Here at SCM we’ve long lamented strategies that limit the freedoms of difficult students.
—Which include:
Permanently moving their desk nearest the teacher.
Not allowing them to work with certain students.
Restricting their activities, movements, or access afforded other students.
Now, it’s important to point out that this isn’t the same as enforcing consequences, which are predetermined, sharply defined, and time constrained.
In other words, once a student—any student—fulfills their obligation to the consequence, they are welcomed back as a valued member of the class with all rights restored.
Remember, our goal as teachers isn’t to just get through the day. It’s to impact students for a lifetime.
It’s to take students who struggle with behavior and help them change so they no longer struggle. So what’s wrong with limiting freedoms?
1. It labels them.
When you don’t allow some students to work with others, for example, you’re sending the message that they’re incapable.
You’re saying to them that they don’t measure up and that ‘behavior problem’ is who they are. They’re unbridled, even inhuman, and unable to control their emotions.
They, in turn, begin to believe this about themselves—or already do and you’re confirming it. This is demoralizing and devastating to their future and relationships with others.
It also causes more misbehavior, not less.
2. It establishes a static mindset.
A growth mindset is the belief you can improve. You’re not stuck in your current station but instead through hard work and determination can change and better yourself and your circumstances.
Anything, therefore, that communicates otherwise must be eliminated from your classroom. This includes your classroom management approach and attitude toward students.
Your consistent kindness and non-negotiable boundaries are for everyone. This underscores the importance of not taking misbehavior personally, seeking revenge, playing favorites, or using intimidation tactics.
Contrary to much of the current educational thinking, all students must be, and deserve to be, treated equally. Limits, as listed and defined above, are especially egregious and antithetical to a growth mindset.
3. They never get better.
When you tell students that they can no longer play soccer on the playground because they’re too aggressive and can’t control their anger, then they never get better.
Avoidance isn’t a classroom management strategy. What they need are clear boundaries, accountability, and the opportunity to try again—and again and again.
They need close supervision and the willingness of an adult to pull them aside and teach them how to play within the boundaries.
However, they need your trust most of all. They need to be shown post-consequence through your willingness to put them in any learning group that you believe in them.
Drip, Drip, Drip
The lessons learned from knowing exactly what is expected, and being held strictly accountable to those expectations, over time, if given the opportunity to learn from mistakes, changes behavior.
Now, sometimes it takes you as the leader they like and admire showing in greater detail what is and isn’t okay. It takes vigilant supervision and decisive enforcement.
It takes your belief in their capacity to grow and improve and change no matter their past, how they grew up, or the sins of those around them.
It’s the daily, consistent drip, drip, drip of trust, accountability, and learning. It’s you saying, “You can do this. I believe in you.”
That makes the difference.
PS – My new book Inspire, which describes the principles you need to transform student behavior and learning, is now available.
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I’m on board with this idea but what about students’ self-labeling? I hear, “oh, I can’t work with X.” Or even “We’re just a bad class.”
I find your strategies so helpful. Could you speak to the restorative practices approach and how it fits in with your approach to school and classroom management? Maybe this could be a blog post? Thank you for your consideration.
I believe he alludes to this in a previous post…
https://smartclassroommanagement.com/2021/03/05/does-accountability-still-matter/
Thank you for this. I have this student this year and I believe this is so important. I teach third grade. It’s been hard this year but I see that how I believe in my challenging student affects how the rest of the class in a positive way. It’s the grow mindset approach that lifts the level of all students and lifts me too. Thank you for your work that makes such a difference for classroom teachers.
Ugh. This topic is so hard for me! I have a very difficult student with ODD and he is currently on a behavior contract. (This is kept privately between us) The only thing I limit him on is that he must sit at his seat when he is on his computer. Whenever he sits someplace else in the classroom to do computer activities he will go on to other websites and not do his work.
What are your thoughts on that?
Though I agree with you in theory there are times and places, especially with young kids who are out of of the normal spectrums of behavior (aggression/stalking type behaviors) that it is not safe for others. Some students for a time are not able to handle the freedom of recess with 2 adults and 100 kids. I have a current situation with two students in my grade who are like a lion and a gazelle. The hunt for each other is real and they are harming others and themselves. They have to have limits until they can change through other means and their self-control matures. The expanding their boundaries is in the plan but they cannot independently and safely manage recess themselves.
Hi Catherine,
Teachers are pragmatic people. We live in the real world. It is not always black and white.
One of our primary duty is to protect the safety of our students. From what you are describing in your post, I believe that you are trying to deal with this situation sensibly and realistically.
Like you, I don’t disagree with the essence of Michael’s article. He is right that we must provide opportunities for our students to improve their behavior.
However, as teachers, we also have to trust our judgment. You are the expert when it comes to your classroom. You obviously care deeply about your students and are well-intentioned.
Keep up the good work.
I have a student who all of last year and this year has a seat with others but right by my desk. He is very loud. His voice booms across the class, he wants attention so very badly which is why he is by me so he doesn’t have to “seek” it out. He has a tendency to put others down and I’ve been working with him on changing that around. Now that I’ve read your article I think I should give it a try to see how he can handle working on his own. I’ll have a talk with him beforehand and make sure he knows what I expect of him.
Hi Treaaure,
I’ve had
many students over the years with “booming” voices. My technique for handling that actually comes from my old jr. high teacher, whom I heard explaining this to a classmate. He said, “You have a wonderful, powerful voice that commands a room, and that’s a great thing. Unfortunately, you might be speaking at a normal level and still get in trouble from your teachers because your voice carries across the room. So you have to work extra hard on keeping your voice even lower than everyone else’s. That may not seem fair, but that’s how it is.”
That has been pretty successful for me over the years and it’s been a “lightbulb moment” for a lot of students. One of my former boys is now in community college learning radio broadcasting, where he’ll be able to use his huge, booming voice and goofy jokes to great effect!
Thank you for sharing this. Wonderful!
Good article, Michael.
We always have students that when seated by “friends”, struggle to follow directions and this creates more classroom disruptions. Naturally, a teacher will move them apart to reduce the disruptions and this usually settles the class for awhile. I hate to make a person feel negatively labeled. But I will try this week’s article main point. It will take coaching the student plus include the SCM system.
It is important to remember that during our childhood, we had times of being less than lovable. Be able to forgive and move forward. It’s a good lesson for all of us.
Yes, no matter what you call rules, they are created to make the order of the day go smoothly. They should be flowered as planned.