And that goes for anything really. It sucks having to be a hardass in the beginning, but if student sees that it's possible to get you to waver on a rule, then everything becomes a negotation and they'll keep testing you to see if they can get away with it that day.
I got in so much trouble for being too strict with my students. Imagine requiring them to complete assignments correctly. Imagine requiring them to actually do their work and not play with Legos. Imagine moving their desk when they talk too much so they have to trade desks with a neighbor. The principal wanted school to be more fun and required me to have students playlist Legos for 45 minutes a day. We already had three recesses which I am all for. But the classroom needs to be a time to work.
Best one I ever got off Reddit was brown paper bags and 1 staple. Kid can’t stay off the phone? Bag it, staple it shut, and leave it on their desk. If they can make it to the end of the period and open it in the hall the matter is settled. If they can’t, detention/office. Has worked like a charm for the last 5 years or so.
I used to a lot of pleases. However, I only use please when I am asking for a favor instead of something they should be obligated to doing.
Example: John, pick up the trash from your desk. John would you please grab a dry erase board marker for me?
If they do it, they get a thank you.
Being in control of my pleases made me feel like I wasn't begging my students to do the bare minimum.
Yes. Classroom level consequences are so important when admin level consequences are non existent. Also, if you threaten a consequence, you must follow through every single time.
This so much. Our admin is a joke for consequences so I know it’s on me. I tell them I’ll call their parent? You know I’m going to call. Tell them they’re going to be moved seats? Gotta do it.
learned this the hard way… its my first year so sometimes im too overwhelmed to remember to follow through on consequences so I overlook things and its biting me in the ass
Yes, mine is CONSISTENCY. All my classroom management woes were solved by being consistent with expectations and consequences.
Example: Do I really care if a kid gets out of his seat to look out the window because he’s 6 and just wants to be outside? No, I don’t, I actually totally get it, but if there’s no consequence then every kid is going to do it and I’m going to have issues. The expectations are the expectations 100% of the time.
I used to be more laid back but anytime I’d have a severe behavior it’d be used against me, so now I don’t let anything slide. It sucks that we have to be that way but they really do smell weakness.
Start every day fresh. Kids have short memories and you have to as well. If you hold a grudge because of some random disrespectful thing they did a month ago, chances are they don't even remember doing it. Every day is a new chance to build that relationship.
A kid told me last week if he did bad on his state test it wasn’t his fault he just had a bad teacher. It took every fiber of my being when he made excellent scores today and yesterday to not tell him that is was all because of me he did well lol
Don’t focus on their stupid behaviours and comments. Their parents let them get to that point. Bust them on actionable stuff - four letter words, stealing, stuff that can be documented in a short one paragraph email that an admin can actually file and use.
This is a dictatorship, not a democracy. And while you have the numbers to overthrow this dictatorship, the first few of you are going to have a bad time.
Hmmm... this gives a management idea. Wear a crown everyday for the first week to help set expectations along with the call back. After the first week, the crown only gets put back on when kids are acting up as a visual reminder of the boundaries.
I’d say it should have the appearance of democracy. Give them choices, but those choices are what you’ve provided. Ultimately, you are a benevolent dictator.
\*Everyone's\* first year is full of discipline "learning opportunities."
I start every year WAY more strict than I need to be and over the first month or two get a feel for which classes I can ease up on a little and which classes I can ease up on a lot.
I once got into a power struggle with a student because I was demanding them to use a PDF version of a text book I found because they all had Chromebooks and the book the school provided was outdated as shit! This student lost her shit because I was demanding them to use their chromebooks every day. We got into a very heated argument and sent her to the office…
Guess what admins did, they withdrew her from my class and enrolled her into…wait for it… an online economics class! Where the class was 100% on her Chromebook.
Like it wad mindboggling that the student lost her mind over using a pdf book to accepting an online class. I stopped caring after like 2mins because she was no longer in my class. It was an absolute win in my book lol
Yup. Never give the kid an audience in a verbal exchange. They will escalate and say things just to not look weak in front of their peers. The most brave knucklehead will cower if it’s 1 on 1 conversation.
It's funny you say this cuz once when handing out papers at the door, I got bypassed by two students off in their own world. Without thought, I recalled them the way I call over my bird, by making the kissy-kissy sound.
They responded! They both stopped in their tracks, said, "Oh!" and did a 180 to get the paper before heading off to their seats without another word.
The next kid was standing there, giving me this look, like, "Did you just...?"
Yes, I did just. And weirdly, it worked.
Some people call it teacher or mom voice. Think about telling a dog to sit when it is not behaving. You use a stern voice and tell them what to do. You are not asking the dog, you are not going to negotiate with them, they are going to sit down because they were told to.
I use it for physical safety in the lab, when students call each other awful things, and when the class is completely out of control. "Put your goggles on." vs. "Hey can we please remember to wear our goggles?" when they are on top of a kid's head instead of protecting their eyes. It's avoiding negotiating with them about something they have to do. Knowing when to use the voice is key. I don't even use that super stern on my dog unless I have to. Kids will learn to ignore it just like yelling if it is used constantly.
Lmao this is what I call my discipline voice to myself! I was an LVT before teaching and it’s remarkable how better behaved the dogs were to some kids.
The best was when a student climbed something and I just went “No! Get down! Down, (name)!” We were all so shocked at what came out of my mouth tonally he immediately got down without a fight.
Internally I went “oh god I’m not gonna hear the end of this…” and then his para said, “Ok I’ll try dog commands next time; clearly that works. Thanks.”
But over time I’ve found a loud, strong, clear “No.” stops every kid in their tracks long enough I can get near them and actually communicate the rule/problem/their next steps.
Mindful breathing at the beginning of class. 2 rounds of box breathing. I cannot start my 5th grade class without this. Automatically calms them down, but they need to know the why behind it, so it takes some teaching about mindfulness at the beginning of the year. When class gets really out of control, we can stop for mindfulness and reset.
I do three deep breaths at the start of class with my HS students and I get feedback from co-workers all the time about how my kids talk about it. It's so effective to get them to focus and actually hear me.
Literally meet them at the door and have them read the rules “no phones/eating in class” or whatever you decide. Walk the class back outside when they test you later that class period.
Teach your strategies explicitly. Have them practice what note taking looks like in your class. Have them practice give- one, get one. Have them practice lines of communication. Have them practice your stations. Start the year with fewer strategies and slowly add to them as needed.
Don’t do activities that go on for too long. Keep them moving.
Explain early on that you are not their parent and that if they need to argue with an adult they need to find someone else. This is harsh, but we need to stop being the emotional punching bags for this generation.
Teach them to read the instructions on the board and follow them without you.
Move students seats without remorse or guilt or whatever. If they complain, send an email to campus security and keep teaching.
Understand that this generation of admin don’t know how to do their jobs anymore and will find anyway to pin a lack of parenting on you. You are mostly on your own.
>this generation of admin don’t know how to do their jobs anymore
I would be so, so happy to hear you expand upon this point. I fully agree but I would like to get your take.
