This is my 700th article.
Will there be a party here at SCM? A parade perhaps? Maybe a speech about me, me, and more me and all the people who made me who I am.
Yay, aren’t I amazing! Oh, the horror.
The truth is, it’s just another day, another grind at the laptop. The satisfaction I get from writing about classroom management comes only through my responsibility to you.
If I’m not helpful, if I can’t make you a better and happier teacher, then it’s just words on a page. An echo on the wind.
It’s in the responsibility that there is value. It’s the work itself that brings inner stillness and fulfillment. Deeper still, and even more satisfying, is the act of taking responsibility for my students.
However, not all teachers experience this feeling.
Not all teachers know the contentment and sheer empowerment of refusing to indulge in any excuse for poor student behavior and academic performance.
We live in the age of excuse, of justification for every misstep, mistake, and failure. It’s easy to say that students behave the way they do because of their home life, social media, and the group of friends they hang out with.
And you can certainly make the case for it. You can cite research. You can view their records and look into their past. You can see how they dress and speak and respond to instruction.
All true.
But they’re still in your class. They still show up and sit in front of you every day. The question isn’t how they got that way. It isn’t why they behave the way they do. The question is, what are you going to do about it?
One of the best and happiest teachers I know recently had to break up a fight between two of her students. It happened right in the middle of class. They were squared off throwing punches, some to the face.
It was brutal, and scary. She followed all the school and district prescribed protocols. She involved herself in every administrative decision and discussion. She made sure they were held accountable in the strictest way allowable.
They were solely responsible for their behavior, and she made sure they knew it and felt it through strong additional consequences she created and ensured and that lasted for weeks beyond the incident.
Many teachers in the same situation would say:
The culture is in decline.
It’s how they’re raised.
Violence is glorified.
It’s admin’s fault for putting them in my class.
And other such justifications for the behavior. And they have a point, no doubt. You can make that case all day every day. But as soon as you do, as soon as you point the finger, you lose your power to truly do something about it.
You lose the power to do something great and turn failure into a lesson that impacts your students for the rest of their life.
My friend who broke up the fight was only concerned with what she could do better. Instead of looking outward, she asked:
What did I miss?
Where can I improve?
How can I make sure this doesn’t happen again?
What can I learn from this?
The buck stopped with her. Her students were 100 percent responsible for their actions, yes. But she took 100 percent responsibility also. It didn’t matter whether in the traditional sense she was directly or indirectly responsible.
She took it anyway.
Taking responsibility for everything that happens in your classroom—and your life for that matter—regardless of outside forces, is the best thing you can do to become a happier and more effective teacher.
700 articles? It’s fine, I guess. But in comparison to taking ownership of SCM readers and your success, and the success of the principles and strategies I place my reputation on, it’s nothing.
Meaningless krill in a faraway sea.
Teaching in this day and age is a challenge. Students are tough. They’re addicted to their phones. Bullying and disrespect is on the rise. Many are confused, impolite, and socially immature.
Take responsibility anyway. Own it. The moment you do, the moment you say that the buck stops with you, your teaching world will change. It’s like being given a superpower, bit by a genetically engineered spider.
You’re suddenly able to lead, influence, motivate, and control your class in ways you never thought possible.
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.
Happy 700th Article!!! I am in love with each article read and they have all been inspiring!!
Keep up the spirit 💯
I’ve been meaning to thank you for these articles every week. They keep me inspired about teaching and I thirst for the information that you pass on. There isn’t enough space for me to write all I want to say, so I’ll just ask that you keep going for at least another 700!
Thanks! Great advice as always. This reminds me of the the saying in 12 step recovery circles of “it may not be my fault, but it is my responsibility”
Our school has a group of 9th graders that are some of the most rude kids I’ve ever seen. Even the students in the other grades talk about how disrespectful they act. That said, I’m already brainstorming what can I do differently for next year to better model respectful behavior, hold them accountable, and make their lives a little more straightforward.
Congrats on 700 & thanks for making my life easier! Celebrate a little. That’s what life’s about.
How? How do I do this????
1. Set clear expectations.
2.Model them constantly.
