Four of every ten new teachers leave the profession within five years.
That is a staggering number.
It’s made all the more alarming given that teacher shortages in the US are expected to exceed 300,000 by 2020.
Although low starting pay, large class sizes, and lack of autonomy are certainly factors . . .
Most of the reasons for dissatisfaction are within the teacher’s control.
That isn’t to say that it’s their fault.
Teacher ed. programs do a terrible job preparing teachers for the realities of the classroom, and individual schools and districts aren’t much better.
But with the right knowledge and commitment, anyone can have a long and happy career.
Here’s how:
1. Be an expert in classroom management.
This is by far the most important thing you can do to begin enjoying your job. When students are well-behaved and attentive, everything is easier.
Your confidence soars, your stress plummets, and the work becomes deeply satisfying—despite the craziness and politics outside your classroom walls.
Student time on task increases dramatically and even test scores are positively affected.
Here at SCM, we’re dedicated to providing the clearest and simplest approach to creating a classroom your students love being part of and you love teaching—no matter where you work or who shows up on your roster.
Becoming an expert in this one area will allow you to float above the fray and avoid the stress and burnout that effect so many.
When you get a chance, please check out our books and guides as well as over 500 articles in our archive that explain the strategies you need to thrive in even the toughest schools.
2. Say no.
It can be hard to say no, especially if you’re a new teacher eager to please. But politely declining committees or after-school programs you’re not required to join can save mountains of time and actually garner you more respect.
Saying no to gossiping colleagues, students who want to hang out during recess, and parents who want to discuss their child’s progress every other day can be especially liberating.
It can afford you the time you need to think, take breaks, or just sit and breathe.
You can also say no to doing for students what they can do for themselves—which is far more than most teachers realize—and to kneeling down to reteach what you taught just minutes before.
By focusing on your core responsibilities, which mainly consist of presenting excellent lessons and setting students up for success, you become much more efficient and effective.
You’re also able to leave work at a decent hour, which is key to number 3.
3. Take care of yourself.
According the American Federation of Teachers, 61 percent of teachers say their work is always or often stressful. Other studies indicate even higher numbers, as many as 93 percent.
This underscores the importance of not only becoming an expert in classroom management and learning to say no, but of taking care of yourself and seeing to your personal life.
You must get away from even thinking about teaching for several hours each day and limit, if not downright eliminate, any weekend catch-up work.
Eat a whole-foods diet and exercise at least three days a week to improve energy and relieve residual stress. Stretching, breathing, and meditation can also be effective. Adequate sleep, of course, does wonders.
Spend quality time with friends and family or on hobbies and interests outside of education. Laugh and enjoy your life. Make this your focus.
Teachers who view their profession as just one part of their life are happier and more effective than those who get sucked into a culture of obsession.
Fight Back
You don’t have to be a martyr who sacrifices health and happiness for your students, parents, principal, school, society, or anyone else.
You don’t have to work your fingers to the bone, stay late after school, or be frustrated with every new change in policy and curriculum or yet another responsibility thrown onto your plate.
You don’t have to endure daily misbehavior and disrespect.
It’s a myth that has become an institutional habit that you have to concern yourself with things out of your control, perpetuated by miserable teachers and controlling administrators who want to keep everyone else down in the muck or under their thumb.
But you do have to fight back.
You do have to be determined. You do have to shrewdly and unapologetically do what is best for your students, your career, and your long-term health and family.
Here at SCM, we’ve heard from thousands of teachers who have transformed their lives and careers using our approach.
It’s doable for anyone.
For more on how to eliminate stress and become more efficient so you can spend fewer hours at work, check out The Happy Teacher Habits.
For the complete SCM approach, my new book The Smart Classroom Management Way will be available in both paperback and Kindle this Tuesday, May 7th at Amazon.com.
Finally, if you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.
I started teaching in 2004 and quickly realized the one skill I needed to learn the most in college was classroom management. I think an entire semester or even a year should be dedicated to it in all teacher preparation. You cannot teach students until you learn how to manage them. New teachers are recommended to see me for advice on classroom management. I tell them to teach and practice your classroom management plan first before you teach your subject. A new, young teacher got burnt out for reasons mentioned in the article and quit in October. He didn’t take my advice. The ones who took my advice are still there. You are the teacher in charge, not a friend of the students. Being likeable is nice, but being respected is better. And you must get in the habit of leaving at 3:30 instead of 5:30 everyday. Bringing work home should either be limited or not done at all. Read blogs and attend workshops on managing difficult students. You must take the advice mentioned in this article if you expect to go the distance in education.