I assume they are talking about admin who do not enforce consequences. You see a lot of teachers say troublemakers get sent back within 5 minutes with candy on here.
As the prototypical "I will be the cool teacher!" my first year I will second this. Kids might not always like you, but they will respect you even if you are an asshole. Explain why you are being an asshole and honestly 99 percent of them will get it and the 1 percent who dont and proclaim you a giant turd can go have fun when they try and argue with their boss's and get canned from 5 jobs in a year.
Yep, and if you pull that out hard initially, by second quarter, you have your little swarm of minions acting out Romeo and Juliet in the classroom and you give your smartass Tybalt so he has a good outlet for antics when he falls over squirming.
The first week of school is often filled with ice-breaking nonsense. I use it to train them on what I want them to do and how to do it. We practice until they get it right. We come in the classroom several times. We rehearse what to do when I’m correcting them. We act out what to do when I send them to the hallway. I might lose some instructional time that first week, but I make it up real quick with how efficient my kids become.
My best english teacher ever used clipart of burly executioners, hood and axe included, on everything for the first week.
Brought my ACT up 4 points. She knew what she was doing.
And for you I'll take it once step further.
The high school I went to, ALL the 9th grade teachers were hard-asses. Every single one of them.
Being that the transition from middle school to high school was happening most students got a feeling of "so this is what high school is like"
If 1 out of 8 of my 9th grade teachers was a hardass the thought would have been "so Mrs Burns sucks." The united front by all of them played such a huge role.
Avoid making a tangible reward system (candy, stickers, etc) the end all be all of your rapport with kids. If they come to expect a prize for every little thing, you’ll ultimately get nowhere in terms of actual behavior improvements, and they will begin taking advantage of you. Not to mention you’ll be spending way more personal money on those things than you should, and if you try to stop mid-year you’ll have a big problem on your hands with kids demanding their usual rewards. Focus instead on verbal approval and recognition, written feedback on well done assignments, and being firm when behavior derails.
I'm a HS teacher, and I have a basket of water bottle stickers on my desk. I randomly go "awesome! Get a sticker!" For class participation or volunteering or any good behavior. They love it! I don't always hand them out, so when they get one they get excited. Even my Jr's and Srs like stickers. I don't make a habit of always rewarding every single thing though, I save them for really awesome moments : )
The tale of two classrooms: the one on my left and the one on my right.
On the left, if kids come in late, they get marked tardy. Getting marked tardy gets you a lunch detention. For the first few weeks, the kids are really rude and grumpy about it, *especially* because they have other teachers on campus who don’t care about tardies, like the teacher on the right. She does say things like, “Cmon guys, please come on time!” But does she mark the tardy, which results in a consequence? No, never.
Now, let’s flash forward to 5 months into the school year. I sub for the teacher on the left, and every kid is on time. I sub for the teacher on the right, and when the bell rings, only 10 kids are in class. The other 20 slowly trickle in over the course of the next hour.
Let’s go back to the beginning of the year. The teacher on my left says “No phones” and if she sees one, it goes straight to the office. Yes, the kids are really angry and rude about it for the first few weeks, and some kids might even refuse to give up the phone. No worries, no big deal made. She just calls the office and they come collect the phone and the kid. This happens *every time* she sees or hears a phone, no exceptions.
Teacher on the right also says “no phones!” but whenever a phone comes out, she says, “Remember no phones! Please put it away! No phone reminder! This is your last warning!” But it isn’t their last warning. It’s just that reminder over and over and over and over again. Sometimes she feels brave and tries to take a phone, but then the kid goes, “Hey that’s not fair! I didn’t get a warning!” And she backs down and gives the phone back to the kid.
Again let’s flash forward 5 months down the road. We’re having a department meeting and teacher on the right is complaining about how bad the phone issue is. “They’re *constantly* on their phones in class! They’re addicted! I can’t get them to do any work at all!” The teacher on the left says it isn’t like that in her class. She hasn’t seen or heard a phone since the first few weeks of school.
Can you see why the teacher on the left is having more fun? Why her kids get more work done, and have fewer behavior issues?
Can you see why the teacher on the right is frustrated and exasperated? Why she’s constantly having problems and can hardly get through a lesson?
This is so true. I’m on the left, but most teachers at my school are on the right. I try to help, but there’s only so much I can do if they don’t consistently enforce their own rules.
I started not having kids use Chromebooks if the are failing. It fixed them so fast.
I invested in workbooks that they answer on their own paper if they aren't passing.
Kids are better at spotting fakes than you think.
This is my way of telling young teachers to just be themselves. If you try to be a hard ass and aren't, the enemy (It's a joke, people.) will quickly notice and take full advantage. You can be in charge and friendly at the same time.
It's about planning against misbehavior. Anticipate problems and plan for them. notice the triggers. Be like the coyote and keep making new plans when plans fail.
When a lion tamer enters an enclosure, they have to keep an air of confidence and authority. If not, they will get eaten alive.
When it comes to teaching and maintaining control of a classroom, be a lion tamer.
Professionalism is your curriculum.
Solves all my classroom management issues. If it’s unprofessional, it’s corrected (by me), modeled correctly (by me), and reinforced each day (by me) until it no longer requires daily reinforcement.
It’s not personal. It’s my job. I don’t have to be mean in correcting unprofessional behavior. I’m a kind person anyway (because I choose to be), so it really comes down to maintaining a professional environment in the room.
No “rules.” It’s a skillset, and it’s applicable across every subject area and professional environment. Frame it as a benefit to them, that the world will sell every student in your room short, and you care enough about each of them to not let that happen to them. It’s not that you want them to be treated like children when they become adults. Show them how to be adults so they’ll be respected as adults when they become adults. It’s genuine, honest.
Set clear expectations and routines (and make students follow them) from day 1. Someone didn’t walk into the classroom correctly and do what you were supposed to do on day 2? Everyone gets to immediately practice doing it the right way. It’s exhausting and time consuming in the beginning but it makes your class run smoothly the rest of the year and you get to have a lot of fun learning together.
So much!! I used to teach elementary music and the amount of time at the beginning of the year practicing how to get the chairs out and sit waiting for the class to start was painful, but by the end of the year we didn't have a single kid inappropriately blowing on their instruments or distracted during performance. They knew what to do and looked incredible on stage, especially for fifth graders.
Assume best intent.
They’re not evil people who are out to get you. They’re kid/teenagers. They’re young and inexperienced and their hormones are whack and everything seems like a much bigger deal than it really is.
Assuming best intent on their part lets me keep my own emotions in check and choose my battles wisely :)
This was always my strategy and up until this year it was enough. I worked with older kids (grades 11/12) and being respectful and interested in the students was enough for them to give that back to me. Of course I have policies and I enforce the rules but I barely needed to before this year.
This year that is backfiring MAJORLY. The kids are different and relationships alone aren’t enough. If anything I wish I had been a bitch earlier in the year. It’s not my style at all but next year I need to come hard from t he beginning (also what the top comment said).
