Here at SCM, we believe you should start enforcing consequences as soon as possible (i.e., once the new school year begins). The quicker you’re able to establish a high standard of behavior the better.
However, it must also be fair.
Giving warnings and time-outs too soon can cause resentment. On the other hand, allowing a full week of grace sends the message that you don’t trust your students and their ability to follow rules.
So what’s the answer? A simple rule of thumb is that once three conditions are met you can and should begin enforcing consequences.
The conditions don’t have to be put in motion immediately. If you want to have an introductory lesson or icebreaker first, no problem. However, they should come within the first hour of the first day of school.
The three conditions are:
1. You’ve explained the purpose of your plan.
If you’re a regular reader of SCM, then you know that explaining ‘why’ is the most effective thing you can do to create buy-in, regardless of the lesson or topic.
Your students need to know the purpose of your classroom management plan, which isn’t about you or their parents or anyone else. It’s about them and what is best for them. That’s it.
You don’t have to go on and on or expound on the why of every rule and consequence. You just have to make clear that the sole objective of your plan is to protect their right to learn and enjoy being in your class without being bullied, bothered, or interrupted.
2. You’ve provided the facts.
Under condition two, you’ll provide an initial description of your classroom management plan. Just sticking to the facts. “Here are the rules and these are the consequences.”
This should take 10-15 minutes, no more, regardless of your grade level. There is no need for lengthy commentary or theatrical demonstration.
It’s okay to do some preliminary modeling or “modeling in place.” You can use volunteers if you wish and briefly mention some examples. The key, however, is to be clear and direct. Lay out the non-negotiables upfront, so you can begin focusing on academics.
3. You’ve made two promises.
One of the most effective ways to ensure your consistency is to make a promise to your students to follow your classroom management plan to a tee. This places soft pressure on you to do what you say and makes you answerable to your own students.
A second promise is to never show anger when they break a rule. You won’t scold them, lecture them, or raise your voice. You’ll let the stated and printed consequences be the only consequences.
Again, there is soft pressure at play. But more importantly, it causes students to like and appreciate you and thus want to please you right from the jump. It also infuses your plan with greater meaning, leverage, and power to curb misbehavior.
The Best Part
Once the three conditions are met, the green light is on. You can begin enforcing consequences. I know this may seem early for a lot of teachers, but it works exceptionally well. Even with younger students.
And here’s the best part: Although you’ll spend additional time the first week or two teaching and modeling routines, transitions, and school-wide procedures, you may not have to revisit the plan itself.
You can, of course.
But I’ve discovered that if you’re exceptionally clear and confident while fulfilling the three conditions, and you boldly follow through as promised, there is an excellent chance your class will eagerly stay within the boundaries you’ve set.
If not, however, if your students need more clarity, then you can reteach your plan in greater detail as needed.
PS – The Kindle version of Inspire, which is my book about motivating students, is currently only $2.99. The Amazon promotion ends Sunday 7/30 at 11pm PST.
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Excellent advice and reminders Michael. This will be my second year with SCM and I am looking forward to using in the class and the shop lab again as I am more sure and seasoned about this program.
Side note: I ended last school year with the best end of year feelings and emotions. Not worn out at all. Had good stamina day I and day out.
Thank you!
Hello. Can you give me ideas on consequences.
Hello! I teach 3rd-12th grade art at a 400 student private school and we just started a new consequence system from a teacher in Scottsdale AZ. Using some sort of randomized system (ie dice, a spinner, etc.) you come up with a consequence list for each number or section. If a student breaks a rule they spin or toss and whatever consequence they land on is the one they get. If they do not complete the consequence task they get a detention. The general concept is keeping discipline in the classroom as much as possible and keeping consequences fair and consistent. Ideas for consequences (some teachers call them reminders) vary by class/subject. For me as an art teacher I have a boring coloring page they must complete very neatly and colorfully, and basic drawing exercise sheets (lines, steady circles, line weight/thickness etc.). This means that even their consequences still help them learn. Whether they’re necessarily happy about it or not! Hope that’s helpful!
i don’t ever think you should have to spin a wheel or roll a dice to find out what your consequence is, because in my mind, consequences should be Everything but random.
in my own personal approach, i don’t frame anything as a “consequence” necessarily — i tell the kids that i need to find something to “help them learn”. at times i have collaborated with kids about what exactly would do that, and have had great success. when they see you as their ally, many more things are possible.
there are of course extreme behaviors that warrant strict consequences (just like in the real world). i fully believe in accountability and build my classroom environment around that from the beginning.
another thing i think is important, is that i try never to use the word “promise” in any context. i think this word, for my kids anyway, is a super-triggering one and causes all sorts of problems. kids will say “you promised an extra 5 minutes of free time” or whatever (which i definitely did not do) and it’s an easy response to just say “no, i don’t promise.”
Examples of consequences recommended on this site and I use with great success are: 1. Warning 2. Timeout and 3. Letter home.
I would read through all the archived articles about consequences to get a better understanding of how to use them. Make sure to model what you’re going to do and what the kids do when they get one of the consequences. The consequences could also depend on what grade you teach.
