Consistency is the heart and soul of effective classroom management.
Without it, nothing works as it should.
And everything gets worse over time.
Behavior
Respect
Work habits
They continue to deteriorate until and unless you start following through. But how? That’s the big question. If you’re like most teachers, you struggle with consistency.
Sure, you may be determined. You may want, desperately, to be consistent.
But in the moment, when it’s time to enforce a consequence, you falter. Maybe not every time, or even most times. But letting it go even once in a while can have a profound effect.
To be 100% consistent, it must be easy for you to follow through and hard not to. What follows are three keys to doing just that.
1. Leave no doubt.
You and your students need to know precisely where your boundary lines are. They need to be modeled and defined to the degree that there is never, ever a doubt when they’ve been crossed.
In this way, breaking rules is a choice your students know they’re making ahead of time and can feel in their gut when they do—like the drop of a roller coaster.
Not only do sharply defined boundaries cut way down on misbehavior, but knowing exactly when the wall has been breached makes it so much easier to follow through.
2. Promise.
After ensuring your students know the rules backwards and forwards, make a promise to them that you will follow your classroom management plan as written and enforce a consequence every single time.
The soft pressure on your integrity, as well as the threat of your students losing all trust in you, is enough motivation to keep you from weakening and giving in. It provides the strength you need to get over your fear and awkwardness.
It gives you the push to do what you have to do in the moment, when it matters most.
3. Decide.
Experts say that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. Make no mistake, consistency is a habit. Teachers who are consistent don’t even think about it. For them, following through is no more challenging than brushing their teeth.
So how do you get there?
You make a conscious decision. Every morning before your students arrive decide that you will follow through no matter what—even if a herd of wildebeests were to come crashing through your classroom.
I know it sounds simple, but this one active choice is extremely powerful.
Just sit and close your eyes. Breathe and calm yourself for 30 seconds or so, and then decide that you’re going to abide by your plan come hell or high water. And remarkably, you will.
Do it every day and being consistent will become not just something you do . . . but who you are.
Bold & Trusted
I hear the argument often: “What if I don’t see the misbehavior?”
It’s your job to see it.
You must put yourself in position, both physically and with the detailed way you teach your classroom management plan, to be able to recognize rule-breaking the second it happens.
Vigilant supervision is a must.
In the meantime, know that the three keys above have been proven to transform even the most permissive and weak-kneed teachers into bold and trusted leaders their students respect and want to behave for.
But it has to be important to you. You have to believe in the goodness of accountability. You must conclude that you’re sick and tired of all the stress and silliness and that you’re ready for the classroom you really want.
And now is the time to take it.
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What do you do about reports of rude language and mean behaviour occurring outside of your classroom in the playground. I’m not there to see or hear it but I think the children need consequences to realise it is not okay. How do I put this in place without causing tension?
Does your school have building wide expectations in common areas? It sounds like that be taken care of by support staff or admin.
If a teacher has reported to me about one of my student’s behavior outside my classroom, I take their word for it and confront the student(s). Then I implement my classroom discpline procedures nonetheless. Who does it create tension for? Your students will see that your expectations and influence go beyond your 4 walls – and others know they can trust you to do something about it and that your students matter to you at all times. This week two of my students were outside on our buildings deck (portables), another teacher caught them drawing inappropriate images on some chairs. They informed me of it and I wrote both of them up with a referral for vandalism and obscene gestures, logged it in our online system. Because it was the afternoon, they were served the referrals first thing the next morning and served full day ISS. And when I complete write ups for this type of situation, I always state that another teacher told me and give the details where appropriate and needed.
With so little administrative support, consequences are difficult, at best, to promise.
That can, and usually does, singlehandedly derail my plans.
Add that to apathetic parents and Covid zombie students, and I am further back than where I started from.
Loved the “covid zombie” expression. You nailed it!
Then use easy consequences that don’t require administrative support. SCM’s consequences are great in that matter. I personally use these 4:
1- Warning 1
2- Warning 2
3- Observation Mode
4- Parent Contact (through email or phone)
I also noticed that using SCM’s system you are always viewed as the ‘nice teacher’ and therefore the parents are usually very supportive. You don’t need to involve the admin at all (unless a student is physically dangerous.)
Good luck.
