At its best, classroom management is elegantly simple.
Take, for instance, your room environment.
A messy, unkempt, or clutter-filled classroom sends the message to your students that poor behavior and middling work habits is acceptable—regardless of how often or how forcefully you say otherwise.
Because if your classroom environment doesn’t match your call for excellence, hard work, and respect, then you might as well be talking to the art projects fading and curling on your walls.
Stacked boxes, messy work areas, disorganized and overflowing cabinets, cramped aisles and walkways, papers piled on your desk, various materials and resources jumbled here and there…
Clearing it all out and replacing it with a clean, organized classroom will do wonders for behavior in your classroom.
Here’s why:
It commands reverence.
Adults and students alike walk into bright, neatly arranged classrooms like they’re walking into a museum. They sort of tiptoe in, taking great care not to disturb its peacefulness and sacred learning environment.
It’s inviting.
An attractive classroom draws students in and makes them want to be part of what is going on inside. All students crave the feeling of being associated with something exclusive. And your classroom environment should communicate to all who enter that indeed it is.
It’s a statement of respect.
Your room environment shows how much you value respect—respect for learning, respect for each other, and respect for property. Although they might not be able to verbalize it, your students can see it and feel it every time they walk into your classroom.
It makes you a better, more confident teacher.
A clutter-free classroom will have a powerful effect on you—calming you and sweeping away the mental clutter and discouragement. It’s a reminder that you’re in control of your classroom, and that creating the teaching experience you desire is within your grasp.
It strengthens your influence.
Creating a classroom your students enjoy coming to every day is a key cornerstone of Smart Classroom Management. A fresh, appealing room environment contributes to the feeling that being one of your students is a special experience—which in turn gives you leverage to influence behavior.
It makes a statement.
There are some classrooms you walk into and know the teacher expects the best from his or her students. It oozes from the walls and hums through the air—even when empty. In fact, your classroom environment is an uncanny predictor of how effective a teacher you are.
It gives students a sense of pride.
Students notice everything—from the way you dress to how you speak to what your desk looks like. If you take pride in your classroom and how you go about your job, then your students will follow your lead, taking pride in themselves, their behavior, and their schoolwork.
It calms and focuses.
Some classrooms look like they’ve been tipped upside down and shaken. Cramped, scattered, uncomfortable…distracting, stale, tense. In 100% of the cases, students in such classrooms are unhappy, unruly, and climbing the walls.
A sharp-dressed classroom, on the other hand—full of pride, respect, open walkways and clear desktops—is a calming, safe-haven to students—allowing them to breathe easy and focus on learning.
Excellence Is Expected
Your classroom environment has such a strong bearing on how your students perceive themselves and the expectations you have for them that you can’t afford to let it fall into disarray or get swallowed up by accumulated materials or cluttered hodgepodge.
Armed with a free weekend and a little perspiration, you can send a powerful and unmistakable message to your students, one that whispers to them every time they walk into your classroom…
“Excellence is expected.”
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i strongly believe that your classroom reflects your teaching philosophy and gives the teacher and students a “place” where expectations are clear. however, in our school, our newest teachers are not allocated classrooms. (it’s first come, first served, in terms of length of employment.) our school roll grows each year, without any concurrent growth in classrooms. as our students have a rotating timetable (different classes at different periods on different days), the poor new teacher gets shunted all over the school – sometimes meeting a class in a different room each time! now multiply that by 5 classes of different year groups…it’s trial by fire.
as each room “belongs” to another teacher, the new teacher has no way to personalise it for themselves or their class. when i was new to my school, i had one class in a room where there was nothing on any of the walls, and there were stacks of years-old, outdated curriculum papers on all the shelves, and the whole room was covered with dust. it was depressing for all of us. i commandeered one display wall for my class, but rather than give my class a home base, it simply made a more stark contrast with the rest of the room. we were all relieved when an older teacher in the department retired and i was the next in line for the room.
as a long term teacher myself now, i try to give the 4 other teachers who share my room (1 period a week each) space to display their students’ work, plenty of room on the whiteboard (2 out of 3 boards worth), and i leave all my power/tools cords plugged in so they only have to worry about remembering the laptop (and whatever else they have to trolley around).
we see the results of this “musical rooms” policy in student behaviour, and teacher burnout. teachers arrive very late, forget items from class to class, often have no access to tools because the regular room teacher has locked away the projector remote or some such thing. they are exhausted from carrying huge stacks of books & materials, and often have to send students on a scavenger hunt for required items. the poor things are just frazzled, no matter how well prepared for the week.
students become unruly while waiting for teachers, and then have little interest in transitioning to class time when the rushing, panting teacher arrives. because it is difficult for the teacher to keep a behaviour programme in place, students recognise that there is not enough follow through, and continue to behave poorly. (btw, i have recommended that all of our new teachers subscribe to this blog – it’s a lifesaver!)
unfortunately, our school is talking about creating teacher “spaces” for preparation, while allowing for *more* musical rooms! (we already have a good sized work room for each dept, and a main staff workroom as well.) we lost one of our best new young teachers when she discovered she wouldn’t have a room for the 2nd year in a row. while admin may find it easy enough to find another body to timetable, the reality is that our school lost a very good teacher.
i think i will print this article and leave it where management will be sure to see it. thanks again for another useful piece.
Hi Kelly,
That sounds like a crazy system to me. I think I’d have a hard time not having a room all to myself, to personalize as I choose. Also, as you mentioned, classroom management would be a greater challenge. Thanks so much for sharing.
Michael
Excellent post! You have made such important points. A classroom is an extension of a teacher. It reflects his/her attention to detail, work ethic, and respect for one’s students. I know for a fact that an attractive, organized classroom cuts down on student misbehavior. A former student, who was unruly in other classes, behaved very well for me. When asked, the boy stated that he feels upset in classrooms loaded with clutter, but in Ms. Miles’ classroom he can focus.
A simple yet effective design feature of classrooms is living plants. Silk plants are a no-no!! Not only do live plants show students you care for something, they produce oxygen and thrive on the students’ exhaled carbon dioxide.
Lighting up corners of the room with desk lamps is another way to bring a homey feel to the space.
The most important thing, far more important than plants, fishtanks, lights, or aromatherapy (all nice elements of a classroom!) is to de-clutter the space. I believe 21st century teacher should work toward a paper-less classroom. It’s worth the effort!
Hi Victoria,
Great ideas! I’ll bet your room looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
Michael
Michael, thanks for the response. I am amazed how much I agree with your posts. You are doing fabulous work. Here’s a picture of me in my classroom – taken late summer. I now have a couple colorful posters, and student work displayed on bulletin boards. But counter tops are still clean!! 🙂 http://msmilesmath.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/classroom2.jpg
Awesome, Victoria!
Kelly,
Excuses, excuses…just like the ones you hear from your students~ “the dog ate my homework”. UGH!
This is a great article, and I wish my teacher could see it! I am usually a very organized person and walking into a cluttered classroom each day makes me uncomfortable. I sometimes wish I could organize it for him!
Thanks Julia! And thanks for taking the time to comment.
Michael
It is important to know if the students are comfortable with their classmates and the classroom decorations also. To ensure that they are comfortable when studying.