3. Mean what you say and say what you mean.
4. Be consistent
4. Understand that compassion rules over rule following (’cause you are ALWAYS going to have a kid who won’t comply, and 99.9% of the time it’s because that kid CAN’T, until you teach him/her how. And that may take years, but if you don’t start, it will NEVER happen.
Love this!
One step at a time – based on this exact but major mind shift. My husband and I both teach in a small urban area with a over 50% and growing minority population. We also foster severely abused, tough kiddos. When our kids act out, in school and at home, our motto? “These kids are my/our responsibility. We HAVE TO figure things out.” … on we go with problem solving what we can do to make things better at home and school. We see healing and success. The key has been our taking that responsibility or we could never do what we do AND never see the Rewards of changing lives – worth more than money!
Congrats on your 700th article!!!
Totally appreciate your gift of helping teachers through this so they focus on that❤️💪🏽👊🏽🍎🍎🍎🙌🏽
I’m a first year art teacher this year in one of the largest middle schools in the state. I’m also 50 years old and went back to school to get my masters just so I could teach. This year has been a train wreck to say the least. However, this article and others you have written along with multiple books of yours have been my saving grace. This has made the difference in my decision to stay in teaching and give myself a chance next year to do it all better. I need to own every bit of this year’s catastrophe and make next year everything this year wasn’t. Thanks so much for your smart and powerful classroom management plan.
Cheryl,
Congratulations – your 1st year, in middle school, and a large one, WOW! Keep reading too. I call middle school a crowning achievement because teachers step into one of the most influential times of a student’s life. Young students test and explore so many areas in their lives and by high school some key decisions have been made. You can steer them and will change more lives than you know demonstrating these key principles for their success – and yours!
Michael,
Love this article. Congratulations on 700 articles, they have impacted my teaching and my parenting. Please keep them coming!
A lot of thanks from Korea.
Hurray for you! As an art teacher for 15 years, and trying to implement Michael’s guidelines at every turn, I can say there are good days and not so good days, but you will learn as you go. Your classroom management plan is key especially since you don’t know the students like their every day teachers do. Get to know those wonderful young people as much as you can. Joke with them, show them they are important to you, but not to the point of letting them off the hook when they break the classroom rules. You CAN do it! I often eat lunch with them or go to school bingo night or their plays or sport events. Let them know you are interested in them which builds a relationship. Give them a nod in the classroom when they do something nice or go the extra mile. And modeling the behaviors does help even though you may feel awkward at first. Don’t give up! It is amazing when one or two of them come back to visit when they in high school or college because of the relationship you have with them.
Thank you, Michael, for your guidance through it all!
Love reading your articles. They encourage me to be a better teacher
Sir,
What parameters we must include in assessing the behaviour of students in the school.?
I really needed this article; thank you. I am looking for help in regards to when a teacher has one or two 4th graders that hijack the class EVERY DAY. Could you please refer if you have such an article?
I will continue to OWN IT!
Thank you Micheal once again for your encouragement and congratulations on your 700th article!
All the best,
Mathieu
You talk about follow through, you talk about consequences BUT WHAT THE HELL are they? WHAT consequences can you do, do you do?
We have tried: sister classrooms, disrespect papers, time outs, calling parents (phone numbers don’t work) and sending them home.
At first some improvement, then the consequence loses the effect, and the behavior worsens.
It used to be students that were sent home, were in trouble, now they are on you tube and games. Now we have kids that are already missing 40-60 days, truancy? What is that?
I do know, and practice good classroom management, I do try and nip it in the bud, keep lessons interesting, have fun…but this is getting ridiculous.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES that you have?
I’m with you, Monica — I need specifics.
I’m not 100% sure that I can take on being fully responsible for the students’ behaviors in school. There *is* influence from home/gangs/other students and so on that can overwhelm my plans and stick-to-itiveness. I am not always successful, and although I don’t “blame” those factors Michael alluded to, I know they have impact.
6th grade self-contained classroom in a small (semi-rural farming) town community.
Even the teacher he mentioned in the article was asking the questions, “what can I do,” so I know not everyone lives in perfection, but this article, of all the ones that Michael writes and that inspire and encourage and help me … this one is giving me pause.
Any ideas, anyone? Thank you in advance.
