You don’t always have to make big, dramatic changes to see classroom management improvement.

Sometimes it can be a slight adjustment.

A small change in the way you do things, in how you speak, move, or relate to students, can make a big difference.

Your voice is a good example.

Most teachers talk too loud. They turn up the volume because they believe that the louder they are the better their students will listen.

But it isn’t true.

Students tune out teachers who bark commands and instructions. To them it sounds like nagging or threatening or that their teacher doesn’t think they’re bright enough to follow along otherwise.

This is why students often grudgingly follow directions or ignore them altogether.

To encourage good listening, and a desire to follow directions, a soft-spoken approach is in order.

Here’s why:

Your students will become still.

When you lower your voice, your students will intuitively stop moving so they can hear you. They’ll stop fidgeting, tapping, and rustling. They’ll stop whispering and twisting in their seats. They’ll stop crumbling paper.

They’ll stop all the annoying behaviors that frustrate you, interrupt your train of thought, and cause you to repeat yourself.

Your students will lean in and look at you.

It’s best to speak just soft enough that the students in the back of the room have to strain ever so slightly to hear you. This way, when you speak, your students will lean in and watch you as you form the words.

Looking at you helps them understand what is being said. It helps them focus on you and your message. When you speak loudly, on the other hand, they’re encouraged to look away, move around, and busy themselves with other things.

Your students will want to listen.

When you speak pleasantly and calmly while giving directions, the information goes down a lot smoother. And because it sounds polite, because it sounds like you believe in your students and their ability to listen, you can ask so much more of them.

Like all of us, students appreciate being spoken to with respect. They like being trusted with the information you give them, and not hammered over the head with it. Thus, they’ll return the favor by doing what you ask.

Your students will be calmer.

Speaking softly has a calming effect on students. Just by opening your mouth you’ll be able to release classroom excitability and nervous tension—which is most often caused by loud, stressed-out, and fast-moving teachers.

A calm, polite voice sends the message that you’re in control of the class and that you know exactly what you’re doing. This is a comforting, even soothing, notion to students. And it frees them to concentrate on their learning.

Your students will take up your cue.

In many ways a class takes on the personality of their teacher, and if you shout your directions and talk over your students, you’ll have a noisy, chaotic classroom.

What you do is more influential than what you say. So when you quiet your voice and speak politely to your students, they’ll do the same. They’ll use gentler voices and be more respectful when they speak to you, as well as each other.

Tell Them What You Want

Passion and enthusiasm are important to good teaching. So when you’re presenting a lesson, motivating your troops, or playing a game with your students, let the moment dictate the volume and intensity of your voice.

Cut loose and be the inspirational teacher you were meant to be.

But when you’re giving directions, handling behavior issues, and otherwise attending to the day-to-day operations of your class, it’s best to dial it down.

Stand in one place, look your students in the eye, and speak to them in a soft voice.

Tell them exactly what you want.

And they’ll give it to you.

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

Your new students will likely be on their best behavior for the first few days of school. But by the second week, you and your classroom management plan will be tested.

After all, your students don’t really know you.

Maybe you’ll be like the pushover teacher they had last year. Maybe you’ll be inconsistent or easy to fluster. Maybe you won’t really mean what you say.

Maybe some of your students have never had firm boundaries. Maybe they’ve never known an adult they could look up to and count on. Maybe they’ve never had a teacher they liked or even trusted.

And because you haven’t spent enough time with your students to earn their confidence, you’re going to be tested.

But when it happens, when Anthony says something crude to try to shock you, when Karla talks back and disrespects you, when your students interrupt you, ignore you, and misbehave three feet in front of you…

You’ll be ready.

Here’s what to do:

Pause.

Your first reaction to misbehavior should be no reaction. Don’t rush over and put a stop to it. Don’t call out and try to interrupt it. Just wait, observe, and let it play out. There is no reason to be in a hurry. Take a 20-second pause, letting the incident hang there a moment before responding.

Hide your disappointment.

Never show hurt over misbehavior or disrespect. Never show disappointment if your class isn’t the perfect group you hoped for. Never show your students they can get under your skin or raise your ire. Instead, keep your cool—and send the message that you’re in complete control.

Lose the battle.