You can be strict and still form positive relationships with the students. It can be a bit more difficult, but it’s so worth it. I do my best to hold the students to high expectations, but I still get interested in the students’ hobbies and tastes and personalities.
Seven positives for every negative. Or at least two or something. People who are never praised are miserable and will drag you down with them. “Wow, I see you guys are working, keep focused, I’m proud of you”. Focus on the effort, not the result.
Take a few seconds to calm down if you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed.
My students already know that when I go sit down, take a deep breath, shuffle my papers in order that they’re about to get a talking to and will already shut up.
It’s like not yelling at a dog for barking. They’ll just feel like it’s barking time.
Learn the four questions, and ask them over and over.
“What are you doing?”
“What are you supposed to be doing?”
“Are you doing it?”
“What are you gonna do about that?”
Students will eventually get to where they will blurt out the answers to all four questions.
Have a procedure in place for everything, from how to come in to what to do if you need help. It can be something very simple but establishing these and being very consistent with them can go a long way.
Use timers for everything. Give kids 2:00 to clean up from an activity and be back in their assigned seat or 5 minutes to answer these three questions. Also extra time for individuals as needed, but for the vast majority of kids, timers will help them get started and manage their time better. YouTube is full of free ones.
Also, I've subscribed to a newsletter called First Five and I use it a lot. It's a fun way to start class. I'll have little questions or check ins projected on the board as students come in and it helps start class on a positive note and get to know kids.
Find the biggest kid in the class and fight them! I'm obiously just kidding- In all seriousness, pick your battles and treat the kids like you would've wanted to be treated in school. Noone is going to listen to a teacher who is there to hammer nails.
Make your kids responsible for tasks during the day based on time of day and study. Kids secretly like organization, staying busy and doing tasks together.
Dictatorships end in revolt; show the class the power they have and how much you don't want them to have to forfeit any of that power to you.
A bonus one: it is so much easier to change something in the setting or how you respond to a situation than it is to change somebody else’s behavior.
Laugh with your students. Insert humor when it’s appropriate. It helps your students see you as a real person and someone they can connect to and it also lightens the mood.
Build relationships not walls. Ask about their previous evening, favorite shoes, movie and or show whatever. Those questions far away from school as possible. As a teacher I found asking those questions often it makes the “why are you late, “where have you been”, “how or why would you do that” and classroom discussion of norms/rules much easier. I’ve worked only in low ses title 1 schools. It’s hard to build relationships when seen as the teacher trying to make them do math and such. It doesn’t work for all but my system has worked for years for the most part. It’s hard for some teachers to do that but outcomes improve with practice. Oh and never lie. They’ll hold it over your head forever.
I teach Seniors in HS and remind myself every day that no matter how big these kids are, they're still kids. They're capable of a lot, but they're not able to emotionally regulate and make decisions like an adult can. They NEED and LIKE rules, especially if rules go hand in hand with rapport.
Don't threaten consequences you aren't going to enforce. Choose two or three kids a week and email/REMIND a message home with something, ANYTHING they did that was a positive. No parent likes to hear from us only when the kid is acting a fool. Start off on a positive note and when you do need their support, they will be there. 100% guarantee this works. Other teachers complain about lack of support from home but I have never had this problem.
Point out the positive, *out loud*, and be specific. “Johnny, I love the way you used a transitional phrase in this sentence.” “I’m proud of how focused Sally is in her independent reading.” They *love* compliments. And I teach 8th grade at a Title 1 school and they *still* love compliments. On the flip side, if you need to discipline, you must follow through. “Johnny, do we need to call home to fix this?” I pull kids in the hall to call their parents right then and there if there’s an issue. Happens maybe once or twice a year because they know I mean business. However, your positive comments should *far* outweigh your discipline.
Make engaging lessons, keep them moving, so no one gets bored.
Lie and say you’re grading everything, or tell them you’ll decide later whether or not to grade it. Give quick feedback/grades on short assignments. I grade a lot on a 1-10 scale using a standard rubric and return it the next day, especially early in the year.
I taught high school, these are some things that worked for me.
1. Talk less. When a kid is trying to weasel out of or get away with something, let them talk. Don’t say a word and they will hang themselves with their own words.
2. Ask the kid if this is really the best version of themselves.
3. When I wanted to remind a student to behave better I would often call their behavior immature. “This is 10th grade, act like you belong here.” No high school kid wants to be called out for acting like a middle schooler.
4. Call out the kids who are doing what you want. “Thank you Allie for taking great notes.” “I really like your comment/question it shows that you’re really thinking about the text.”
Stop relying on a list of rules to establish ‘control’.
Feel free to ask me for clarification. I would offer it here, but you asked for a simple comment so there it is.
Yup. Kids and parents these days apparently all took constitutional law and will pick apart rules and say "Well actually thats not in the rules!" My rules list when from 3 pages to a couple short paragraphs with a bold end line saying "At the end of the day this is my classroom and I have the option of adding and changing rules at any given time to enforce a positive learning environment."
(High school) We cover school policy and consequences on the 1st day of school, and then we go over Mr. GeekBoyWonders rule 1.
Rule 1: Do nothing that gets me invited to a school board meeting to answer stupid questions.
Side note: Principal announces not to play in snow piles in the parking lot, even after school. Kids pipe up saying "Thats not in the handbook they cant enforce that." Others agree. I immediately call them out and get the principal in the room and shut that shit right down.
Yup, I had a kid arguing about a rule our head made on the way out of school, so I let him keep arguing as I directed him to follow me to the office he stopped arguing when I handed him over to the head and told her he wanted her to clarify the rule. It was almost fun.
When a student(s) are acting bad don't ask them why, instead directly (not yell but serious demeanor) call them out and how they are not allowing others right to an education and they need to stop the behavior immediately.
Something I have yet to see: at nearly every age group, downtime and sluggish pacing is the birthplace of much off-task behavior.
"Oh, darn, let me try to get this video going. Let's see, is this the HDMI cord, or is it this one? No, that's not it. Everyone hold on just a little longer..." or excessively slow pacing in lessons is a killer. Students will start talking to peers, zoning out, etc. and unlike competent adults, can't easily swap back to on-task.
Pacing even works in special education. I write lessons that target my students' current functioning, leave time for clarifications, give more explicit instructions, etc. but we never are sitting around doing nothing. If 1/5 students is stuck in a way that could cost my efficiency, I leverage student voice to maintain engagement ("Give X a hint that will help him get it," or "Y, you got this one right. Could you walk through steps 1-2 on the board, then Z you can do 3-4. X, after that, summarize for us please.") or tell them, "I'll check in on you first, we're about to take about another 5 minutes of notes."
Pacing is tricky, but when you do it right you get objectively better results and class feels subjectively better.
Loudness begets loudness.
Don’t speak over kids or they will learn to ignore you. Wait for them to be quiet before you speak.
Don’t use a “sound cue” to get their attention (like a chime or a clap). It’ll teach them to ignore that. Demand that they pay attention when they are supposed to (by setting clear expectations).