What consequences? That’s my problem too. I believe the articles suggest timeouts for elementary and losing daily points for high school. I have students who will leave tests blank because they could don’t care if they pass the class. They couldn’t care less about losing daily points.
He explains it all in his downloadable classroom management plan for $7. Best 7 bucks I’ve ever spent. The pdfs are on the right side of this website. One thing he hits on is the power is not in the consequence itself, it’s in the way we implement. Highly recommend you check it out.
He has written super a bunch of articles about this. Check them out- they are great! Lots of dos and don’ts. He also discusses the way you enforce them, which is very important.
I teach 3rd grade. When it comes to enforcing consequences, I am a dispassionate referee. Quickly give a warning. If they keep doing the behavior, inform them of the consequence (ex: minutes off recess), and move on.
I keep a binder full of rosters , one for each day. I give my warning, then if they keep doing the behavior, I give them a dash.
Ex:
“Talking friends in the back, you have a warning.”
“Talking friends in the back, you have a dash.”
For my class, a dash equals 2 minutes off recess. If they get 3 dashes, they get a form letter home (which he provides a sample of in several of his articles.) If the student does not bring back the form letter the next day, they have to miss all of recess, and I email home.
If the misbehavior is severe, I let them know, “Hey bud, I know you were frustrated, but that kind of language is not appropriate at school. You’re going to need to serve a lunch time-out for that.” Then I walk away.
Recess time-outs, classroom time-outs, form letters, and occassionally a lunch detention have literally been the only consequences I have needed. My class is super well-behaved because of it, and we have a lot of respect and understanding happening in here. I am never angry at school anymore. Even when my kiddos do something dumb, rude, or annoying- now, I am able to have compassion underneath my doling out of accountability, because we’ve all been there. We’ve all been dumb-dumbs at times or let our emotions get the best of us. It seems to make a big difference because they know I am not angry with them, but they also know I am still going to hold them accountable.
Don’t send them to administrators (unless it’s absolutely necessary)- you’ll lose your power. Don’t have them do reflection sheets- they are useless. Don’t give them a lecture.
This is a brief (if you can believe it) version of the principles and strategies I have learned from this website, and it has transformed my classroom. So just keep reading and putting the things into practice. It will all come together if you don’t give up.
Also, Teach Like a Champion is a great resource. I use this website and TLAC- they go together very well.
Agreed!
Sometimes we try every avenue to no avail in certain situations, and with certain students🙁
Thank you for the work you do! Congratulations on your 700th article! The thoughts, strategies, and encouragement you share have been very helpful to me. I appreciate your books and have purchased several for myself and to share with others. Thank you!
Congratulations and thank you, Mr. Linsin.
I am a teacher of 36 years and still loving it (mostly), but your articles are in part why I still find teaching so fulfilling. Your writing helps me stay strong with my (some would say old-fashioned) high academic and behavioral standards. This is especially true when I am dealing with many administrators and other teachers who longer expect students to attend class or do meaningful, complex assignments.
In fact, it is amazing how almost every Saturday there is a “just-right” article I need for the moment I am in. Your pieces are inspiring and motivating. So thank you again for your great insights and sound wisdom. The ripple in the pond is vast. Write another 700, please!
Your clear, well-articulated info has given me the words/plan I need to lead my students. Because of you, I know what I need to do each time I step into the classroom. I love being compared to a referee—it takes away the emotional sting I used to feel when administering a consequence. That internal angst I felt weakened my role as classroom leader. Now I shift that discomfort to my students and let them wrestle with the feelings of not meeting classroom expectations. I can’t thank you enough. Bring on Article No. 701!!
This is the first article I’ve read from you, and I love your writing style! Amazing!
Thank you!
Dear Mr. Linsin,
Thank you for all you do for us teachers,
Usually, I understand what you mean, between the lines and beyond. But this one issue keeps coming up – who takes the responsibility for the misbehavior – and, honestly, I just can’t get it. What is meant by shifting all 100% of responsibility to students (where it belongs, as you so wisely wrote many times), and, on the other time, taking all the responsibility upon myself as their teacher (as per the current article).
I personally feel that I take too much responsibility for their complying with the rules and overall learning process and by that relieve my students of their share of the deal. In short, I’ve got this all mixed up.