If a student is directing his (or her) misbehavior toward you, disrespects you, or talks back to you, be willing to take it. Resist the urge to lecture, scold, or put the student in his place. You have to be willing to lose the battle, so to speak, in order to win the war over the hearts and minds of your students.

Follow through.

Do as you promised and follow through with your classroom management plan. Look the misbehaving student in the eye and say simply, “You have a warning (or time-out) because you broke rule number three: Respect your teacher and your classmates.”

Move on immediately.

Turn your attention away from the student and continue on with what you were doing. Leave to him the responsibility to get back to work or walk to time-out. Send the message that misbehavior is never more than a blip in your day, barely registering on your emotional meter.

Don’t take it personally.

Misbehavior in the beginning of the school year is about your students and their experiences with teachers and adults in the past. It’s not about you. So don’t take it personally. Never take it personally. If you do, you’ll do more harm to your classroom, and your desire for peaceful and joyful learning, than your students ever could.

Build rapport.

Your classroom management plan is designed to hold misbehaving students accountable. So lean on it. Let your plan do its job. Concentrate instead on building behavior-influencing relationships. Enjoy your new students and their unique personalities. Have fun with them. Create a learning experience they love being a part of.

Handle it yourself.

Whenever students test you, remain steadfast. Cling to your integrity. Calmly enforce a consequence without getting sucked into arguments, lectures, or drama. And don’t send your students to the office to let someone else handle it. To be viewed as a leader worth following, you must be the one your students answer to.

It Isn’t Just Your Dream

Many teachers dig themselves into a hole the first few weeks of school because they overreact to being tested.

They take misbehavior personally. They begin reasoning with students. They threaten, scold, and raise their voice. They dole out false praise and unworthy rewards. They fall into the same quicksand of ineffective strategies so many others blindly tumble into.

We talk a lot on this website about creating a classroom you have always wanted, your dream class. But the other side of the coin is that in doing so, in following the advice on this website, you’ll also be creating a dream class for your students.

The guidelines above are a good first step, leading you down a lightly trodden but sure-footed path of respect, admiration, and influence—well on your way to becoming the teacher your students have always wanted…

The one they’ve been waiting for their entire short lives.

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

Questions are the lifeblood of learning; they mustn’t be discouraged.

But yet, if left unchecked and unopposed, they can throw you far off topic, cause boredom and restlessness, and slow learning to a crawl.

Though more art than science, it’s possible to trim the unnecessary and encourage the kind of smart, relevant questions that will keep your lessons moving at a brisk and bright-eyed pace.

What follows is a list of guidelines to help you do just that.

You control when.

The most important key to managing questions is to tightly control when they may be asked. If you allow an all-day question free-for-all, which is surprisingly common, your progress through the curriculum will be a frustrating plod.

You control what.

Second in importance is controlling what questions can be asked. For your teaching to be both efficient and effective, you must define for your students what topic(s) are on the table and open for questions.

Allow questions in segments.

It’s best to allow for questions only during specified segments throughout the day. So at any given moment the floor will either be open to questions or it won’t. By segmenting these moments, the quality and focus of the questions asked by students will be noticeably better.

Allow many segments.

Whenever you begin a new lesson or a new topic of discussion, allow a time segment for questions. For students this means that although they may not be able to ask a question anytime, there will always be a moment just around the corner when they can.

Define the segment.

Open the floor for questions by defining the topic. Say simply, “Does anyone have questions about geometry?” If a student asks a question off topic, respond directly: “Sorry, we’re only asking questions about geometry.”

Don’t take questions during instruction.

Always wait until you’ve finished giving instructions before taking questions. I know this seems obvious, but it’s smart to make it a policy—just to be sure. This alone saves loads of time, improves the quality of the questions you get, and encourages students to listen more attentively.

Allow time for any question.

Allow time during the day for students to ask you anything. Two or three times a day is usually sufficient. Say, “Now is a good time to ask me anything about anything.” By getting these questions out of the way, you, and they, can focus on academics.

Provide post-its.

It’s a good idea to have post-its or small squares of scratch paper available for students to write down their questions if they wish. This way, they can get them down on paper and forget about them until you’re ready to take questions.

Don’t answer what has already been asked.

Never answer a repeated question. It encourages students to tune you out. Instead, ask the student to check with a neighbor as soon as independent work begins.

Don’t answer call-outs, hand waves, or students out of their seat.

