nuanced misbehavior.

Be Passionate

It’s rarely subject matter that motivates students. It’s the teacher and the passion she brings to the lesson. Given its importance, teaching classroom management is the time to let it out. Allow your students to see the real you, the one determined to create a classroom experience beyond the norm, the mundane, and the colorless—while reaching toward the extraordinary.

Be Dynamic

Teaching classroom management is a physical experience. To make it real for your students, to make it unforgettable, you must dramatize, model, and perform your way through your plan, vividly showing them what both following rules and breaking them looks and feels like. Walk them through each progressive step a misbehaving student would take.

Be Contrarian

Use the how-not strategy to demonstrate the most common rule-breaking behaviors students engage in. Sit at a student’s desk and show them how not to get your attention, how not to ask a question, or how not to behave during lessons. They must see and experience what isn’t okay in order to fully understand what is.

Be Interactive

Involve your students physically in teaching your plan. Let them role-play scenarios. Allow them be the teacher while you play the part of a student. Gather them around you, encourage questions, let them take an active role. After all, they have more at stake and more to gain from quality classroom management than even you do.

Be Thorough

Surprises lead to confusion, resentment, and ultimately more misbehavior. Make sure there is no misunderstanding. Make sure your students know precisely where your boundary lines are. Otherwise, they’ll be forever uncomfortable, unsure of themselves, and unable to relax and enjoy the freedom within your boundaries.

Note: The idea of allowing freedom within boundaries is a critical element of exceptional classroom management (a trade secret). To read more, see the first chapter of Dream Class.

Be Skeptical

For review, ask your students to show you how to ask a question or how to get up to turn in work or how to attend during lessons. Make them prove they understand. Have them demonstrate what following rules does and doesn’t look like. If you like, depending on the grade level, you can even devise a written test.

How Often, How Long

One of the most common questions I get is how long should it take to teach your classroom management plan. An hour or so a day for the first week of school should be enough for initial learning.

After that you’ll want to review every day for the next three or four weeks. Sometimes this review will only take a few minutes—or as long as it takes to read aloud your plan.

Other days you may want to review entire sections in detail. After three or four weeks, if you’ve been thorough with your teaching, chances are you’ll revisit your plan only occasionally throughout the year. Once per week being a good rule of thumb.

Make It Important

Students are quick to buy into and follow whatever the teacher deems is important. And so when classroom management is shown to be a priority, even if it feels like a complete cultural shift from what they’re used to, your students will go right along in agreement.

They’ll be on board, supporting your desire to make your classroom a special place, bereft of bad attitudes, negativity, rudeness, disruption, and disrespect.

Every student, deep down, when shown the way, wants to do well. They all want to experience the feeling of being more than what they thought they could be. They all want a chance to be a part of something unique and meaningful and remarkable. We all do.

So on that first day, and throughout the first week, when you paint for your students a vigorous and vibrant picture of what a dream class looks like…

That’s exactly what you’ll get.

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

If you’re like most teachers, you stray from your classroom management plan.

Oh, your intentions are good. You really do want to follow it to the letter. But ultimately you don’t.

Situations keep getting in the way.

Like, for example, when one of your best students forgets to raise her hand, and you overlook it because you know she probably won’t make the same mistake again.

Or when frustration gets the best of you and you lecture a disrespectful student rather than sending him to time-out.

Or when you’re busy trying to get through a lesson, and it feels like too much trouble to stop and deal out a consequence.

Following your classroom management plan isn’t always easy.

But ignoring it is a gamble you’ll lose every time.

All Bets Are Off

One of the core principles of Smart Classroom Management is to never waver from your classroom management plan. You follow it no matter what–even when it’s inconvenient.

When you follow your plan, good things happen. Leverage, rapport, trust, and influence grow, and misbehavior shrinks.

Stray from your plan, however, and all bets are off. Here’s what can happen:

You will lose your students’ trust.

Once your students realize that you don’t always follow your classroom management plan, they’ll begin losing respect for you and trust in what you say. And if they can’t trust you, managing your classroom becomes more difficult.

You will cause resentment.

When you’re inconsistent, your students will think you’re playing favorites. “Why did I get a warning for calling out, but she didn’t?” is a common refrain. It’s also a valid point. Children have an acute sense of fairness, and they’ll resent you if you’re unfair.

You will be tested.

If you show a tendency to give in, to let things go, or to lose emotional control, then you’re going to be tested—more every day. And you’ll continue to be tested until you stand your ground and start following your plan.

You will hurt your best students.