Pete, any specific suggestions besides this website & Michael’s books? This is my first year teaching. I’ve really enjoyed it but I can also see that if I were much better at classroom mgmt it would be so much more fun. There is just SO much info out there I don’t want to waste my time on bad info. Thx!
I’d say, other than the VERY excellent strategies listed here and in Michael’s books, etc: do a unit that’s just for you at some point; I recommend the end of the year because schools are more relaxed about curriculum and it should leave a good taste in your mouth. What do you love? What about the subject makes you excited? Why did you get into this in the first place? What was a unit that a teacher did when you were a kid that you remember fondly? Did you do anything in student teaching that you liked, but didn’t have time for? Is there anywhere you can go that will mix things up (being mentors for a younger grade, walking to the library, etc; it doesn’t have to be a big deal thing).
Before you begin, review and practice expectations (think what Michael recommends for the first day(s) of school), then: Show them you’re excited. Show them you like them, and you’re excited to share the unit with them. And use the opportunity to practice your classroom management; you’ll automatically get better at it with time; this site should just help that process go WAY faster =)
This article is excellent. I’m not thinking about quitting, but I always like to stay refreshed.
Yes.
Please write an article on students who WILL NOT SHUT UP EVER, EVER, EVER!!!!!
I have your books, follow the rules, etc. but AM LEAVING TEACHING because the kids refuse to behave, participate in, or even listen to the most interesting, fun lesson plans. These are kids that I love, but I can’t take it anymore. There is no support for the teachers when there are students who do this and interfere with the learning of every other student. MANY teachers are leaving my school this year.
FIX THAT!!!!
This. I have been teaching for over 20 years and I feel less respected than ever. I feel like I can’t even get to do the things suggested here because of what you said. I’m not leaving, but I would like help with this basic issue.
I have been teaching for 20 years also. I’m just ready to leave teaching because (at least where I work) they are turning us into robots! Not to mention, they keep adding more and more to the curriculum but taking nothing away and still give us the same length in the day to teach it ALL! Now, throw in there all of the wonderful testing that 6-7 year olds certainly need to do and well…it insane!! A coworker got dinged on her Observation because she went 2 MINUTES over the 20 minutes we are allotted per group!! Please tell me that not every district is way!! After 20 years in the same school, I want to either quit teaching OR go look for another job in a new district. But, with 20 years experience AND a master’s degree..IDK what to do!!
So sorry to hear about your students. What if you just don’t accept the talking?
I teach littles, but I don’t accept anything from my students that interferes with learning process. I establish this day 1, and stick to it. That’s why we’re here and I make sure they know that. We talk about how they hurt themselves and their peers when their behavior interferes with learning.
In the first 2 days of school, I let them choose rules that support their ideal classroom. I also let them establish the consequences. I rarely have discipline issues after 20+years, but it takes absolute consistency.
I don’t have any of the books SCM offers, but I come from a long line of teachers and agree with a lot of what I’ve seen here.
I wish you luck with your decision; I just hate to lose another dedicated teacher!
I don’t accept the talking, rudeness, etc. and consistently write them up on behavioral detentions following our school policy. However, it doesn’t stop them in the least. They serve the detentions. They sit out from special activities as punishment. Every day, they come into the classroom and continue doing the same things. I want to teach the students but can’t because of a handful of boys that just won’t stop their immature ways. By the way, they are 6th graders.
Exactly! And everyone saying, “just don’t accept the talking,” is about as useful as telling a diabetic to, “just make your pancreas produce insulin.”
What are you doing to reward the expected behavior? I was a strict teacher the first 5 years in my current district. The first year, I noticed my students were taking advantage of me, so I became strict. I wrote them up, as it sounds you are doing, but forgot one thing…to teach them what it felt like to do what I expected. I just expected them to get it. I had to break a 3 year cycle, as the teachers before me struggled with the same, and determined I was going about it all wrong. We started working toward table points, daily rewards (raffles, surprise candy, positive calls/postcards home) and I noticed a drastic improvement in their respect for our rules and in turn, for me. One reason- I wasn’t always the bad guy. The rule was the rule, and I enforced it, by rewarding the positive, and following up with the negative (notice I didn’t say punish). It’s possible. You just have to flip how you are thinking about their behavior. Don’t give up, or give in, just reward what you want. It’s work, but it works.