Call on students who are sitting with their hand raised in the manner in which you modeled. Don’t respond to those who approach you, wave at you, or call out to you. Instead, enforce a consequence.

The Right Balance

It’s important your students feel encouraged and motivated to ask questions and participate in their learning. But at the same time you’ve got to keep the pace of your classroom crisp and moving forward.

Sacrificing one for the other will leave your students lost, unhappy, and prone to misbehavior.

Using question segments is the key to finding the right balance.

Over time, and using the guidelines above, you’ll get a feel for when and how often you should use them throughout the day.

And when you do, when you find the perfect mix for your classroom, you and your students will zip through the curriculum faster than you ever dreamed possible.

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

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

How dare him, the little bugger.

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s why:

1. It’s stressful.

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

2. It replaces real accountability.

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

3. It sabotages real accountability.

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

4. It tempts students into argument.

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

5. It causes resentment.

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

6. It’s time-consuming.

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

7. Actions speak louder.

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

Speak Less, Act More

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

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

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

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

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

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

One of the keys to effective classroom management is to build relationships with students. Making personal connections–through humor, kindness, likeability, and more–is a powerful way to influence behavior.

It can also be astonishingly rewarding.

The give-and-take with students, the trusting rapport, the shared affection–these are the things that make teaching more than just a job.

But there is a danger in building relationships with students. There is a line that can never be crossed. If you try to connect with students on their level–in a peer-to-peer-like friendship–then your efforts to influence their behavior will backfire.

And you’ll struggle with classroom management.

Here’s why:

They won’t respect you.

Your students need someone to look up to, not a buddy to hang out with. You’re not a peer and therefore should never behave like one. When you use slang or try to be cool or become overly familiar, they’ll lose respect for you. Your influence comes from your position as their teacher, not their friend.

They’ll stop listening to you.

Becoming too informal or casual in your interactions with students will weaken the power of your words. The urgency for your students to listen and learn will wane as the year rolls on and more of them begin wearing a too-cool-for-school attitude.

They’ll challenge you.

As soon as students get a whiff of your “cool teacher” vibe, they’ll start challenging and testing you. And you’ll likely find yourself in a showdown with a few or more students bent on wresting control of the classroom from you.

Rules will no longer apply.

Your students will react to your buddy-buddy management style by routinely and nonchalantly breaking your rules. They’ll stand and approach you in the middle of a lesson. They’ll stop raising their hand. They’ll assume, since you are friends, that the rules don’t really apply to them.

Consequences are taken personally.

Your students will start reacting to being placed in time-out by blaming you. They’ll become hurt and angry with you for merely doing what you said you would. Some may even pout, have a mini temper tantrum, or refuse to talk to you.

Accountability no longer works.

Accountability only works when students acknowledge internally that they indeed made a mistake. But if, when sitting in time-out, they’re mad at you because they feel you betrayed them by putting them there, then there is no accountability and no motivation to improve their behavior.

You become lax in following your classroom management plan.

Because your students tend to act dramatically when given a consequence, you will naturally begin to shy away from following your classroom management plan. You’ll tiptoe around them. So instead of you having leverage to influence their behavior, they now have leverage with you.

Tips For Building Influence

Building influential relationships with students without confusing them about who you are and what your role is isn’t difficult. Follow the tips below, and you’ll be the teacher they need instead of the friend who disappoints them.

• Be a teacher, mentor, and role model, but never a friend.

• Maintain a polite but warm level of professional distance.

• Engage in the same friendly banter with all students.

• Don’t use slang or terms popular with them.

• Model politeness and expect it in return.

• Follow your classroom management plan as it’s written.

• Focus less on individual relationships and more on creating a classroom your students love coming to every day.

Influence that is powerful enough to get your students to want to behave and want to learn is not born of peer-like friendship, casualness, or laid-back coolness.

It is born of likeability and respect.

If your students like you because you’re friendly and good-humored, and they respect you because you always do what you say you’re going to do…

Then influence grows naturally.

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

If you’re like most teachers, two or three students take up most of your time.

On the days when they’re absent, or pulled from your class, everything goes smoothly. Teaching is more fun. You’re more relaxed. And you can cruise through your lessons without interruption.

Hooray!

But when they’re sitting in class, which seems like all the time, they can make you want to pull your hair out.

Unfortunately, the frustrations you feel dealing with difficult students can cause you to make mistakes.