When you don’t follow your classroom management plan, your best students are often the most negatively affected. They have to endure interruptions, distractions, and the plodding nature of the class until and unless you’re committed to enforcing your classroom rules.

You will lose your cool.

Teachers who forgo their plan find themselves needing to yell, scold, lecture, and the like in order to maintain control. One of the benefits of following a classroom management plan is that it replaces the need to ever use harmful methods.

You will encourage misbehavior.

When you let even small things go, like the occasional calling out, it opens the floodgates to more misbehavior. Before long you’ll have students standing in front of you yelling your name and demanding attention like chicks waiting to be fed.

You will have distracted students.

Side-talking. Pencil tapping. Eyes looking everywhere but at you. These are predictable behaviors in classrooms without every-single-time accountability.

Fix It Today

Nothing good comes from ignoring your classroom management plan. Students don’t benefit, behavior doesn’t get better, and your class doesn’t miraculously become more focused.

Things only get worse.

But you can fix it today. Decide to follow your plan no matter what. Decide to stop rolling the dice and start staying true to your word.

It may be difficult at first. Your students will wonder what got into you. They’ll be skeptical. They’ll test you more than normal. But then slowly, everything will get better.

And better.

And better.

You can bet on it.

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

It’s easy to stick with your classroom management plan the first few weeks of the school year.

You’re eager to make a fresh start, and your students are on their best behavior.

By week three, you’re cruising.

But then… slowly, imperceptively things start becoming routine, more day-to-day, and you become a wee bit complacent.

A little voice in the back of your head tells you that you don’t need to be such a stickler. Things are going well, so why not back off some? After all, being inflexible doesn’t suit your personality.

But as your students are becoming more familiar with you and their surroundings, school starts to feel routine for them too.

And they become restless.

Then, subtly at first, they start pushing back. They start testing you.

The Perfect Storm

You know where I’m going with this.

When your ever-so-slight complacency runs headlong into your students’s restlessness, it creates the perfect storm, one that builds slowly and ominously just out of your awareness.

Before you know it, it’s upon you.

Behavior, motivation, and respect take a nosedive. In an instant you go from calm and pleasant, to stressed and snapping at students.

And at the end of a long day you didn’t see coming, you slouch into your desk chair exhausted and wonder where it all went wrong.

Such is the fate of those who abandon even part of their classroom management plan.

Never Waver

Here are seven more reasons why you must never, ever waver from your plan:

1. Parents

A classroom management plan is an insurance policy against parent complaints; it’s fair to all students. If you don’t follow it, then managing your classroom in a way that’s fair—and proving that it’s fair—becomes nearly impossible, opening yourself up to complaints that are difficult to defend against.

2. Respect

For every time you fail to enforce a consequence (i.e., not doing what you said you’d do), you lose a layer of respect from your students. And if your students don’t respect you, you will struggle with classroom management.

3. Stress

When you don’t follow your plan, you’re left with using your voice and your wits—persuasion, intimidation, manipulation—to curb unwanted behavior. Besides being ineffective in the long run, both are pull-your-hair-out stressful.

4. Resentment

Teachers who disregard their classroom management plan are the same teachers who find themselves being ‘that’ teacher—the one they never pictured themselves being: stone-faced, angry, sarcastic. Being this way in an attempt to gain control will virtually guarantee that students will resent you and have every incentive to make your life difficult.

6. Chaos

This one is easy. Your classroom will fall into chaos and disorder without a willingness to stick with the plan you agreed to on the first day of school year. It’s a predictable and inevitable result, one many teachers don’t see coming until it’s too late.

7. Effectiveness

I’ve never known an effective teacher who didn’t have a commitment to following, defending, and enforcing clearly defined boundary lines of behavior. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to be the teacher you want to be without a determination to follow your plan at all (ethical) costs.

Leave The Dirty Work To Your Plan

Teachers struggle mightily with classroom management when they abandon following their classroom management plan exactly as it’s written.

They fall into the trap of reacting emotionally to misbehavior—which makes behavior worse—instead of letting their plan do the dirty work for them.

You owe it to your students, their parents, and to your own sanity to make a commitment to stick with your plan regardless of who breaks a rule or when that rule is broken.

No matter how inconvenient it may seem at the time or how well things seem to be going, no matter how badly you’d like to tell that one student what you’re really thinking or how much you like and respect that other one, when a classroom rule is broken, calmly and assertively do what you said you would do…

And enforce it.

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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 his book, Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys To Creativity, Hugh MacLeod points out that Abraham Lincoln penned the Gettysburg Address on borrowed stationary.

Hemingway wrote with a simple fountain pen.