😂… my sentiments exactly!
Yaaaaaaasssssss!
Hi, please forgive me for asking, but how many years have you been teaching? I know from personal experience the first years of teaching are not pleasant. My first two years on the job were the worst. My first principal told me after year one, “You’re a bright guy and know your stuff, but your students take advantage of you.” Fast forward 15 years. My current principal considers me a role model for staff when it comes to classroom management. (It didn’t take 15 years, because I left for a while and returned to the profession in late 2015). I would be lying if I told anyone I didn’t think about quitting, but I can tell you that staying the course and learning to master the art of classroom management is well worth the effort. However, I strongly recommend everyone who struggles with classroom management this one bit of advice — decide whether it is more important for you to be respected than it is to be liked. I’ve seen the teachers who are “liked” by students are usually the ones who do not enforce discipline. Conversely, I’ve seen the teachers are who are not liked are usually the ones who enforce discipline. Students may not enjoy going to their classes, but they do their work and quiet down when the teacher speaks.
I’ve bought many of Michael’s books and felt that they were very helpful. However, this current group and younger..it’s not working. Yes, those of us who are firm with classroom management are hated by the kids despite how much love and kindness we also show them. It’s sad.
I’m an extremely “seasoned” teacher….30 years!!!! I’ve never had problems like this before, but it seems that from the 6th grade down to 4th grade, the students are like this now. They refuse to be quiet or to listen or to participate. Is it because I’m older? I don’t think so. Even the younger teachers are having a horrible time with them. The parents back the kids, the principal doesn’t get any tougher than giving an in-school suspension. I really needed to teach one more year, but….. my mental health and physical health are much more important to me.
Sunny…real talk from a retired old-school teacher/administrator. First, you better develop a back-bone real quick! Second, document, document, document, the behaviors. Document calls made to the students home, calls to the office for immediate support or removal of the student and no assistance was given. Document any other interventions you have tried to alter their behavior. In addition, I strongly suggest you start blowing up the phone of the parents. Every time this particular group disrupts your classroom, call the parent at home or work. They would get tired of me calling them. Finally, after you’ve done all that you can to correct the behavior and they still won’t shut up, write a referral for suspension. Make sure you specifically write on the referral form that the student will not be allowed back into your classroom until a mandatory meeting with the parents is held. I strongly suggest you formalize your request for the mandatory parent meeting in an email or letter to the principal. Formalizing it forces the principal to respond to what you’ve been seeking assistance with. More documentation/evidence for you. You must stand your ground on this. Do not waiver even if you are threatened with a misconduct. DO NOT let the lack of administrative support and the kids who never shut up determine your destiny as a teacher! Be encouraged and stay strong!
I’m an extremely “seasoned” teacher….30 years!!!! I’ve never had problems like this before, but it seems that from the 6th grade down to 4th grade, the students are like this now. They refuse to be quiet or to listen or to participate. Is it because I’m older? I don’t think so. Even the younger teachers are having a horrible time with them. The parents back the kids, the principal doesn’t get any tougher than giving an in-school suspension. I really needed to teach one more year, but….. my mental health and physical health are much more important to me.
Yes to all of that, but not to leaving school early each day.
I stay at school until I have done everything needed to come back the following day and fly straight into action, even if it keeps me at my desk until 8pm. I leave light handed, my computer locked in my desk drawer, and, most importantly, light-heartedly, because I can feel confident that the burden of ‘not quite ready for tomorrow’ and ‘still got things I have to try and get done’ is completely lifted.
If I didn’t do that, I would spend the evening feeling slightly stressed and the following morning would be even worse as I would feel I have to get back in early to get ready. Yes, I’m old and I don’t work as quickly as I did when I was younger, but I am part-time and don’t need to be in until 10am in the morning.
So I have a blissful, relaxed morning, content in the knowledge that all my work is marked, all my materials are ready on my desk, I don’t have to queue for the printer and nobody is going to castigate me for being unprepared.
That is worth staying later for!
Yeah, I think there’s a balance that needs to be had. I’d say: either spend your afternoons or your weekends working in your first year, but NOT BOTH, and stop by 5:00 every day, no matter which you choos, and no matter how late meetings go. The planning will help SO MUCH in classroom management that it’s worth it, but you have to make time for breaks.