The following is a list of 7 rules–all don’ts–that will help you avoid the most common pitfalls, and turn your most difficult students into valued members of your classroom.

Rule #1: Don’t question.

It’s normal for teachers to force explanations from difficult students as a form of accountability. But asking why and demanding a response from them almost always ends in resentment. And angry students who dislike their teacher never improve their classroom behavior.

Rule #2: Don’t argue.

When you argue with difficult students, it puts them on equal footing with you, creating a “your word against theirs” situation. This negates the effects of accountability. It also opens the floodgates: everybody will be arguing with you.

Rule #3: Don’t lecture, scold, or yell.

Lecturing, scolding, and yelling will cause all students to dislike you, but when you direct your diatribe toward one particular student, it can be especially damaging. Creating friction between you and your most challenging students virtually guarantees that their behavior will worsen.

Rule #4: Don’t give false praise.

Teachers often shower difficult students with praise for doing what is minimally expected. But because these students can look around at their fellow classmates and know that it’s a sham, false praise doesn’t work. Instead, give only meaningful, heartfelt praise based on true accomplishment.

Rule #5: Don’t hold a grudge.

“Every day is a new day” should be your mantra with difficult students. They need to know that they have a clean slate to start each day–and so do you. To that end, say hello, smile, and let them know you’re happy to see them first thing every morning.

Rule #6: Don’t lose your cool.

When you let students get under your skin and you lose emotional control, even if it’s just a sigh and an eye roll, you become less effective. Your likeability drops. Classroom tension rises. And when difficult students discover they can push your buttons, they’ll try as often as they can.

Rule #7: Don’t ignore misbehavior.

Given that there is an audience of other students, ignoring misbehavior will not make it go away. It will only make it worse. Instead, follow your classroom management plan as it’s written. If a difficult student breaks a rule, no matter how trivial, enforce it immediately.

It’s About Relationships

What if the two or three (or more) difficult students in your classroom admired you? What if they looked up to you, respected you, trusted you, and liked being in your company?

What if they embraced whatever you had to say to them?

Your success in helping them change their behavior would go through the roof, and you’d have peace in your classroom. The fact is, everything hinges on your ability to build relationships with your students.

Your classroom management plan merely nudges them in the right direction. Done correctly, it gets students to look inward, to self-evaluate, and to feel the weight of their transgressions. But by itself, it can only do so much.

It’s your relationship with your students that makes the greatest difference.

When you build trusting rapport with them, which anyone can do, you then possess a tidal wave of influence that can change their behavior, improve their academic performance, and profoundly impact their lives.

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

Many teachers make the mistake of trying to talk their students through each moment of the school day.

The idea being that if a teacher provides continual guidance–through reminding, cajoling, and micromanaging–then he or she will be more effective.

It makes sense.

But it doesn’t work. Too much talking has the opposite effect. It makes classroom management more difficult.

Here’s why:

• It causes students to tune you out.

• It lessens the meaning and impact of your words.

• It communicates to students that you don’t trust them.

• It causes tension, distraction, and rebelliousness.

Being more selective about how often you address your students, on the other hand, makes classroom management easier.

Here’s why:

• It improves listening and attentiveness.

• It gives your words power and meaning.

• It helps you build trusting rapport with students.

• It brings peace and calm to your classroom.

How To Talk Less

The following tips will help you limit the amount of talking you do.

Lean on your classroom management plan.

When you let your classroom management plan do your talking for you, you can eliminate lecturing, pleading, yelling, scolding, arguing, and the like from your school day. This liberating experience improves classroom management almost immediately.

Teach procedures thoroughly.

Your students should know exactly what to do during every minute of the school day–with only modest direction from you. Well-taught procedures allow you and your class to transition and move through the day like a well-oiled machine.

Don’t repeat yourself.

Many teachers repeat everything they say–sometimes three and four times. When you repeat yourself, you weaken your words and encourage students to ignore you. And why shouldn’t they? They know you’ll always give the same direction again…and again…and again.

Speak only when you need to.

Never feel like you have to fill up every minute of the day with your support and guidance. If your students are giving you what you want, then leave them alone. This is one of the keys to developing a mature, independent classroom.

Practice brevity (and say more with less).