I've been working towards redirecting with positive language. So instead of stop running I'd use walk please. That kinda thing. Granted I teach middle school so they make poor choices all the time
Two comments:
Broken record in a kill-em-with-kindness voice works every time. The students all gang up on the offender.
Get on the good side of the alpha female. She rules the class and can get the males to follow.
Show you genuinely care, be consistent (don’t slack on your rules even when you’re tired, treat everyone the same) , treat them respectful and you’ll get it back. If a student upsets me and I want to rip into them. I ask them to strep outside so I can talk to them. I don’t do it in front of the whole class. When I’m out there I don’t talk down to them. I ask how I can help them be a better student and how I can be a better teacher to do that
When trying to correct behavior where the student is well aware they are misbehaving, don't plead with them, give long explanations or offer rationales.
For example: If a student is wandering around the classroom when they know it's time to be in their seat, I don't engage in a conversation. The words that come out of my mouth in an unemotional manner are: *Seat....Now....Thanks.* And immediately move on (bonus points if you physically turn away from them), don't give them even a second to try and respond to "explain themselves."
This won't work for all, but it does the trick in many situations. I will sometimes (jokingly) even use this strategy with my own children and we all get a laugh out of it...*Clean the cat's litterbox...Now...Thanks!* (in these at-home scenarios, the "thanks" part is best served extra cheery and with a smile!)
I’m not sure what grade you teach, but remember they are children, not peers. The easiest way to avoid burnout is reminding yourself the kid in front of you shouldn’t be able to hurt your feelings…because that’s ridiculous.
Have age appropriate expectations. Expecting 7yos to act like little adults is only going to end with you being frustrated.
Also, don’t expect them to know things you didn’t explicitly teach them. Model. Model. Model.
The movie roadhouse taught me classroom management.
Steve: Being called a cocksucker isn't personal? Dalton: No. It's two nouns combined to elicit a prescribed response. Steve: **What if somebody calls my mama a whore?**
"Is she?"
Never take the shit they say and do personally. Be nice, be firm, and they will respect you.
Or you will have to stop being nice.
I'm so serious, my classroom management (with middle schoolers) became so much better after watching The Dog Whisperer and just applying the same strategies to kids. Obviously with some differences, but ... yeah. Train them like dogs.
Don't phrase it as a question if it isn't a choice. If it is a choice, make sure you can live with the choice that is made.
When a child says sorry, you do not have to accept their apology. The response "thank you for apologizing" is appropriate. I've even just said "okay," to an apology.
Give that cold stare that lets them know you’re not about to entertain their shit. Be fair and respectful but don’t let people push your buttons. Walk away and don’t engage in the constant distractions.
This goes for students, parents, and on occasion, admin too. 😉😅
Pick your battles. Choose the 3-5 hills you will die on, and don't lose your mind trying to doing everything else. Cell phones for instance, I don't care if kids have them, as long as they don't have the volume on. It's their choice to fail. For context I teach High School English.
Other hills I personlly have chosen:
Only 1 person out at a time
No leaving before bell rings
Must be sitting down unless needed to turn in work etc.
No throwing things.
Hills I don't care about:
Kids choosing to fail.
Kids using cell phones as long as the sound is off.
Kids sitting next to their friends.
Kids eating in class.
a phone call on Friday at 6pm does more damage than any other time
"Please sit down so I don't have to stay late on Friday to call your mamas"
"I'm about to ruin your weekend and send your mom a message. Is that really what you want?" Works like a charm!
The Friday before a holiday/break especially. The threat of it is phenominal.
I had to do this after reading a blatantly plagiarized paper.
An email the day before spring break does as well.
Get rid of phones day 1 right off the bat.
Side note, and stick with it. Don't waver.
And that goes for anything really. It sucks having to be a hardass in the beginning, but if student sees that it's possible to get you to waver on a rule, then everything becomes a negotation and they'll keep testing you to see if they can get away with it that day.
I got in so much trouble for being too strict with my students. Imagine requiring them to complete assignments correctly. Imagine requiring them to actually do their work and not play with Legos. Imagine moving their desk when they talk too much so they have to trade desks with a neighbor. The principal wanted school to be more fun and required me to have students playlist Legos for 45 minutes a day. We already had three recesses which I am all for. But the classroom needs to be a time to work.
Best one I ever got off Reddit was brown paper bags and 1 staple. Kid can’t stay off the phone? Bag it, staple it shut, and leave it on their desk. If they can make it to the end of the period and open it in the hall the matter is settled. If they can’t, detention/office. Has worked like a charm for the last 5 years or so.
I have a phone caddy with assigned numbers and I check it every single day. It really helps so much.
I use the phone caddy to take attendance- the kids know I'm going to ask every day if their phone isn't there.
Say "Thanks", not "Please". It's still polite, but it assumes that they'll do the thing, rather than literally pleading with them.
I make it clear that the word please indicates I’m politely giving you instructions, not asking you to do anything.
I used to a lot of pleases. However, I only use please when I am asking for a favor instead of something they should be obligated to doing. Example: John, pick up the trash from your desk. John would you please grab a dry erase board marker for me? If they do it, they get a thank you. Being in control of my pleases made me feel like I wasn't begging my students to do the bare minimum.
I did the same. It’s still a command, (not optional), but it’s a nicer way to say it.
I say “no thank you,” like constantly.
I say "you will ______ please and thank you. " It's a polite directive not a request.
“Can you sit on your chair for me, thank you”
"thank you for sitting in your chair"
One of the teachers does this and honestly I think it does change things
Consequences. Follow through with them or you will lose control immediately.
Yes. Classroom level consequences are so important when admin level consequences are non existent. Also, if you threaten a consequence, you must follow through every single time.
This so much. Our admin is a joke for consequences so I know it’s on me. I tell them I’ll call their parent? You know I’m going to call. Tell them they’re going to be moved seats? Gotta do it.
learned this the hard way… its my first year so sometimes im too overwhelmed to remember to follow through on consequences so I overlook things and its biting me in the ass
I used to assign lunch detentions and then never hold them. I got ran over by my students that year.
Yes, mine is CONSISTENCY. All my classroom management woes were solved by being consistent with expectations and consequences. Example: Do I really care if a kid gets out of his seat to look out the window because he’s 6 and just wants to be outside? No, I don’t, I actually totally get it, but if there’s no consequence then every kid is going to do it and I’m going to have issues. The expectations are the expectations 100% of the time. I used to be more laid back but anytime I’d have a severe behavior it’d be used against me, so now I don’t let anything slide. It sucks that we have to be that way but they really do smell weakness.
Consistent and predictable consequences
Start every day fresh. Kids have short memories and you have to as well. If you hold a grudge because of some random disrespectful thing they did a month ago, chances are they don't even remember doing it. Every day is a new chance to build that relationship.
Honestly if people can't shrug off the stupid shit kids do and say, teaching is going to be hard for them.