In later years, you can get maybe 90% done in more or fewer staff hours, but those first years are tough.
Also: before starting, I’d talk to others about making the workload manageable. Things like “have students present projects while you grade them” and “why are you creating separate questions for every chapter instead of using a framework that will help your workload AND their reading skills?” would have been great questions to ask in year 1.
Delighted about the book and look forward to buying it as a small thank you for the most informative articles over the years.
It’s my pleasure, Ethna.
I am one of the four of ten. It took me three years to ace classroom management. This was my fifth year and I left. Taking care of myself which I didn’t realize was SO vital until year two is hard to balance with school hours that begin at 8am. There is a lot sacrificed when you are a teacher, including putting your family and friends second to your own self care and keeping 30 kids happy. I used to run an after-school program and I noticed that aided my classroom management but when I stopped doing it after switching to a new school, I felt like I didn’t know the kids at all after 2 years of being with them (I’m a specials teacher). I just want people to know that you can give it five years, maybe six but if you’ve been trying everything and still don’t like it, leave. There are other things out there for you that will not take your soul, fortune and passions away. I am the happiest I have ever been since college.
I finished 20 years of teaching and now I’m an aide making very little money. What kind of work are you doing now? I should have left MANY years ago! I’m NOT a hard core disciplinarian and after trying every “program” in the book, I’m just not cut out to be one!
Thanks Michael, for this reminder. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve purchased and read all of your books, including the SCM Elementary Plan, and am looking forward to your next one this week!
Kristin
Thank you, Kristin! I hope you like the new book.
Yes to a happy classroom and yes to having some steely boundaries!
I have been asked to teach a K-5 Special Education classroom this coming school year. I have taught K-2 SPED for one year and for a short time a 5th grade SPED classroom. How do I manage and teach all these grade levels? Thanks!
I am an Australian teacher – but it sounds the same statistically here. I am putting my family first and quitting. I agree that excellent lessons and good management are key but struggle with the idea that you can teach excellent lessons (in a primary school where you need to be an expert at teaching every subject) without putting in long hours. I am studying to become a tennis coach now – so I can be an expert in one subject. I love tennis and feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. I think if classes were limited to 20 students it would help enormously- particularly in primary school. If the government here wants us teach 33 kids and provide direct feedback to everyone in every lesson – and wonders why results are slipping, I am out! It is INSANE!!!!
Small classes surprisingly don’t help. At least not in primary ed. You have limited potential for seating arrangements whilst still wanting them to do group work. The real problem is the range of abilities within a class. I found I was having to do 4 sets of work, and 4 sets of resources to keep everyone engaged and progressing. It is bad idea to group children by age as this is what forces this situation. In larger school its easier to split them that way you could have maybe 2 classes with the same timetable that share the kids per subject and have more adult resources in the class that have less independently working children so that they all get a chance to learn properly. I would rather have a class of 30 low attaining children with extra help, or a class of 30 high attaining kids with no additional help that are able to go deeper than a class of 20 or 30 completely mixed attaining children with a little help.
I agree with you Mandy. I have 23, and it’s the range in abilities that’s stressing.
When you leave a comment is it private?
Teaching is for everyone, but the know how of classroom management is not for everyone. It does require some talent, and one has to know how to keep calm. Lots of reading can help, but remembering how to perform the ideas and being consistent is another.
Kids know who they can bully and pick on. At some point, if there is not one discipline master or CONSEQUENCES to such behaviour of being rude or abusing a nice teacher while he/she is teaching that is established in every school, we will see many teachers leaving this profession every year.
I agree with Sunny. It’s impossible to get the support from the administration needed to deal with the disrespect and disruption to learning. I followed all the strategies of this website and I still had a horrendous year. I’ve never had a worst behaved group of students. Hoping to find a more supportive administration and better teaching setting next year!
Teachers handle a lot but principals no longee support the staff. I would just like a teaching jo without flying to Alaska. 8 interviews, which 1 rushed me as they ran over on previous interview. Sad, not s shortage if persons are willing to travel. Just too particular on a job wheee we already have to prove ourselves daily.
Parents need to take computers away or limit them to 30 minutes per day.
Some children do not know how to communicate or focus because of overexposed computer use playing games.
I write a parent letter at the beginning of school and request that their computer time if playing non learning games or searching junk, should be limited to 30 minutes and allowed on the weekend only.