Van Gogh rarely used more than six colors on his palate.

And MacLeod, himself an artist, sketches cartoons on the back of business cards.

His point is that there is zero correlation between creative talent and the materials and equipment used.

The same can be said about an effective classroom management plan.

A simple set of rules and consequences hand-printed on ordinary poster board is all you need.

You see…

There is no magic in the plan itself. It has no power to influence behavior. Only you have the power to influence behavior by creating a classroom your students want to be part of and then strictly—obsessively—holding them accountable.

Therefore your plan doesn’t need to be elaborate, complex, or involved.

It just needs to be followed.

A Classroom Management Plan Is A Contract

A classroom management plan is a contract you make with your students that promises you will protect their right to learn and enjoy school without interference.

And once it’s presented to your class, you’re bound by this contract to follow it every minute of every day and without exception.

Otherwise, if you don’t, you’re breaking your word—and your students’ trust.

A classroom management plan has two, and only two, purposes:

1. To state the rules of the classroom.

2. To state exactly what will happen if those rules are broken.

That’s it.

Some will tell you that you need to include a system of rewards and incentives. But to really change behavior, to create the class you really want, you have to let go of this idea.

The “do this and get that” mentality is a short-term solution that may get you through the day, and thus is a good strategy for substitute teachers, but it won’t actually change behavior.

It won’t transform your students into the class you really want.

A Classroom Management Plan I Recommend

I recommend the following plan because the rules cover every behavior that could potentially interfere with the learning and enjoyment of your students, and the consequences, when carried out correctly, teach valuable life lessons.

It’s proven to work regardless of where you teach or who is in your classroom.

Rules:

1. Listen and follow directions.

2. Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your seat.

3. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

4. Respect your classmates and your teacher.

Consequences:

1^st time a rule is broken: Warning

2^nd time a rule is broken: Time-Out

3^rd time a rule is broken: Letter Home

Notes:

*For information on warnings and how they can be effective, see the articles Should A Warning Be Your First Consequence and How To Give A Warning That Improves Behavior.

*For information on time-out, see How To Get Students To Stay Seated And Quiet In Time-Out and 10 Ways To Make Time-Out More Effective.

*For information on sending a letter home, see the article Why A Letter Home Is An Effective Consequence.

A Small Role, But A High Priority

A common mistake teachers make is assuming that a classroom management plan is able to do more than its intended—and quite narrow—purpose (see above).

On its own, it provides little motivation for students to behave.

Its usefulness comes from how it’s implemented, enforced, and carried out, from how you communicate with your students, from how much leverage you have with them, and from how much they enjoy being part of your classroom.

Your classroom should be exciting and creative. Your classroom management plan, however, shouldn’t be.

Avoid cutesy and colorful designs. Even kindergarteners need to know that your classroom management plan and the rules by which it governs are sacred, serious.

Let it have a look worthy of its utilitarian purpose.

Two large pieces of poster board or construction paper—rules on one, consequences on the other—will do. Put them up on your wall, prominently, so everyone who enters your classroom will know that behaving in a manner that is most conducive to learning is a priority in your classroom.

Then honor the contract you made with your students by following it exactly as it’s written.

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

In How To Turn Around Difficult Students (Part 1), I made the case that teachers struggle with difficult students because their compassion overrides doing what is best for the student.

If you haven’t read the article, I encourage you to read it before continuing with this one.

In this week’s article, I’m going to going to show you how to turn a difficult student into just another contributing member of your classroom.

Let’s be clear. When I use the term difficult student, I’m referring to those students who exhibit frequent misbehavior, disrespect, and interruptions in learning… despite your commitment to follow through with a consequence for every rule violation.

This is key.

Most so-called difficult students need nothing more than a teacher with a solid classroom management plan and a thorough understanding of how to implement and enforce it.

Take a hard look at how you’re managing your classroom before trying anything else.

Have you taught your students—shown them—how you expect them to behave? Do you enforce a consequence every time a rule is broken? Are your procedures and transitions sharp and efficient? Are the rest of your students well behaved?

If you can answer yes to these questions and yet nothing seems to work with this one student…

I have a strategy that will work.

It’s neither complicated nor time consuming, but it does take a classroom management mindset and a willingness to set aside immediate feelings of compassion for the student in question.

Teachers who make decisions based on feeling sorry for students and their sometimes-awful circumstances can cause behavior to worsen. The most compassionate thing you can do for a difficult student is to hold him or her accountable.

But real accountability, the kind an unusually difficult student needs, isn’t for the weak-kneed.