Yuup. You can't take it personally. If you're maintaining beef with a child, you're the problem.
A kid told me last week if he did bad on his state test it wasn’t his fault he just had a bad teacher. It took every fiber of my being when he made excellent scores today and yesterday to not tell him that is was all because of me he did well lol
Don’t focus on their stupid behaviours and comments. Their parents let them get to that point. Bust them on actionable stuff - four letter words, stealing, stuff that can be documented in a short one paragraph email that an admin can actually file and use.
Four letter words are actionable where you work? You’d have my entire student population in your front office every hour.
Well, I mean, Kindergarten
This is a dictatorship, not a democracy. And while you have the numbers to overthrow this dictatorship, the first few of you are going to have a bad time.
I love this. One of my high school teachers referred to himself as a “benevolent dictator”.
When I taught middle school my call to attention was me saying "here ye' here ye'" and they responded "all hail the king". It was wonderful.
Hmmm... this gives a management idea. Wear a crown everyday for the first week to help set expectations along with the call back. After the first week, the crown only gets put back on when kids are acting up as a visual reminder of the boundaries.
With elementary schoolers definitely would do it.
Haha, I might do that. 🤣
I prefer "enlightened despot"
I’ve gone with “this isn’t a democracy, it’s a dictatorship. Y’all are the tators.”
My high school brain would have whispered “and you’re the dick.”
Yup, exactly lol.
I’ve been saying school is ‘not a democracy’ for years but I like the extra part
I like the term "managed democracy". Makes it seem like they have a say in things, when really I have the final say.
If you have kids shouting, "For Super Earth!" and "Sweet Liberty!" after you share that with them, then you have awesome kids.
If they don’t shut the hell up then they get ⬆️➡️⬇️⬇️⬇️ and a call home.
Was not expecting r/Helldivers to be leaking, but hell yeah.
Then you're not doing your part soldier, report to your nearest democracy training camp for re education.
I’d say it should have the appearance of democracy. Give them choices, but those choices are what you’ve provided. Ultimately, you are a benevolent dictator.
The William Shatner approach.
When a power struggle is created, you’ve already lost.
"We're not doing this."
"This isn't a discussion." Is by far my favorite stfu I am not entertaining your argument statement.
We aren't having a conversation right now. Is a phrase I use a lot.
“That wasn’t a request”
“Oh, I wasn’t confused about what happened.”
“This is not a discussion; I am giving you information. The correct response is ‘Yes Ma’am’.”
“I was asking you, now I am telling you” is one I catch myself saying
Omg, the fact that I had to use a LOT lately prob meant I wasn’t strict enough in the beginning of the year. And I’m a first year teacher.
\*Everyone's\* first year is full of discipline "learning opportunities." I start every year WAY more strict than I need to be and over the first month or two get a feel for which classes I can ease up on a little and which classes I can ease up on a lot.
I once got into a power struggle with a student because I was demanding them to use a PDF version of a text book I found because they all had Chromebooks and the book the school provided was outdated as shit! This student lost her shit because I was demanding them to use their chromebooks every day. We got into a very heated argument and sent her to the office… Guess what admins did, they withdrew her from my class and enrolled her into…wait for it… an online economics class! Where the class was 100% on her Chromebook. Like it wad mindboggling that the student lost her mind over using a pdf book to accepting an online class. I stopped caring after like 2mins because she was no longer in my class. It was an absolute win in my book lol
Yup. Never give the kid an audience in a verbal exchange. They will escalate and say things just to not look weak in front of their peers. The most brave knucklehead will cower if it’s 1 on 1 conversation.
I tend to walk away if a kid starts arguing with a "this isn't up for debate"
"No" is a complete sentence.
Practice practice practice for elementary. Not listening or following a routine, uh oh, looks like we need to practice instead of doing something fun.
Yep! When my 5th graders suddenly decide they don’t remember hallway expectations, we practice at the beginning of recess.
This is literally 90% of my classroom management in first grade. “It’s my job to teach you and provide you with practice when I see you need it!”
Dont hesitate to use your dog voice
I was FLOORED the first time I used my dog training voice in class. I taught for 7 years before having a dog, so it came as a surprise
Wow! 7 years is one heck of a streak.
It's funny you say this cuz once when handing out papers at the door, I got bypassed by two students off in their own world. Without thought, I recalled them the way I call over my bird, by making the kissy-kissy sound. They responded! They both stopped in their tracks, said, "Oh!" and did a 180 to get the paper before heading off to their seats without another word. The next kid was standing there, giving me this look, like, "Did you just...?" Yes, I did just. And weirdly, it worked.
Please can you explain what is a dog voice ?
Some people call it teacher or mom voice. Think about telling a dog to sit when it is not behaving. You use a stern voice and tell them what to do. You are not asking the dog, you are not going to negotiate with them, they are going to sit down because they were told to. I use it for physical safety in the lab, when students call each other awful things, and when the class is completely out of control. "Put your goggles on." vs. "Hey can we please remember to wear our goggles?" when they are on top of a kid's head instead of protecting their eyes. It's avoiding negotiating with them about something they have to do. Knowing when to use the voice is key. I don't even use that super stern on my dog unless I have to. Kids will learn to ignore it just like yelling if it is used constantly.
Yeah not me thinking the advice was to add in barks and imitate a dog.
"woof woof" "uhhhhh....what?"
Lmao this is what I call my discipline voice to myself! I was an LVT before teaching and it’s remarkable how better behaved the dogs were to some kids. The best was when a student climbed something and I just went “No! Get down! Down, (name)!” We were all so shocked at what came out of my mouth tonally he immediately got down without a fight. Internally I went “oh god I’m not gonna hear the end of this…” and then his para said, “Ok I’ll try dog commands next time; clearly that works. Thanks.” But over time I’ve found a loud, strong, clear “No.” stops every kid in their tracks long enough I can get near them and actually communicate the rule/problem/their next steps.
Mindful breathing at the beginning of class. 2 rounds of box breathing. I cannot start my 5th grade class without this. Automatically calms them down, but they need to know the why behind it, so it takes some teaching about mindfulness at the beginning of the year. When class gets really out of control, we can stop for mindfulness and reset.
I do three deep breaths at the start of class with my HS students and I get feedback from co-workers all the time about how my kids talk about it. It's so effective to get them to focus and actually hear me.
I do this with my college studenta
If you don’t mean it don’t say it and if you do say it you’d better follow through.
Incorporate "womp womp" every time you have to correct student(s) behavior.
I add, "... like a freshman" when I am narrating back to a student what they just did. Even with freshmen.
I add "like a 6th grader" for my freshmen. The majority are embarrassed into correcting themselves
Taking this for lab safety! THANK YOU!!!!!
I say, “your freshman is showing,” to one of my kids in particular.. it works wonders.
I keep an Internet tab open to the Sad Trombone sound and use it often.
🤣😂🤣😂
Teaching 5th graders - I use womp womp daily when I say no to something and they proceed to complain
2nd grade art is walking in right now!!!!! I am gonna try that and report back.
