The purpose of a classroom management plan is to hold students accountable for misbehavior—without having to yell, scold, or lecture.

When used correctly, a classroom management plan eliminates the need to use these and other stressful, counterproductive methods.

It allows you to demand impeccable behavior without causing friction and resentment, which then frees you to build meaningful and influential relationships with your students.

To set up a classroom management plan, you must first devise a set of rules that cover every conceivable misbehavior or disruption that could crop up in your classroom.

I recommend the following four 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.

These rules work because they make sense to students, they’re fully enforceable, and they cover all the bases. Also, because of their refreshing lack of ambiguity, they discourage arguing, complaining, and finger pointing.

They are what they are. You either break them or you don’t.

Next you’ll need a set of consequences to give your rules the muscle they need to effectively manage and control your classroom—because without consequences, rules are merely suggestions, destined to fall on deaf ears.

The best consequences are those that don’t interrupt the flow of your classroom, that are quick and easy to carry out, and that strongly dissuade students from misbehaving.

I recommend the following three consequences:

• 1st consequence: warning
• 2nd consequence: time-out
• 3rd consequence: letter home

Print both your rules and consequences on large poster board and display them prominently in your classroom. You will refer to your classroom management plan often, and thus your students need to be able to see them wherever they’re seated.

Set aside a desk or two for the sole purpose of time-out. The desk doesn’t have to be stuck in a corner or far away from the rest of the class. It just must be separated to some degree.

It is the symbolic separation from the rest of the class, and the feelings it evokes, that makes time-out effective. It’s not a separation of humiliation or gloomy punishment. It’s one of reflection, of personal disappointment, and of hope in returning quickly to the class they like being part of.

Create a simple form letter to send home to parents when students reach the third and final consequence. Keep it short and to the point. Refrain from giving your opinion or adding an angry note at the bottom. Just give the facts.

The consequences are in play throughout one single day. When the students arrive for school the next day, lessons have been learned, no grudges are held, and everyone starts fresh—with another chance to succeed, to grow, to be better than the day before.

To make your classroom management plan effective, it must be followed faithfully and carried out in a certain way. This is key, because there is no magic in the plan itself. It’s just a set of guidelines scrawled on a piece of paper.

How you use it is what gives the plan its power.

From how to give a warning to how to send a letter home to parents, everything you need to know to follow through with your classroom management plan can be found on this website.

I recommend reading through the articles in the Rules & Consequences and Time-Out categories of the archive. Together, they explain how to carry out your plan in a way that motivates all students to follow your rules.

Using this simple plan, you’ll never again have to rely on complicated, frustrating, and demoralizing methods and strategies so many teachers find themselves roped into.

Just follow the plan. Build relationships with your students. And love your job.

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

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

Here we go.

The Purpose Of A Warning

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

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

A warning is another way of saying:

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

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

And this makes all the difference.

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

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

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

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

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

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

How To Give A Warning

There is only one way I recommend giving a warning:

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

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

First Variation:

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

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

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

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

Second Variation:

The other 25% goes like this:

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

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

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

Make Sure You Do This

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

Include everyone.

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

Back it up.

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

Use Enduring Classroom Management Strategies

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

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

The reason is simple.

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

And this kind of improvement is permanent.

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

Thanks so much for reading.

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

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

My answer is an emphatic yes.

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

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

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

Reminding

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

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

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

Glaring

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

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

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

Correcting

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

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

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

Giving A Simple Warning Is Easy

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

A warning works best as a first consequence because…

It’s easy to be consistent.

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

It’s not personal.

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

It builds trust.

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

It’s quick and easy.

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

It’s stress free.

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

It makes sense to students.

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

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

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

Thanks for reading.

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

Why does it pain teachers to hold students accountable?

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

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

I have a few ideas.

Teachers are slow to hold students accountable because…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s how.

Accountability Is An Attitude

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

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

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

It’s Not Me, It’s You

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

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

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

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

1. Breaking classroom rules is a choice students make.

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

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

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

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

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

Carefree Thinking

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

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

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

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

And here’s what is so cool about this:

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

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

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

Stand Apart

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

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

Don’t be one of them.

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

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

Calling out is a momentum killer of the highest order and can turn a well-planned lesson into a halting mess.

But that isn’t the only reason why you should require your students to raise their hand.

Here are a few more:

Calling out is unfair

Every student has a right to participate, not just those who are more assertive. If calling out is allowed, a segment of your classroom will rarely be heard from.

Calling out inhibits learning

Good teaching allows students to form their own ideas, opinions, and conclusions before an answer is revealed or a thought expressed. Students need time—even if it’s just a few seconds—to puzzle over the presented material before discussion takes place. Calling out interferes with this process.

Calling out tilts the playing field

Students who participate do better than those who don’t. Allowing students to call out gives socially confident students an unfair advantage. Shy or less confident students, then, are left feeling unwelcome and disconnected from the rest of the class.

Calling out is rude

Allowing students to call out encourages selfishness. Students think, if I want something in this class, I’m going to have to bully my way to the front because that’s what everyone else is doing. In this environment, rudeness, unhappiness, and misbehavior are commonplace.

Teaching Students To Raise Their Hand

Requiring students to raise their hand before speaking is a must. However, I’m aware that many teachers struggle to get students to do so consistently.

The following steps are a proven solution.