Observation mode?
What is observation mode?
Paul, I use the approach in Rachel’s reply. I have taught them we have a “Safe Space: You are NOT in trouble, simply go so you can calm your mind and body.” I quietly say “come with me” and walk them over reminding them “Even I need a quiet space at times – we all do… you are not in trouble. When you are calm you, I’ll invite you to return so you can be successful.” This is amazingly affective with my toughest, rudest, even violent kiddos because I always speak with calm respect and care for their success in my class. When they go to observation mode, I work to transition to class games or high-interest activities that we use. This helps a kids watch and learn and calm themselves, ready to return. I watch carefully. Then commend them for being calm. “You look calm. Are you ready to return? It’s ok if you are not… ” Sometimes the tough ones will say, “Not yet”. I commend them for being honest and look for a chance to connect after class to let them know I’m proud they worked hard to be successful in my class. Even when a student continues to struggle in class I say after class, “We will keep working at this. You matter and we will find what you need to be successful.” This reminds me to care for the strugglers who make teaching hard – each kid wants to succeed and has a story we usually know nothing about. Repeated issues with my toughest 5th grade girl, told me after class her dad (single parent) is dying of cancer with no family here to support them. She’s now working at being less disruptive, still sassy, but improvement!
Do you think it’s possible to start this in the middle of the year? This semester has been ROUGH with my high school students. I’m feeling jaded and on the path to burnout. I’m terrified that if I flip the switch at the beginning of the semester and actually begin enforcing my rules I’ll have a riot on my hands, and/or a group of kids who do not take me seriously at all. Any words of wisdom? (Long time reader, first time commenter, adore your work even if I am too cowardly to implement most of your advice)
Hi Allie,
I’m going to address your questions in a Facebook video Monday evening.
I am struggling with this exact scenario with my middle school students. I am looking forward to hearing some ideas on how to restart halfway through the year. I am so glad I came across your question.
I agree.Same experience with me. Student’s habits and their general involvement in academics has dropped dramatically, in my experience. Everything we have tried has been -seemingly-unsuccessful. We feel really burnt-out and hopeless. I am praying that the winter break will bring students some maturity and badly-needed self-awaress.
Consistency is key. When I feel myself falter with the kinders I’ve been charged with until my colleague gets back from her leave I just think of The Nanny. That lady is one tough cookie! Thinking of her reminds me kids just want to know how they fit in the world. I can’t wait to get back to my 2nd graders. I had time to build an open and honest relationship that makes it easy to stand ground for me.
STOP BLAMING THE KIDS! It’s unbelievable how those who struggle with classroom management immediately just blame the kids. I see it all throughout schools and even in these posts. No accountability whatsoever. You created the culture in the classroom, and because it’s not working you immediately assume it’s the child’s fault. For those of you seeking answers or a fix at the midway point of the year, GOOD LUCK! You created the culture early, so now that’s how your students perceive you. For those of you not ready to give up, I commend you, but it starts with you taking ownership in your role first. Once you are willing to admit blame then you can start to learn and alter your approach to a more effective one. STOP BLAMING THE KIDS!
Whom do you feel is “blaming the kids”?
And why do you feel it’s your responsibility (and/or right) to scold others about it?
Totally agree. Not her place to scold. How about being supportive of the poster asking for legitimate help.
Everyone … that means you MUST stop what you’re doing. Don’t give yourself the excuse that you were “in the middle of reading a passage to the class” and didn’t want to be bother to check for a late pass or tell a student to take his earbud out or to sit up. Behavior and classroom management come before your lesson and content. Otherwise, your students WILL end up not taking your lesson and content seriously. Make the commitment to STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING / STOP THE LESSON, know matter what, to enforce classroom management, even if it’s just calling out someone for not doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Coming in late to class is a big one.
I wish all readers a blessed holiday season!
Andrew
Hi, this was a great mid-year post! While I use Michael’s classroom management system to run my classrooms, very often, when it is going well, I start “not seeing” misbehavior. Interestingly enough, I find that when I sometimes pretend not to notice when rules are broken, even though my students still behave, they are more negative and less motivated. Not a coincidence! The more eagle-eyed I am, the more I notice and give the consequences, the happier and calmer my students are. Thanks for the reminder!