Can anyone explain the whole issue to me?
Many thanks
I, too, am a little confused by this. It almost sounds co-dependent. I’m sure that I’m just misunderstanding somehow.
Michael has discussed this principle in lots of articles. He means that when students misbehave, you issue a predetermined consequence that forces them to take accountability and then move on. You don’t let their misbehavior burden you or affect you or get a reaction out of you. You also are consistent in enforcing consequences every time to hold students accountable and ensure they are responsible for their misbehavior. This also applies to academic work. Teach excellent lessons, check for understanding, and then step back to have your students complete their assignments, work, group projects, etc. without leaning in to help and prod and reteach.
Now, when he says we take 100% responsibility for what happens in the classroom, he means that if there are issues going in our classroom our response should be to think about what we can do to fix them, instead of hyper-focusing or blaming forces outside of our control. Michael acknowledges that things outside of our control will affect our ability to teach effectively, but at the end of the day we need to focus on what we can control and how we can build the ideal classrooms we want to create.
So if a student misbehaves, they receive a consequence and are 100% responsible for their actions. However, as a teacher, we put the responsibility on ourselves to create the best possible learning environment for our students no matter what comes in the way.
Hope this helps!
Thank you. You have been verybhelpful.
I do not know if I can explain the whole issue but I will try to separate out the two sets of responsibilities, at least as I see and have practiced it in the classroom.
Starting with the teacher responsibilities: In my classroom (and what I believe is being said here) I always was evaluating myself, my teaching, my classroom outcomes, and my classroom management. If a lesson failed, if a procedure was not followed correctly, if there were discipline issues I would first and foremost be asking myself where I went wrong and trying to fix it. Was my teaching confusing? Boring? Paced wrong? Had I not taught a procedure well? Or let the students get away with not doing correctly? I think this is what Michael is saying that this teacher was doing after the incident in her classroom. Asking herself where she went wrong if it got to that point and then working to fix it. In my opinion this is one of the joys and challenges of teaching – the part where I am always learning and growing and improving my craft.
And going on to student responsibility: if my students were not following the classroom procedures/rules, I, just as this teacher did, would hold them responsible for their individual behavior. Even if I felt that I needed to improve something I was doing so that our classroom ran more smoothly and positively, that doesn’t mean it lets the students out of their personal accountability.
So the issue of responsibility is not an either/or. It’s a seamless whole. The teacher is responsible for setting up a classroom that is geared towards positive learning in all ways (discipline, good lessons, clear procedures, respectful relationships, etc.) and for being willing to work at maintaining that environment. She/he should be accountable, even if only to themselves, to make that happen. The students are responsible for making personal behavioral choices that follow the rules the teacher has set up to maintain a classroom where positive learning is happening. And they are accountable if they make the choice not to do that.
I feel Michael’s example was to show that the teacher held the students accountable for their choices of behavior and held herself accountable for evaluating why and how this happened in her classroom.
And just to add, please don’t judge yourself too harshly. Students are humans who behave unpredictably at times. Teachers are also human beings who are being asked to do an almost superhuman job. No classroom will ever be 100% perfect. But I can say from experience that a willingness to keep striving for what works for you and your students will pay off and give you a better teaching experience as the years go by.
Michael Linsin has a lot of practical advice to give and a compelling educational viewpoint. But in my opinion the best thing he says and the one to keep as a goal for your classroom management is his statement that he is working to make the classroom foster and promote and support the most amount of learning for the largest number of students that he can. That has become one of my self-evaluative questions and a personal goal over my teaching years – if I choose to do something a certain way in my class is it supporting my goal? It refined my teaching decisions and allowed me to focus more sharply and efficiently as a teacher.
Thank you, Mrs. Brunke. I asked a similar question (above) and although I still don’t feel up to the task (maybe it’s the end-of-the-year fatigue and loss of joy from recent painful challenges), I know I will be revived through the summer and start next year with a different mindset.
Thank you 🙂
👍
Wow. Perfectly explained!
Congratulations Michael on 700 articles. I look forward to seeing your email in my inbox every week. You get it and understand how life works. I love your law of reciprocity and to be consistently pleasant. You’re an amazing pool of knowledge keep sharing your thoughts with us all please!