Members Only Strategy

When a difficult student proves to be unfazed by your classroom management plan, it’s time to take accountability to the next level and use the members-only strategy.

Note: I recommend beginning this strategy on a Monday morning and after you’ve spoken with the student’s parents and your administrator. It’s important to let them know of your plans.

Here’s how it works:

Before your students arrive in the morning, move the difficult student’s desk to a location away from the rest of the students. It must be in a place where the student has a clear view of the front of the room or wherever you conduct your lessons.

No, this isn’t the strategy. I know teachers commonly move a child’s desk to keep them away from certain students or to keep them in close proximity.

This move is symbolic.

When your students enter your classroom, pull the student in question aside and inform her that she is no longer a member of your classroom.

Say, “Jennifer, because you’ve chosen not to follow rules, you can’t be a member of this class anymore. What that means is that you will still be required to do your normal schoolwork, but you’ll no longer be able to participate in any activities that involve the rest of the class.”

Anything and everything that is related to working with or enjoying you or her classmates is off limits. She must be kept apart—and feel apart—but with the same academic work as everyone else.

Sound harsh?

You don’t have a choice.

You can’t let any one student interfere with the rights of others to learn and enjoy school. And to really help her, to change the direction of her life, you must hold her to a standard of behavior required for success in school.

For the first week, leave Jennifer alone. No pep talks. No lectures. No profound words. Don’t tell her what to think or how to feel. Let her discover this on her own.

However, you must be pleasant toward her. She must see that you care about her and want her to succeed. Smiles and hellos are appropriate, but don’t overdue it. Resist verbal praise for now—even if you see improvement.

Soon, maybe within the first day or two, Jennifer will appear calmer, quieter, and more appreciative of you and her classmates. Wait until later in the week—Friday is best—before having a conversation with her.

If you see contrition in her eyes, her speech, and her body language, walk by her desk, lean down and say, “When you’re ready to be part of this class again, come see me.” And then walk away.

She must make an effort to come and talk to you. And she will. Soon.

Why?

Because it’s human nature.

We all want to feel like we are part of something. No student is immune from this desire. This is why the more camaraderie, rapport, and fun you can create in your classroom the better.

Don’t be afraid to ratchet up the joy and togetherness in your classroom while the difficult student is being kept apart. Take advantage of this desire we share to belong to something special and bigger than ourselves.

It’s a powerful force.

When Jennifer finally approaches you, listen to what she has to say. Let her do the talking. She has to prove to you she’s ready. Does she talk about her mistakes? Does she apologize? Does she discuss how she is going to handle herself in the future? Is she sincere?

If so, welcome her back. Tell her how happy you are. But under no circumstances are you to add a warning or lecture. Let your actions do the talking.

After your conversation, move her desk back and let her rejoin her classmates as a member in good standing.

And then get on with your year.

Next week (Part 3) is about your relationship with difficult students and how to communicate with them so that they’ll want to behave.

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

When a teacher seeks help in handling a difficult student, typically one of the first things recommended is a behavior contract.

Behavior contracts are popular because they give teachers a definite plan for improving behavior.

And where there is a plan, there is hope.

If you’re unfamiliar with how they work, behavior contracts are created collaboratively—usually the teacher, the student, and his or her parents. A principal or counselor may also sit in.

They consist of one or two agreed-upon goals and are supported by incentives and consequences that are tailored to the individual student.

At first glance, a behavior contract seems like a good idea: clear-cut goals, a student willing to try, parental support. And initially, behavior contracts do improve behavior—sometimes dramatically.

So what’s not to like?

Well… a lot.

Here’s why:

Behavior contracts label students

Anytime you treat difficult students differently than everyone else—by applying a different set of rules, incentives, and consequences—you’re communicating to them that they’re different, that they can’t control themselves like normal students and thus need special attention.

This doesn’t necessarily make them sad. In fact, they may appear quite thrilled with the stamp or sticker they earn for having a good day. This is why behavior initially improves.

But it undeniably lets them know, deep down inside, that they don’t measure up, that they’re not as “good” as everyone else. It becomes who they are, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And children will always behave congruent with whatever label they’re given.

We want to inspire our students to believe in themselves and in their ability to listen, learn, and follow the rules of the classroom. Behavior contracts do the opposite. They demoralize students and make them feel helpless to change the course of their academic life.

Breaking rules and causing trouble then becomes not merely something they choose to do—which can be fixed—but rather it becomes who they are—which can’t.

External rewards are short term

At first a student on a behavior contract will be excited about earning stickers or prizes from the teacher or extra video game privileges at home.

But soon his or her interest will wane.