I have found that it improves their focus in class.
Yes! I think a lot of this behavior stems from kids being unable to focus. The are used to playing a computer game, or using a social app, which gives them instant feedback. If they don’t like what they see, they simply click a button ir swipe it away. It’s not like that with learning. I find success when I can switch up the method of learning every 20 minutes or so.
I’ve got 16 years invested in teaching and I’m known to be good with classroom management. Yet my students (6 of them) are eating me up this year. I think about quitting, but I can’t afford to. I feel trapped AND I feel compelled to figure it out.
I do a lot of what Michael says. I leave at the end of the day, have a life, and don’t take work home. I also am taking daily steps to find ways to have a positive outlook.
Michael, I want to thank you for all the writing and articles that you have put up. Even though I consider myself strong in behavior management, I always learn something new or something to fine tune in reading these articles.
I am on the opposite end of the spectrum from some of the comments on this article; I have been more happy teaching in my last two years then I have in the previous fifteen. A lot of that has to do with making classroom management an enjoyable experience, so I love my time with my students.
I teach at an international school, and some of the teachers here are very happy and others are completely miserable. And the difference between the two is often based on how well the teacher can run their classroom.
You’re welcome, Jon. Indeed, effective classroom management makes all the difference.
Quit! The profession is a disgrace!
When a school administration says the teacher is responsible for the constant talking and students making noises, they only relent (sort of) if a child hits another student in a fight. The classes are not leveled so there are either too few in a class or too many, and the mix of students is heavily weighted. Some classes have 95 % behavior problems across their classroom teachers. Some mixture of behavior problem students with better students works much better if the ration is higher for the good performing students.
Done…so exhausted, kids behavior, parents, administration, too much testing…
Handed in my resignation a few weeks ago.
I started as a new teacher at the beginning of the year. I didn’t know about classroom management plans as my ed courses didn’t adress this as a module, just a general mention. I hate what I do. The kids walk all over me, those that want to learn can’t because of the noise so I am failing them. Where I am we cannot punish very much as we are limited to keeping in at break as students take limited public transport home so I cannot give detention. I am depressed every day: they love me but have no respect. I teach three classes of 38 and none of them pays any attention to my calls for attention. I keep calling in my head of grade who lectures them for a few minutes which I feel further undermines me. I wish there was a book on what to do AFTER one has lost all classroom management. Not all of us get to have a plan beforehand. There must be something one can do? Is there?
This is exactly me!!!! I have done the same above things that you have and still feel so defeated. It is almost embarrassing when other teachers or admin step in to lecture the group of students, and like you said you feel undermined. I hate it as well.
Thanks Holly, although it’s sad for us, its good to know that someone else is ‘feeling’ it too, Just left a comment on another article of Michaels as I forgot where I had written this one! I am going to get the book and hope that there are some steps in there for me to try recover my classes. If not, I just have to take what has happened this year and make changes for the coming year. But the thought of living week after week with the way things are is depressing.
I so completely understand what you are saying. I started my job in February. So, I was not only new to teaching but starting after the middle of the school year in a really really rough middle school. I can’t tell you how many times I have called the office to have kids put out of my room because I just can’t handle it. It’s awful. Next year I will have to try something (anything else) because what I am doing it NOT working.
Here is a thought – learn everything you can from this year. Remember it for next year. Have you read any of Michael Linsin’s books? They’re fabulous. I have a few classes this year that are like you describe, but I can tell you that I have not enforced my rules and discipline “to the hilt” so to speak.
Also, he has articles about turning things around mid-year, end of year, etc.
Even though I am not the management expert like he is or like some of the commenters here, my management has improved tremendously over the years since I found his book. Nothing else I’ve encountered has come close. Hang in there! You have the summer to make a new plan.
Thanks Nicole, I am going to get this book. As I mentioned in my reply to Holly, I am hoping there are some steps to helping one regain control after losing all of it. I will go into the new year with a totally different mindset now that I know the way things are but that doesn’t help me for the remainder of the year. I hope the book helps me. I’m really running on empty.
Samantha,
Yes there is something you can do in the middle if the year. I do this monthly or daily if needed. Rearrange your classroom. Move the desks, add or take away student gathering spots. Then when the students come back in, assign new seats.
Another thing I do is just go silent when kids don’t listen. They week eventually stop and listen.