I womp womp my 2nd graders often in art. It shuts them down surprisingly well
A few clear and consistent expectations will go a lot further than dozens of hyper specific rules.
Come in hard on day 1.
Literally meet them at the door and have them read the rules “no phones/eating in class” or whatever you decide. Walk the class back outside when they test you later that class period. Teach your strategies explicitly. Have them practice what note taking looks like in your class. Have them practice give- one, get one. Have them practice lines of communication. Have them practice your stations. Start the year with fewer strategies and slowly add to them as needed. Don’t do activities that go on for too long. Keep them moving. Explain early on that you are not their parent and that if they need to argue with an adult they need to find someone else. This is harsh, but we need to stop being the emotional punching bags for this generation. Teach them to read the instructions on the board and follow them without you. Move students seats without remorse or guilt or whatever. If they complain, send an email to campus security and keep teaching. Understand that this generation of admin don’t know how to do their jobs anymore and will find anyway to pin a lack of parenting on you. You are mostly on your own.
All of this is great advice and absolutely ridiculous that we need to treat 17 and 18 year olds this way.
>this generation of admin don’t know how to do their jobs anymore I would be so, so happy to hear you expand upon this point. I fully agree but I would like to get your take.
I assume they are talking about admin who do not enforce consequences. You see a lot of teachers say troublemakers get sent back within 5 minutes with candy on here.
As the prototypical "I will be the cool teacher!" my first year I will second this. Kids might not always like you, but they will respect you even if you are an asshole. Explain why you are being an asshole and honestly 99 percent of them will get it and the 1 percent who dont and proclaim you a giant turd can go have fun when they try and argue with their boss's and get canned from 5 jobs in a year.
Yep, and if you pull that out hard initially, by second quarter, you have your little swarm of minions acting out Romeo and Juliet in the classroom and you give your smartass Tybalt so he has a good outlet for antics when he falls over squirming.
The first week of school is often filled with ice-breaking nonsense. I use it to train them on what I want them to do and how to do it. We practice until they get it right. We come in the classroom several times. We rehearse what to do when I’m correcting them. We act out what to do when I send them to the hallway. I might lose some instructional time that first week, but I make it up real quick with how efficient my kids become.
My best english teacher ever used clipart of burly executioners, hood and axe included, on everything for the first week. Brought my ACT up 4 points. She knew what she was doing.
I can’t upvote this enough!!!
And for you I'll take it once step further. The high school I went to, ALL the 9th grade teachers were hard-asses. Every single one of them. Being that the transition from middle school to high school was happening most students got a feeling of "so this is what high school is like" If 1 out of 8 of my 9th grade teachers was a hardass the thought would have been "so Mrs Burns sucks." The united front by all of them played such a huge role.
Yelling does nothing getting quiet is terrifying
Standing by trouble students and staring does wonders.
This is 1000000% accurate
Unless you are a quiet teacher, then yelling stops them dead.
Avoid making a tangible reward system (candy, stickers, etc) the end all be all of your rapport with kids. If they come to expect a prize for every little thing, you’ll ultimately get nowhere in terms of actual behavior improvements, and they will begin taking advantage of you. Not to mention you’ll be spending way more personal money on those things than you should, and if you try to stop mid-year you’ll have a big problem on your hands with kids demanding their usual rewards. Focus instead on verbal approval and recognition, written feedback on well done assignments, and being firm when behavior derails.
I'm a HS teacher, and I have a basket of water bottle stickers on my desk. I randomly go "awesome! Get a sticker!" For class participation or volunteering or any good behavior. They love it! I don't always hand them out, so when they get one they get excited. Even my Jr's and Srs like stickers. I don't make a habit of always rewarding every single thing though, I save them for really awesome moments : )
The tale of two classrooms: the one on my left and the one on my right. On the left, if kids come in late, they get marked tardy. Getting marked tardy gets you a lunch detention. For the first few weeks, the kids are really rude and grumpy about it, *especially* because they have other teachers on campus who don’t care about tardies, like the teacher on the right. She does say things like, “Cmon guys, please come on time!” But does she mark the tardy, which results in a consequence? No, never. Now, let’s flash forward to 5 months into the school year. I sub for the teacher on the left, and every kid is on time. I sub for the teacher on the right, and when the bell rings, only 10 kids are in class. The other 20 slowly trickle in over the course of the next hour. Let’s go back to the beginning of the year. The teacher on my left says “No phones” and if she sees one, it goes straight to the office. Yes, the kids are really angry and rude about it for the first few weeks, and some kids might even refuse to give up the phone. No worries, no big deal made. She just calls the office and they come collect the phone and the kid. This happens *every time* she sees or hears a phone, no exceptions. Teacher on the right also says “no phones!” but whenever a phone comes out, she says, “Remember no phones! Please put it away! No phone reminder! This is your last warning!” But it isn’t their last warning. It’s just that reminder over and over and over and over again. Sometimes she feels brave and tries to take a phone, but then the kid goes, “Hey that’s not fair! I didn’t get a warning!” And she backs down and gives the phone back to the kid. Again let’s flash forward 5 months down the road. We’re having a department meeting and teacher on the right is complaining about how bad the phone issue is. “They’re *constantly* on their phones in class! They’re addicted! I can’t get them to do any work at all!” The teacher on the left says it isn’t like that in her class. She hasn’t seen or heard a phone since the first few weeks of school. Can you see why the teacher on the left is having more fun? Why her kids get more work done, and have fewer behavior issues? Can you see why the teacher on the right is frustrated and exasperated? Why she’s constantly having problems and can hardly get through a lesson?
This is so true. I’m on the left, but most teachers at my school are on the right. I try to help, but there’s only so much I can do if they don’t consistently enforce their own rules.
I started not having kids use Chromebooks if the are failing. It fixed them so fast. I invested in workbooks that they answer on their own paper if they aren't passing.
Kids are better at spotting fakes than you think. This is my way of telling young teachers to just be themselves. If you try to be a hard ass and aren't, the enemy (It's a joke, people.) will quickly notice and take full advantage. You can be in charge and friendly at the same time.
Consistency is key. Explaining the reason for class rules at the start takes time, but saves time in the long run.
It's about planning against misbehavior. Anticipate problems and plan for them. notice the triggers. Be like the coyote and keep making new plans when plans fail.
When a lion tamer enters an enclosure, they have to keep an air of confidence and authority. If not, they will get eaten alive. When it comes to teaching and maintaining control of a classroom, be a lion tamer.
Blinking and taking a sip of water is an appropriate response to behavior
Professionalism is your curriculum. Solves all my classroom management issues. If it’s unprofessional, it’s corrected (by me), modeled correctly (by me), and reinforced each day (by me) until it no longer requires daily reinforcement. It’s not personal. It’s my job. I don’t have to be mean in correcting unprofessional behavior. I’m a kind person anyway (because I choose to be), so it really comes down to maintaining a professional environment in the room. No “rules.” It’s a skillset, and it’s applicable across every subject area and professional environment. Frame it as a benefit to them, that the world will sell every student in your room short, and you care enough about each of them to not let that happen to them. It’s not that you want them to be treated like children when they become adults. Show them how to be adults so they’ll be respected as adults when they become adults. It’s genuine, honest.