It’s human nature. The novelty will where off and motivation will weaken. External rewards alone only work short term and do little to improve behavior over time.

There is nothing wrong with using a prize box, and passing out smiley pencils or cool stickers is fun. But if used as the primary means to motivate students to behave, these external rewards will fail every time.

Being a member of a classroom they love is the greatest incentive. This offers a teacher powerful leverage, even with the most challenging of students.

Follow through is a bear

It’s great to have support from parents, and I think it’s important to get them involved. But anytime you have to count on that support for classroom management success, you’ll be disappointed. Parents get busy, lose interest, and become complacent. They just do.

Emails and notes home to parents should merely inform; to let parents know what is happening at school. Communication with home should not be used in the hope that it will change behavior.

Transferring any responsibility for the behavior in your classroom to someone else—whether it be a parent, principal, or counselor—weakens your ability to do it yourself.

The power to control your classroom should remain solely with you.

So What Is The Alternative?

The alternative is to treat every student the same. Any and all unwanted behavior by students should fall under the rules and consequences of your classroom management plan.

A behavior contract is nothing more than a replacement for a classroom management plan that isn’t being followed. The difference is that a classroom management plan doesn’t label students or chip away at their self-confidence.

For more information on this topic, please check out the article One Classroom Management Strategy For Every Student.

Thanks for reading.

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

Receiving complaints from parents can be stressful and make you lose confidence in yourself, especially if they’re leaked to other parents or fellow teachers. Worse yet is when a parent goes over your head and complains to your principal.

The best way to handle parent complaints is to listen politely, and then take action. Fix their problem, allay their fears, and do whatever you need to do in order to restore their confidence in you and your program.

Teachers who bristle and become defensive when a parent questions their teaching practices are making a mistake. If they’re not careful, they’ll find themselves in a protracted battle they can never really win.

Your reputation in your school community is critical and is never worth tarnishing, regardless of how “right” you may feel. Parents want you to do well, and it’s best to treat them like valued customers.

Still, it never feels good to hear from a dissatisfied parent. The best strategy, then, is to never give them a reason to complain in the first place. What follows is a list of eight ways to eliminate parent complaints forever.

1. Send a parent information packet home the second week of school detailing your classroom management plan, homework policy, and restroom procedure. Most complaints come from these three. Make the information contained in your packet clear-cut and simple to read. The reading time should be no longer than ten minutes. Send it after a full week or more of teaching the information to your students.

2. Include a signature slip at the bottom of the last page of your packet. Ask in the cover letter that both the student and his or her parent(s) sign the slip. It should read, “We have read, understood, and discussed Room 22’s parent information packet.” Use a dotted line and clear instructions that the slip must be signed, detached, and sent back to school. The parent, then, keeps the packet for reference. Allow your students a few days to return the signed slips, and then file them in a safe place.

3. At back-to-school night, thoroughly review the parent information packet and allow a Q&A period to clear up any areas of confusion. Tell your parents exactly under what circumstances you will contact them. Many complaints start out with, “I didn’t know this about my daughter” or “Why didn’t you let me know my son did this?” No one likes to be surprised.

4. Send home progress reports once a month. Use a simple form, a half sheet of paper you fill out for each student. You can make it a checklist if you wish. Just give parents the facts. Include number of time-outs, homework misses, and any poor test grades. Only write comments if they’re needed. Progress reports take little time to fill out and are so worth the effort. Require the reports to be signed and returned within a couple of days. Then file them for future reference.

5. Be an open classroom. Invite parents to visit any time and have chairs set aside for visitors. Don’t worry, they won’t barge in. Few will take you up on your offer. It’s the thought that’s important. It shows you care and appreciate their involvement. It’s the teachers who prefer to teach behind closed doors who find themselves in the cross hairs of unhappy parents.

6. Don’t yell, use put downs, or sarcasm. Besides creating tension, these hurtful methods don’t work in the long run and virtually guarantee that you will, at some point, receive complaints. And these types of complaints are especially embarrassing and nearly impossible to answer. Instead, follow your classroom management plan to the letter.

7. Use a simple homework policy. Make sure it doesn’t require parents to do anything except supervise from a distance. Too many students take homework home they don’t fully understand, and parents are left to teach it to them. One of the keys to getting homework back each day is to assign only what students have proven they understand. Homework is between you and your students. Parents shouldn’t have to get involved.

8. Make sure your students enjoy being in your class. Happy students equal happy parents.

Follow these eight strategies and you will effectively complaint proof your classroom. I guarantee it. If you answer probable complaints proactively, you won’t get any.

Thanks for reading.

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