Thank you
I would probably say 80% of teachers don’t take ownership and responsibility for the struggles in their classroom. I have gotten so much pushback over the years when I say I NEVER EVER blame a child. It’s either what is going on at home and/or in the classroom that results in a child’s struggles. But most teachers would much rather blame the kids, cause taking responsibility would be admitting an inability at classroom management, especially female teachers. Most teachers will not self-reflect, but seek for others to help hold kids accountable for them. One teacher at my school is constantly calling for support for some of the easiest kids to manage. Just because she refuses to believe that she’s the reason the kids don’t respect her. Leadership is also part of the problem in that they do not tell teachers exactly what this article is preaching, and that is that you have created the culture in your classroom and it’s your responsibility to fix it. Part of the skill of a teacher is classroom management and creating an environment suitable for learning. If you’re incapable of doing that then you’re actually a college professor impersonating a classroom teacher.
I teach a high school elective. I came late into the start of the school year into a classroom with zero expectations from the former teacher. I was hated immediately. I had next to no participation in completing assignments and zeros didn’t change anything. I set my expectations from day one. I do my best to stay consistent. Close to the end of the school year I have students who pick and choose which assignments they are going to do based on the weight of the grade. I hear at least once a week “this is just an elective. I don’t need this class to graduate”. I have tried to encourage good work ethic, work to improve no matter how low your grade is, and make clear connections with life after high school. The kids just want to play and have free days. I’ve had tough school years but this one takes the cake. Everyday is a battle, but I love my job. What can I do to turn this don’t care attitude? Down time means poor behavior choices, but they have down time because they refuse to do the work.
Thank you, Michael for continuing to inspire me with your valuable insights and advice. I have loved being a teacher for over 30 years and your articles have truly assisted me to navigate the constant changes required to support the children in my care. Never could I have imagined the relationships that have been forged and the career satisfaction that pushes me on, and much of it is thanks to your thoughtful, clear and timely articles. Keep up your wonderful efforts – I am truly grateful.
Congratulations on 700 articles!🎉
An anecdote: I am a sub. I put two boys in timeout after two behavior reminders each. While in timeout, both boys acted silly, as if to show me they didn’t care that they were separated from their classmates. A few minutes later, I told the class we would play a game. Of course, “timeout boys” could not play; they had to watch their classmates have fun. Later in the day, one of the timeout boys told our school aide that “she (pointing to me) put me in timeout and I hated it!” Thank you, Mr. Linsin for injecting me with a bolus of that super special SCM venom-medicine!🕷️🕸️
First, I congrats on your 700th, and may you have many more.
Second, sorry, there is NO WAY I am taking responsibility for my student’s behavior. It is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child has home training; i.e., respecting teachers, other students. Just like another teacher’s comment above, I set my expectations, rules, and clearly discuss consequences of their behavior. Having to deal with unacceptable behavior takes away from the time I spend educating students. There are consequences for everything you do. You need to make the choice as to whether you want a good outcome, or a not so good outcome.
Thanks CJ! If you get a chance, please read the article again or check out this video for further explanation (watch all the way to the end): https://www.facebook.com/smartclassroommanagement/videos/957651641925439
Congrats on your 700th article! I hope you do celebrate this great milestone. Your words are moving as always.
I actually have a problem…with the quickly chosen metaphor “…meaningless krill on a faraway sea”. Michael, I hope you understand, that right now people’s attitudes toward krill in the Arctic being “meaningless” has contribute to the issue of krill being taken, and in large part apparently used for the pet food trade–which is leading to starvation in many species of great whale, as of the last few years. Supposedly, the idea that the Arctic sea is largely unregulated, due to being caught between the U.S., Canada, Russia, Norway, etc. has allowed this exploitation. This is just my cursory understanding as an environmentally-focused art teacher; you probably want to look it up. I know you meant no harm; I just wanted to use this as an opportunity to make people aware.
1) Why is the teacher breaking up the fight to begin with. I refuse to get sued.
Call the office and/or evacuate everyone else.
2) Of course every teacher should reflect on what led up to the fight. But if it’s the same 1 or 2 students doing that every day, we gotta have a different conversation.