1. Model

Few teaching strategies are as effective as detailed modeling, especially for teaching procedures. Your students need to know exactly what you expect from them. The most effective way to do this is to sit in a student’s chair, and show them precisely how you want them to raise their hand.

2. Use the “how not” strategy

Show your students how not to raise their hand. Act out common unacceptable behaviors. You know the ones: waving their hand to get your attention, calling out with their hand up, sighing and drawing attention to themselves, beginning to speak before you actually address them. Your students need to be clear about what hand raising does and doesn’t look like.

3. Practice

Have your students show you what proper hand raising looks like. Have them practice by asking you questions about your favorite sport or hobby, or by offering information about their own.

4. Limit

Students need plenty of opportunities to ask questions and share their thoughts. But there are times when your room needs to be closed for discussion. For example, you might say, “We’re going to start independent reading in a few minutes. Are there any questions… about anything? Now is a good time to ask. Once we begin reading, you’ll have to hold your questions or comments until we’re finished.”

5. Ignore

If a student calls out or waves their hand at you, first ignore them. Send the message that you don’t respond to anything except proper hand raising. This also keeps you from accidentally responding—which is a no-no.

6. Enforce

Continue to ignore, but move over to the whiteboard and put the student’s name up—or turn their card over or whatever system you use to communicate a consequence. As part of your classroom management plan, hand raising should be an enforceable rule. (See The Only Classroom Rules You’ll Ever Need.)

One Exception

The only exception to the hand-raising rule is when you’re working with a small group of students. Guided reading or literature circles should allow for polite but free-flowing conversation.

Hand raising is a critical element of effective teaching. I’ve never known a teacher who was lax in this area and didn’t have problems with student behavior, learning, engagement, time management, and more.

So is it really doable?

Absolutely. Follow the steps above and stick with it. Never give in and accept less than what is right for your students.

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

Let’s begin this weeks article by looking at a common scenario.

You’re leading your students to class after visiting the library one day, and you notice Andrew kicking the heels of the student in front of him.

He is clearly doing it on purpose.

You stop the line, walk over to Andrew, and say, “Andrew, please stop kicking Karla.”

Andrew replies, “I wasn’t kicking anyone.”

“Yes, you were. I saw you.”

“I wasn’t doing anything. I was just walking.”

You are now officially in an argument.

And you don’t want to give in and lose the argument because, you think, it will encourage more bad behavior from Andrew, as well as from the rest of the class.

So you become determined to prove Andrew wrong and make him admit that he was indeed kicking Karla.

You go back and forth for several minutes until he takes responsibility for his behavior and apologizes to Karla.

But while you’re battling it out with Andrew, your students are waiting and growing bored, your upcoming lesson is on hold, and the smooth momentum of your day is lost.

If you feel like you have to prove to misbehaving students that (a) they did what you saw them do or (b) that their behavior was wrong, you’re going to find yourself in these situations a lot.

Why You Should Never Argue With Students

Here are the biggest reasons why you should never argue with students:

• It’s stressful.

• It can make you lose your cool.

• It can cause you to behave in a manner you’ll regret.

• It wastes time.

• It creates friction between you and your students.

• It weakens your relationship with students.

• It makes you less likable.

• It encourages students to challenge your authority.

Some students will try to goad you into an argument because it puts you on the same level. In other words, it becomes just two people disagreeing.

But is it really just two people disagreeing?

Of course not. You know Andrew is guilty and he knows he is guilty. So what is there to argue about?

How To Avoid Arguments With Students

I’ve had teachers tell me that you can’t avoid arguments with students altogether unless you’re willing to give in or let some things go. Based on how often I see teachers arguing with students, I think this is a common belief.

But with the right strategy, avoiding arguments with students isn’t difficult. It can even be a means of strengthening your classroom management effectiveness.

Here are the five steps to avoiding arguments with students.

1. Follow Your Classroom Management Plan – Arguments begin when the teacher asks a student to stop doing something rather than enforcing a consequence. Your classroom rules should cover every possible misbehavior. So when a student breaks a rule, simply follow your plan.

2. Give A Warning – Your classroom management plan should include a warning for the first offense. For example, when you see Andrew kicking the heels of the girl in front of him, make eye contact and say, “Andrew, you have a warning because you’re not keeping your hands and feet to yourself.”

3. Move On – After giving a warning, or a time-out if it’s a second offense, turn away from the student immediately and continue with whatever you were doing. Don’t give your students an opportunity to argue or explain their behavior. There is no need.

4. Pause/Repeat – If you find yourself in a situation where a student is determined to stand in front of you to plead his or her case, maintain eye contact, pause several seconds, and then repeat, “You have a warning because you are not keeping your hands to yourself.”

5. Enforce A Consequence For Arguing – If the student continues to argue, enforce the second consequence. “Andrew, you’re being disrespectful to me, which breaks rule number three. I’ll walk you to time-out.”

Following these steps will garner respect from students and dissuade them from attempting to goad you into any more arguments.

And the best part is you’ll never again have to prove to your students what you—and they—already know to be the truth.

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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.

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

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

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

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

Mentally, however, it is another story entirely.

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

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

To Care Without Caring

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

Let me explain.

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

Consider this common thought process:

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

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

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

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

A Better Way Of Thinking

So Karla broke a rule.

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

You are not responsible for the choices your students make.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Follow Your Classroom Management Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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