Also, like others have said, document everything. I assign lunch detention, and my students write 25 times something like this: I will show respect to Ms. Highberg and will not talk and interrupt when she is teaching. Or it might say: I will not use swear words.
When they say, 25?! I say, oh okay, how about 50? Then 25 is fine. Once thru are done, I now have proof of their behavior.
So, I am not the only one with an unusually stressful year. While I support the idea that a teacher can often make or break a class, I also think some kids are chaos- makers, and not everyone is equally able to handle deliberate sabotage. And why should one or 2 chronically misbehaving students be allowed to dis rail multiple classes every day? If students get the idea parents , and maybe even deans, are willing to blame mainly teachers for classroom climate, the teachers are in a precarious position. I am watching veteran teachers being backed up less by admin. than in the past. In addition, mainstreaming should be done carefully, not just to please people who believe strongly in it. Someone who reads 6 years below grade level should be in a class geared to learners like himself. I love many of my students. The other ones are actually hazardous to our mental and physical wellbeing.
I think team-teaching may be a key! During my internship, the weeks I spent with the mentor teacher went very well. However, when I was alone, most of the time I nervous and stressed to the max to deal with the multitude of decisions to meet the needs of the children. I just earned my K-6 Teaching endorsement and have mixed feelings about teaching. Maybe it’s true that teaching is for a single person who wants to dedicate time and soul to the students. I don’t want to be a strict disciplinarian who doesn’t enjoy the students.
Ending question: how do you prescribe differentiation? Do you see the “interrupters” as students who cannot do the work?
This has been the most encouraging article I’ve read from you so far. Yet, it leaves me with more questions as previous articles. I don’t have time to find just the right article or money to waste on another “self-help” or “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” book/program. This is officially my third year teaching. The last two years have been very discouraging. I want to teach but dread the daily drama. I used to be cheerfully optimistic and ambitions no matter what. Now I’m just trying to get by.
Can I tell you his ebook is the best – what was it- 5 bucks? 10 bucks? – I’ve ever invested and it changed my teaching life. He’s the real deal.
I can tell you if things are going wrong in my classes, then I can recognize what I did to allow the situation. It’s a bitter pill at first, but after reflection and trying his methods, it’s quite empowering.
I agree with Nicole. The books are a great help and are very real world. It isn’t theory, it is written by someone who has had the same classes we have all had. I love the blog posts, but the books put everything in an organized fashion. They are also quick reads, and this is from someone who detests reading. (I know, I know. I’m a bad teacher for not enjoying reading…)
Which of his books would you recommend for HS? So much of what I read about classroom management is for younger kids that simply has little application to older kids. It is fundamentally different. Thx!
Hey Jeff,
I replied to your question about this in Michael’s article from this week but I just saw your comment here again so I’ll reply here just in case you don’t see the other comment.
Michael has an e-guide for purchase here for HS teachers. I’ve read it; I’m an el ed teacher but I think the HS plan is great!
Hope this helps!
I hear you. I also have questions that the book doesn’t answer. I’m sorry you’re so discouraged – I feel the same way. I get depressed on a Sunday evening. I don’t teach – I merely put up slides and have them take notes as I can’t hear myself talking so what’s the point of trying to teach. I hate that school is boring and a grind for them. I could make it interesting if they just respected me. I am sure we’ll find ways to handle this. Michaels book is very easy to read and encouraging. Hang in there
Hi Michael,
For me, your article is too little, too late. I’ve made a conscious decision to leave teaching the second that it will be affordable for me, which should be at the end of next year, G-d willing.
I can’t deal with the stress, the extra work, the lack of break. Teaching was the wrong choice for me. I never should have done it.
Susan McNeilly hit a problem right on the head when she mentioned the numerous “decisions we must make to meet the needs of the children”. Decision fatigue is real and having a simple plan that you enforce consistently helps reduce the decisions. I have taken your articles to heart and my teaching is getting less stressful every term.
Thanks so much for your blog!
I don’t use your system 100% because I need to make my classroom my own–but maybe that is still within your parameters. I feel like you’ve said so.
However this blog and its archive is so chock-full of fundamentals that I return to it every week. My favorites from you are the entries about modeling calmness, earning student respect, and doggedly never giving up on the “difficult” students.
I feel like this entry here ties everything up together. At the end of the day, we need teachers who are able to do their jobs day in and day out. For me, this is a career I am willing to fight for. We are walking out of our classrooms on Wednesday in the state of Oregon to demand appropriate funding. Without the support I get from your great examples here, I doubt I’d have the mental/emotional energy to put up that important fight, or to show up every day and do my best.