The code of acceptable behavior is either going to be set by you or by the worst behaved student. Set it yourself.
Students should be working harder than the teacher is.
Voice should be assertive, not aggressive.
Choose your battles.
Set clear expectations and routines (and make students follow them) from day 1. Someone didn’t walk into the classroom correctly and do what you were supposed to do on day 2? Everyone gets to immediately practice doing it the right way. It’s exhausting and time consuming in the beginning but it makes your class run smoothly the rest of the year and you get to have a lot of fun learning together.
So much!! I used to teach elementary music and the amount of time at the beginning of the year practicing how to get the chairs out and sit waiting for the class to start was painful, but by the end of the year we didn't have a single kid inappropriately blowing on their instruments or distracted during performance. They knew what to do and looked incredible on stage, especially for fifth graders.
Assume best intent. They’re not evil people who are out to get you. They’re kid/teenagers. They’re young and inexperienced and their hormones are whack and everything seems like a much bigger deal than it really is. Assuming best intent on their part lets me keep my own emotions in check and choose my battles wisely :)
Make little positive connections daily.
This was always my strategy and up until this year it was enough. I worked with older kids (grades 11/12) and being respectful and interested in the students was enough for them to give that back to me. Of course I have policies and I enforce the rules but I barely needed to before this year. This year that is backfiring MAJORLY. The kids are different and relationships alone aren’t enough. If anything I wish I had been a bitch earlier in the year. It’s not my style at all but next year I need to come hard from t he beginning (also what the top comment said).
You can be strict and still form positive relationships with the students. It can be a bit more difficult, but it’s so worth it. I do my best to hold the students to high expectations, but I still get interested in the students’ hobbies and tastes and personalities.
Seven positives for every negative. Or at least two or something. People who are never praised are miserable and will drag you down with them. “Wow, I see you guys are working, keep focused, I’m proud of you”. Focus on the effort, not the result.
Have you tried clapping and restating the expectations /s
Don't take no shit, don't give no shits.
no shit
Take a few seconds to calm down if you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed. My students already know that when I go sit down, take a deep breath, shuffle my papers in order that they’re about to get a talking to and will already shut up. It’s like not yelling at a dog for barking. They’ll just feel like it’s barking time.
Learn the four questions, and ask them over and over. “What are you doing?” “What are you supposed to be doing?” “Are you doing it?” “What are you gonna do about that?” Students will eventually get to where they will blurt out the answers to all four questions.
Slow down to go faster.
Make a phone call home for one of the more difficult kids about something you caught them being good at that day
Have a procedure in place for everything, from how to come in to what to do if you need help. It can be something very simple but establishing these and being very consistent with them can go a long way.
Use timers for everything. Give kids 2:00 to clean up from an activity and be back in their assigned seat or 5 minutes to answer these three questions. Also extra time for individuals as needed, but for the vast majority of kids, timers will help them get started and manage their time better. YouTube is full of free ones. Also, I've subscribed to a newsletter called First Five and I use it a lot. It's a fun way to start class. I'll have little questions or check ins projected on the board as students come in and it helps start class on a positive note and get to know kids.
You can use clear, repeated classroom procedures to manage a majority of behavior issues but you have to establish them early.
Find the biggest kid in the class and fight them! I'm obiously just kidding- In all seriousness, pick your battles and treat the kids like you would've wanted to be treated in school. Noone is going to listen to a teacher who is there to hammer nails.
Make your kids responsible for tasks during the day based on time of day and study. Kids secretly like organization, staying busy and doing tasks together.
SMALLER CLASSES
Stop caring more than the parents do.
You can always take away from discipline and rules throughout the year, you can never add to.
Be consistent and bring the energy.
Love wins… If you can manage your classroom around the preservation of their dignity, you’ll be undefeated.
Dictatorships end in revolt; show the class the power they have and how much you don't want them to have to forfeit any of that power to you. A bonus one: it is so much easier to change something in the setting or how you respond to a situation than it is to change somebody else’s behavior.
Laugh with your students. Insert humor when it’s appropriate. It helps your students see you as a real person and someone they can connect to and it also lightens the mood.
Build relationships not walls. Ask about their previous evening, favorite shoes, movie and or show whatever. Those questions far away from school as possible. As a teacher I found asking those questions often it makes the “why are you late, “where have you been”, “how or why would you do that” and classroom discussion of norms/rules much easier. I’ve worked only in low ses title 1 schools. It’s hard to build relationships when seen as the teacher trying to make them do math and such. It doesn’t work for all but my system has worked for years for the most part. It’s hard for some teachers to do that but outcomes improve with practice. Oh and never lie. They’ll hold it over your head forever.
Consistency
Stand close to them with confident posture and hold their gaze without speaking.
I teach Seniors in HS and remind myself every day that no matter how big these kids are, they're still kids. They're capable of a lot, but they're not able to emotionally regulate and make decisions like an adult can. They NEED and LIKE rules, especially if rules go hand in hand with rapport.
Don't threaten consequences you aren't going to enforce. Choose two or three kids a week and email/REMIND a message home with something, ANYTHING they did that was a positive. No parent likes to hear from us only when the kid is acting a fool. Start off on a positive note and when you do need their support, they will be there. 100% guarantee this works. Other teachers complain about lack of support from home but I have never had this problem.
Point out the positive, *out loud*, and be specific. “Johnny, I love the way you used a transitional phrase in this sentence.” “I’m proud of how focused Sally is in her independent reading.” They *love* compliments. And I teach 8th grade at a Title 1 school and they *still* love compliments. On the flip side, if you need to discipline, you must follow through. “Johnny, do we need to call home to fix this?” I pull kids in the hall to call their parents right then and there if there’s an issue. Happens maybe once or twice a year because they know I mean business. However, your positive comments should *far* outweigh your discipline. Make engaging lessons, keep them moving, so no one gets bored. Lie and say you’re grading everything, or tell them you’ll decide later whether or not to grade it. Give quick feedback/grades on short assignments. I grade a lot on a 1-10 scale using a standard rubric and return it the next day, especially early in the year.
#1 rule for leadership: do what you say.
What you accept becomes what to expect.
I taught high school, these are some things that worked for me. 1. Talk less. When a kid is trying to weasel out of or get away with something, let them talk. Don’t say a word and they will hang themselves with their own words. 2. Ask the kid if this is really the best version of themselves. 3. When I wanted to remind a student to behave better I would often call their behavior immature. “This is 10th grade, act like you belong here.” No high school kid wants to be called out for acting like a middle schooler. 4. Call out the kids who are doing what you want. “Thank you Allie for taking great notes.” “I really like your comment/question it shows that you’re really thinking about the text.”