The more efficient and direct you can be with your words, the more effective your teaching will be. “Take out your math books” is infinitely more powerful than, “Okay, boys and girls, it’s almost ten o’clock, which means that it’s math time and…”

Observe more.

It’s unnatural for many teachers to take a step back and just observe. But the more you do, the better teacher you’ll be. When you hover and offer unsolicited opinions and reminders your students don’t need, you create greater and greater dependency on you. Furthermore, the more you observe, the less your students will misbehave.

Get to know your students.

By limiting the amount of talking you do, you’ll have more time to get to know your students. And when your relationship becomes more than simply what you need from them, then you can develop the kind of mutual admiration, rapport, and influence that changes behavior.

A Challenge

Talking less doesn’t mean that you’re going to withhold help or support when your students really need it. It doesn’t mean you’ll be aloof or standoffish. It doesn’t mean you’ll ignore them.

It just means that you’re going to be more thoughtful about when and how you speak.

This is a simple but powerful strategy that will have a profound effect on how your students respond to you.

My challenge is to use the suggestions above to try cutting your talking by a third. If you do, you’ll find yourself speaking with more power and impact.

And classroom management will be a lot easier.

Thanks for reading.

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

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
~Thomas Jefferson

Have you ever taught a lesson in another teacher’s classroom?

In other words, have you ever taught students whose classroom behaviors, attitudes, and habits have been shaped by someone other than yourself?

It’s an odd and enlightening experience.

Sometimes, if the teacher is good, it can be very pleasant. Other times… not so much. It’s hard to overcome weeks and months of poor teaching in a 30-minute lesson.

The difference between a classroom taught by an effective teacher and one taught by someone struggling with classroom management is striking.

You know within five minutes how much–or how little–learning is taking place.

There is a lot that stands out in your mind while teaching students from both ends of the classroom management spectrum. But one thing is indisputable. In classrooms with poor classroom management, the students believe they are, to some degree, in charge.

When a teacher leaves a leadership vacuum of any kind, and to any degree, the students will fill it with a vengeance.

So how do you know if this is happening to you? How can you tell if you’ve ceded leadership control to your students?

There are three telltale signs:

1. Your students will offer frequent suggestions.

Your students may not yet be able to write a coherent paragraph, read at grade level, or tie their shoes, but if they’re unsure about who the ultimate authority in the classroom is, they’ll tell you how you should do your job.

They’ll give frequent suggestions and reminders. They’ll advise you on how they think you should do this and do that. They’ll tell you that Tim is still in time-out, recess is starting soon, and, oh yeah, you forgot to teach vocabulary this morning.

In other words, they’ll be more interested in your responsibilities than their own.

2. Your students will be bold and disrespectful.

Without raising their hand, or having an understanding of the facts like you do, they will brazenly tell you that you’re wrong. They will lie to you when you both know the truth. They will approach you whenever they feel like it, interrupt you, and speak to you like they would a younger brother.

They’ll look you in the eye after an act of misbehavior and dare you to do something about it.

3. Your students will have a blasé attitude.

They’ll sit with a slouch. They’ll groan. They’ll take their sweet time. They’ll roll their eyes. They’ll chew gum in front of you. And if you have the audacity to correct them or give them a warning, you’re likely to hear a dramatic, “Oh my gosh! What did I dooooo?”

Absent of strong leadership, there is no sense of urgency in students, no bright-eyed enthusiasm, and little work ethic. They’ll appear jaded, bored, disinterested, and way too cool for you.

What To Do About It

Some teachers respond by trying to be buddies with students, with trying to be more like a facilitator than the teacher they desperately need. The fact is, when a teacher reveals him or herself as less than the ultimate authority in the classroom, the students will exploit it for all it’s worth.

The solution is to establish yourself as the clear leader of the classroom. Few teachers ever really do this, and because of it, their students walk all over them.

So how do you do it? How do you communicate to your students that you are unquestionably in charge of the classroom?

You tell them. And then you tell them again whenever they need to hear it.

You stand to your full height, look them in the eye, and give it to them straight. Say something like:

I’m your teacher and I’m in charge of this classroom. That’s my job. That means I make the decisions. I decide how you behave, what we learn, how we learn, and when we do the things we do. You don’t. Your job is to sit up straight, follow directions, and be the best student you can be. And that’s it.