Thanks for what you do!
You’re welcome, Andrew! Thank you for being a regular reader.
Michael,
Thank you for the encouraging article! It’s my second year teaching, and although it’s very challenging I am still enjoying myself and can’t imagine having a different job. After agreeing to multiple additional commitments this year, I realize that tip #2: Say No is the biggest area for me to work on! I’ll be saying that a lot more next year 🙂
You can do it, Nick!
Michael, your books have essentially been my ‘education’ on classroom management and survival this year. As a first year teacher who was hired 10 days before school with only experience as a sub, I was drowning. I am 18 days (and counting) away from summer and I look forward to continue to learn from your writing.
Thanks Kristen. Summer is a great time to reassess and make changes for next year.
My contract wasn’t renewed and had to resign. It’s been two long years. Not sleeping much has cost me a few wrinkles and health. But in the end, it’s also a relief. It gives us some time to get off the rat wheel and think about what we want in life. I feel less afraid now and am willing to take the risks of doing what I want to do.
Hello Michael,
I just want to say thank you for everything you’ve provided for me over this past year. Although your articles reach thousands, I thought I’d drop a personal word of thank-you for everything you and your team have done for me.
The articles and strategies on your website have shaped my teaching philosophies in my first year. I went from having a out-of-control, chaotic classroom to one with structure, order, and discipline.
My students went from disrespectful to caring. They went from apathetic to engaged. Best of all, I know that I could do the next year even better than this year, and I could continually improve and refine my practices.
The beautiful note about the entire process is exactly as you state it: it is doable. Anybody can achieve it. It takes climbing that first step, but I’ve seen firsthand the immediate improvements that happen when I instituted your SCM Middle and High School plan and various other strategies that have been written about on your site.
Even though this website has helped so much, I am unfortunately one of the statistics that is leaving the profession. Even though I was able to make an authentic, real connection and difference with my students after a lot of hard work, an opportunity in a different field came up that I couldn’t pass up.
To close this brief statement of gratitude, I want to thank you again for everything you’ve done for me without realizing it. This year, your Classroom Management Plan and articles took my anger, stress, and frustration, and in their place you gave me back joy, peace, and a love of working with my students.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t a lot of hard days; as all the teachers on this site know better than me, the first year of teaching is tremendously difficult and stressful. But the advice, encouragement, and support you gave me was truly special, and something that I think should be taught in every single Teacher Education Program at every single college.
Thank you again, and please continue to make a difference in the lives of educators and students alike.
Thank you,
Blake
Hi Blake,
Thanks so much for your kind and eloquent words. They’re very much appreciated and are among those that keep me going every week. I’m sorry to hear you’re leaving teaching, but your students will forever remember you and the life lessons you taught them.
Michael
I usually love your posts however this statement caught me quite off guard and disappointed: “Teacher ed. programs do a terrible job preparing teachers for the realities of the classroom, and individual schools and districts aren’t much better.”
I am one of those trying to prepare students. They come to me not wanting to go to observations “on that side of town” and not willing to do any of the hard work associated with learning how to be the best teacher in a field they have chosen. Not all are like this, but a lot are. I have seen the quality of candidates increasingly not be impressive overall for the past few years. So perhaps it is not just the professors trying to teach how to be a good or great teacher that is in default, but the quality of candidates that are arriving and going into the market because teaching is/and or has become such a devalued profession in the past several years.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Jn. Perhaps the standards for obtaining a credential should be elevated.
JN, How are student teacher candidates allowed to ‘call the shots’ in their program as the examples you gave? There is no way my school would allow those type of candidates to even graduate from our program if they gave the type of problems you described. Why would you pass those type candidates and allow them into the classroom? Am I misunderstanding your comments? If your school has a better program for teaching classroom management to teacher candidates, then I applaud you. I live in an area with at least three different schools of education. None of them spend enough time on classroom management, such as the level that Mr. Linsin offers on his site. I am a first year teacher, and I can tell you from my experience, Mr. Linsin is correct. They do not adequately prepare us in the Teacher ed. program for the challenges of classroom management. I have learned what I know from this website and the books I have ordered from Mr. Linsin. He is excellent. I still “talk too much” but I have improved by continually reading this BLOG and reading his books. My most peaceful and effective days are when I keep emotion out of it, stay calm, and just let my classroom management plan do the work. 🙂
I follow the recommended steps and am consistent in addressing the students who break classroom rules. Your classroom management plan works magic! However, there are still a few students (ages 3-6) who have little regard for the rules and the subsequent strategies to help them manage (i.e. yellow card or any other recommended strategy that follows it). Your advice and guidance is appreciated on how to assist these few students. Thank you!