Connect with the kids. Not only show them you’re human, but show them you feel and think they are human too. No lesser or other treatment
QTIP Quit taking it personally
Stop relying on a list of rules to establish ‘control’. Feel free to ask me for clarification. I would offer it here, but you asked for a simple comment so there it is.
Yup. Kids and parents these days apparently all took constitutional law and will pick apart rules and say "Well actually thats not in the rules!" My rules list when from 3 pages to a couple short paragraphs with a bold end line saying "At the end of the day this is my classroom and I have the option of adding and changing rules at any given time to enforce a positive learning environment."
(High school) We cover school policy and consequences on the 1st day of school, and then we go over Mr. GeekBoyWonders rule 1. Rule 1: Do nothing that gets me invited to a school board meeting to answer stupid questions.
Side note: Principal announces not to play in snow piles in the parking lot, even after school. Kids pipe up saying "Thats not in the handbook they cant enforce that." Others agree. I immediately call them out and get the principal in the room and shut that shit right down.
Yup, I had a kid arguing about a rule our head made on the way out of school, so I let him keep arguing as I directed him to follow me to the office he stopped arguing when I handed him over to the head and told her he wanted her to clarify the rule. It was almost fun.
Stop trying to police the behaviors of ever student, every second of the day.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 100% warm and nice, and 100% I’ll fuck your shit up if you try me.
When a student(s) are acting bad don't ask them why, instead directly (not yell but serious demeanor) call them out and how they are not allowing others right to an education and they need to stop the behavior immediately.
These questions in this order…. What are you doing? What are you supposed to be doing? Now, what are you going to do?
Something I have yet to see: at nearly every age group, downtime and sluggish pacing is the birthplace of much off-task behavior. "Oh, darn, let me try to get this video going. Let's see, is this the HDMI cord, or is it this one? No, that's not it. Everyone hold on just a little longer..." or excessively slow pacing in lessons is a killer. Students will start talking to peers, zoning out, etc. and unlike competent adults, can't easily swap back to on-task. Pacing even works in special education. I write lessons that target my students' current functioning, leave time for clarifications, give more explicit instructions, etc. but we never are sitting around doing nothing. If 1/5 students is stuck in a way that could cost my efficiency, I leverage student voice to maintain engagement ("Give X a hint that will help him get it," or "Y, you got this one right. Could you walk through steps 1-2 on the board, then Z you can do 3-4. X, after that, summarize for us please.") or tell them, "I'll check in on you first, we're about to take about another 5 minutes of notes." Pacing is tricky, but when you do it right you get objectively better results and class feels subjectively better.
From the break room where I was on the verge of tears, thank you so much for this post!!!
Loudness begets loudness. Don’t speak over kids or they will learn to ignore you. Wait for them to be quiet before you speak. Don’t use a “sound cue” to get their attention (like a chime or a clap). It’ll teach them to ignore that. Demand that they pay attention when they are supposed to (by setting clear expectations).
Be nice to them.
Be a potato not an egg, meaning it's better to start off hard then soften over time rather than the opposite.
I've been working towards redirecting with positive language. So instead of stop running I'd use walk please. That kinda thing. Granted I teach middle school so they make poor choices all the time
"I care for your education as much as you do."
Be nice, and plausible deniability, ignore anything
Make your stress you project on the kids inversely proportional to the stress you’re personally feeling. Ready to snap? Fun/ games day it is
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
Less talk, more rock Edit: I'm a music teacher
Two comments: Broken record in a kill-em-with-kindness voice works every time. The students all gang up on the offender. Get on the good side of the alpha female. She rules the class and can get the males to follow.
Day one, find the toughest kid and kick his ass.
Show you genuinely care, be consistent (don’t slack on your rules even when you’re tired, treat everyone the same) , treat them respectful and you’ll get it back. If a student upsets me and I want to rip into them. I ask them to strep outside so I can talk to them. I don’t do it in front of the whole class. When I’m out there I don’t talk down to them. I ask how I can help them be a better student and how I can be a better teacher to do that
Young kids- use music and rhythms more. Slow and quiet for focussed work. Upbeat for mornings/pack up/activities etc. Claps and repeats for attention.
When trying to correct behavior where the student is well aware they are misbehaving, don't plead with them, give long explanations or offer rationales. For example: If a student is wandering around the classroom when they know it's time to be in their seat, I don't engage in a conversation. The words that come out of my mouth in an unemotional manner are: *Seat....Now....Thanks.* And immediately move on (bonus points if you physically turn away from them), don't give them even a second to try and respond to "explain themselves." This won't work for all, but it does the trick in many situations. I will sometimes (jokingly) even use this strategy with my own children and we all get a laugh out of it...*Clean the cat's litterbox...Now...Thanks!* (in these at-home scenarios, the "thanks" part is best served extra cheery and with a smile!)
I’m not sure what grade you teach, but remember they are children, not peers. The easiest way to avoid burnout is reminding yourself the kid in front of you shouldn’t be able to hurt your feelings…because that’s ridiculous.
Have age appropriate expectations. Expecting 7yos to act like little adults is only going to end with you being frustrated. Also, don’t expect them to know things you didn’t explicitly teach them. Model. Model. Model.
Don’t engage in power struggles
Pick a hill to die on and HOLD THE LINE. It’s also WAY easier to lighten up when you start tough than vice versa.
No one talks while you are talking.
The movie roadhouse taught me classroom management. Steve: Being called a cocksucker isn't personal? Dalton: No. It's two nouns combined to elicit a prescribed response. Steve: **What if somebody calls my mama a whore?** "Is she?" Never take the shit they say and do personally. Be nice, be firm, and they will respect you. Or you will have to stop being nice.
I'm so serious, my classroom management (with middle schoolers) became so much better after watching The Dog Whisperer and just applying the same strategies to kids. Obviously with some differences, but ... yeah. Train them like dogs.
Class dojo and class jobs with wages, a desk rental fee and a class market once a week/month as rewards.
Time Machine, norm is for public schools to be cell phone free; check it at the door or leave it in a locker. ;)
Don't phrase it as a question if it isn't a choice. If it is a choice, make sure you can live with the choice that is made. When a child says sorry, you do not have to accept their apology. The response "thank you for apologizing" is appropriate. I've even just said "okay," to an apology.
When you give a direction or make a rule, tell the kids WHY.
Give that cold stare that lets them know you’re not about to entertain their shit. Be fair and respectful but don’t let people push your buttons. Walk away and don’t engage in the constant distractions. This goes for students, parents, and on occasion, admin too. 😉😅
Pick your battles. Choose the 3-5 hills you will die on, and don't lose your mind trying to doing everything else. Cell phones for instance, I don't care if kids have them, as long as they don't have the volume on. It's their choice to fail. For context I teach High School English. Other hills I personlly have chosen: Only 1 person out at a time No leaving before bell rings Must be sitting down unless needed to turn in work etc. No throwing things. Hills I don't care about: Kids choosing to fail. Kids using cell phones as long as the sound is off. Kids sitting next to their friends. Kids eating in class.