If there is anyone who doesn’t understand this, anyone who is unsure about what your job is and who is in charge, then I want to see you at recess. Otherwise, show me right now, for the rest of the day, and for the rest of the year, that you understand.

These aren’t just words you recite. They must be part of who you are—your conviction, your principles, and your passion for leading students. They must also be backed by a classroom management plan you’re committed to following.

Deep down our students don’t want to slouch or goof off or tell us how to do our jobs. They do it because they’re uninspired. They do it because they have no one to look up to, no respected leader in the classroom to follow, and no reason to buckle down and focus on their sole purpose for being in your classroom:

To learn.

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

It is said that classroom management comes easy to a lucky few.

That some teachers are naturals.

They walk into a classroom and somehow, mysteriously, the students just know to be at their best.

But here’s the thing.

If you peek beneath the surface of these “naturals,” if you take a close look at how they interact with students, you’ll discover no mystery at all.

The same qualities that make classroom management look effortless for them… are available to you.

You too can be a natural. Just follow their lead.

Here’s how:

Be calm.

Teachers who radiate a sense of calm have an almost otherworldly effect on students. By their very presence they’re able to settle excitability, erase silliness and immaturity, and focus students on what matters.

Be friendly.

Natural teachers have a genuine, friendly attitude toward students. There is no false praise, ginned-up enthusiasm, or forced camaraderie. They’re real, honest, and openly friendly–which gives them powerful, behavior-influencing leverage.

Be determined.

Natural teachers have a bit of bulldog in them. An attitude that says: I’m in charge, you’re going to be well behaved, and we’re going to have a classroom we love coming to every day. And that’s just the way it’s going to be.

Be aware.

Naturals in classroom management are sharp, perceptive, and acutely aware of everything that happens in their classroom. They observe a lot. They absorb a lot. And they’re always three steps ahead of their students.

Be fun.

Teachers who are open to humor, to laughter, and to seeing the fun and funny in their students are able to build strong rapport, camaraderie, and love for the class. All of which translate to better behavior.

Be confident.

Teachers who carry themselves with confidence, despite not always feeling it, send the unmistakable message that they are in charge. In this day and age, many students only respect, listen to, and respond favorably to clear, confident leaders.

Be forgiving.

Teachers with a forgiving nature are afforded greater influence. Every day is a new day in their eyes. No grudges are held. And behavior isn’t taken as a personal affront. Students are given a fresh start every day, which is a powerful reminder that their teacher believes in them.

Be polite.

Teachers who are noticeably and consistently polite enjoy a vast difference in the way students speak to them—as well as how their students treat each other. In polite classrooms, misbehavior is exposed for what it is: rude, absurdly out of place, and unappealing.

Be unflappable.

Showing frustration, yelling, or reacting emotionally to misbehavior undermines effective classroom management. Teachers who keep their cool regardless of what’s going on around them are deeply respected by students–who in turn repay them with respectful behavior.

Be dependable.

Natural teachers build trust by being the same steady teacher today as they were yesterday. Students know they can depend on them to be reliable in behavior, word, and action. Moodiness, after all, destroys trust and will cause a classroom to spiral into unruliness.

Be charismatic.

Charisma is the sum total of the qualities above. For many discouraged teachers, particularly those focused on external rewards and stiffer consequences, it is the missing piece. It is what gives a natural teacher the personal magnetism that inspires students to want to please them and behave better for them.

What Are You Waiting For?

None of the qualities above are especially difficult or unattainable. They don’t take extra planning or loads of time. No psychotherapy is needed.

It isn’t rocket science.

Becoming a “natural” in classroom management is like any other goal. It takes desire. It takes purposeful thought. It takes making a choice to pursue what you really want, and then putting your head down and doing it.

I recommend printing the list and reading through it before your students arrive in the morning. Allow yourself a few minutes alone at your desk. Take three or four deep breaths. And meditate on each quality.

Do it every day.

And soon, they’ll be calling you a natural too.

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

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

Do your students seem unfazed by your accountability measures?

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s how:

Don’t discuss why.

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

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

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

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

Don’t cause resentment.

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

Let your stated consequence be the only consequence.

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

And more inclined than ever to misbehave.

Don’t sympathize.

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

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

Doing so is akin to giving up on them.

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

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

Let Them Stew

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

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

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

Let remorse seep in.

Let them stew in their own juices.

Let accountability work.

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