I started using Micharl’s suggestions 2 1/2 years ago. I had fairly good classroom management before but this has really bolstered my confidence and dedication to consistency. I had a very hard class last year. (1st grade) Truthfully, in class they were okay but the work I had to do for the awful behaviors at recess, on the bus, at specialist…basically anytime they were out of my sphere of influence was exhausting. I was just grateful that their in class behavior was manageable with consistent rules and expectations following the SCM ways. I’ve adjusted some to make things my own but I follow the basic tenants and have good success without bribing or bullying. Thx! I’m still tired but working with little kids is tiring but I do love my students and they seem to love me back!
Cathleen,
How did you tweak it to make it your own? I also teach first and would be interested in what you did this year that really worked!
Hello, TeachFirst!
I also teach first grade. This is my first year and boy have I learned SOOOO much! If you scroll up, you will see my comment to JN. I would love to share a few things I stared this past month that have greatly improved the behavior of my more challenging students. I do not have the time to get detailed right now but I will be glad to email you what I am doing. Michael Linsin and his team here at SCM have encouraged and challenged me to be my best and stay calm. That is the key. Keeping emotions out of the classroom when enforcing consequences is THE KEY! It is so hard NOT to take misbehabior personally but we must renew our minds daily to not let our emotions rule the day. I am speaking from experiece. Michael is right. Email me at: Gracysmom1206@gmail.com for details of what is working for me. Happy Mother’s Day (for you if it applies/for your mom if not). 🙂
I’m a teacher who is leaving, too. I taught for ten years, stayed home for that many more, and have been back teaching another five (first grade). Students have changed and expectations for teachers have changed. The workload is extreme. Because of differentiation and meeting with guided reading/math/writing groups every single day, I have 12-14 complete separate lessons to prepare each day. The paperwork is tremendous, with anecdotal notes on every student, every day in at least three content areas. My planning time is taken away regularly, leaving me about an hour a week. I end up working sixty to seventy hours a week–I know that isn’t what you say to do, but my principal still says I’m not doing enough, and she makes my life even more miserable if she sees one small detail left undone. I used to work extra hours because I wanted to do extra-special things with my students. Now I work extra hours and resent every minute of it.
Then there is the student behavior! I try to follow SCM for the most part, and I’ve been pretty successful with it, even with some pretty difficult kids. For this year’s class, though, it just didn’t work. I knew it was a tough class from the get-go, as one of last year’s kindergarten teachers quit because of them. I was pretty sure I could “fix” the problems and teach everyone, but it hasn’t worked. When I have a kid who walks around singing and dumping out crayons/math manipulatives/other students’ desks while I’m presenting a lesson, and I can’t do anything to stop him, and the administration says that he has to stay in the classroom, the other students know that I have no authority. They are rude and argumentative, showing disrepect to me as I TRY to teach. I’m a really good teacher, but I’ve felt more like a babysitter this year. Unfortunately, next year’s class is supposed to be just as bad.
I deserve better. My family deserves to have a mom again. Maybe it’s just my school, but I’ve seen several other comments from other people that hit too close to home to believe that’s completely true. Maybe after a year of doing something else, I’ll try to go back, at a different school. Right now, though, I quit.
Hi Michael,
I’m a long-time reader and have been searching your archives for advice on how to incorporate these methods with a class that has students who have behavior-related IEPs, but I haven’t found anything. If I’m missing a post or if this is addressed in one of your books, I hope someone can point me that direction.
I have been told I will have several students in the fall with fairly extreme oppositional behaviors. They will be pulled by a special education teacher part time but otherwise I have been told to “pick my battles” and “make allowances” with those particular students. Of course I will abide by the students’ IEP, work to establish rapport, use those accountabiliy methods I am permitted to use, etc.
My issue is more how to be consistent in enforcing my classroom management plan with the rest of my students when there will be three students in the room who clearly have different rules (per the IEP). Do I just not address the discrepancy and trust that the kids, being savvy, understand the situation?