I keep mine simple and vague to allow me flexibility depending on severity. #1 – Warning, #2 – Relocation (could be moving them to another desk, out to the hall, to another teacher’s room or the office), #3 – Contact Adult (could be a phone call home, parent conference, meeting with team teachers, meeting with principal, whatever is necessary). This has worked well for me.
I pass this email to all my student teachers. Great advice when they move on. As a mentor I’m not above using the wee gems I’ve read on her myself!
I love your advice on this one and agree, but I need help with the “not getting angry” part. At the beginning of the year, I rarely get angry when students make mistakes and need consequences. As the year progresses and the students are fully aware of the rules but continue to break them and need consequences, I find it difficult not to get angry.
Let’s take chewing gum, for example – we have a rule against it. There are some students who have a problem with this rule and continue to break the rule and get consequences for it because they don’t care about the consequences. Our schoolwide consequences revolve around a reflective form that parents have to sign. It is also progressive, and after the first form, it becomes detentions, progressively getting longer.
I get angry because these forms take time and effort from me and distract me from my teaching. I have to enter these things on a tracker page, contact parents, and if they don’t return the form, I have to assign them another reflective form, which adds to my workload because the process is repeated.
The student is fully aware of the rule and has received multiple consequences but insists on pushing it, making me angry. They are interfering with my teaching, just like someone who steps in front of me in line or cuts me off on the highway when I’m driving.
How am I supposed to not get angry about the repeat offender?
It’s not easy for me too.
But as Michael says (and Jim Fay in his Love and Logic books), anger ruins the discipline lesson. It turns it into a personal battle, rather than a teaching moment.
Last year I had some students skip or leave class without permission. I contacted the office to report the missing student. The student would not be held accountable by our administration. I could not control the situation either or stop this from occurring. This was a first for me for the administration to not hold the student who left or skipped class, accountable.
Anyone like to pipe in and give me an idea what to do? Time out does not work as the students know they aren’t held accountable by admin.
My thoughts, David, are: First, keep track of your efforts not just for student accountability but also admin’s and parent accountability. Use emails, not just phone calls or forms to admin so you have paper trail. It also sets up protections for you if the student gets hurt while out of your class, and as he says, makes for our own soft accountability. 2nd, follow through on your discipline plan. Some things have more severe consequences such as skipping out of class, harming another student, endangering the class is a referal to office, detention and call home. (If the office sends them back, it’s on them.) You’ve done your part and that is all you can do. 1st warning, 2nd warning loss of points, 3rd warning loss of all points, call parents, detention. Document calls to parents and what was said in a teacher call log or emailing parents. What do you think?
I do believe in starting as I mean to go on. I start teaching the first day.
I see several of you above, are having the same problem I did last year. It seemed like no matter what the consequence was… it rapidly became ineffective for a lot of students. I have taught for a long time, and there are a lot of kids whom are a pleasure to spend the day with… but there seem to be kids that have no inhibitions, and do not care about any consequences. Last fall I had a kid pull down his pants to below his knees, so he could adjust things right in front of me. He loved being the center of attention. In the past, kids got into huge trouble pulling down someone else’s drawers. Not their own!
What are effective consequences – I have come to the conclusion it is not because administration doesn’t want to do anything, it is that nothing they do works.
Mrs K
I had a similar situation with a 7th grade boy last year, he did this on 3 different days. Parents’ phone was disconnected and no email address available, so couldn’t contact home per my plan. Admin tried to tell me I misunderstood the situation, that the student was wearing his pants at his thighs as a cultural expression. I reminded admin there were laws against indecent exposure, and showing your genitalia certainly qualified under the law. I filed sexual harassment, intimidation, and bullying charges with the school district, while letting it be known my next step would be to file a complaint with the state board and the police. It was the only way I could get the student the SEL help he so obviously needed, support the cultural values of my other students (large Muslim and fundamentalist Christian population), and head off potential false charges against me. Going outside school or district admin, and directly to the police has unfortunately become the viable option for certain extreme incidents. As teachers we are trained to keep discipline “in-house”, but in certain, hopefully rare, situations, it might be the best course of action.
“Saggy” pants are not a cultural thing. It’s a stupid fashion statement that needs to go out of style quick. There’s a time and place for everything. Sagging is not for the schoolhouse. No exceptions.
You did the right thing by filing a complaint against the student. If you ask a student to stop his lewd behavior, but continues, then that’s sexual harassment.
I ordered the book
The biggest frustration I have had, which especially got worse after the pandemic, is the damn smartphones. It is a constant power struggle. We are not allowed to touch student phones, however, I break the rules and confiscate the phone and have the student place it in a “jar of tears” that the student gets back at the end of the period. The student can choose to place it in the jar, or get a referral. They always place it in the jar. Other than that, it’s me contacting parents and asking them to help me out…we need support from the top (admin) down in order for there to be actual consequences. I also refuse to allow students to do quiz retakes if they’re messing around with their phone.
Yes you heard right. In our building, students can retake quizzes, turn in late work, etc. How does this prepare students for the real world? This is one of the reasons teachers leave the profession, we have NO consequences. They got rid of after-school detentions and Saturday school detentions at our building. Now, students get “lunch detention,” in which they are held in the office during lunch….They play with their Smartphones during this time. Oh, if that doesn’t work, the dean gives them a good “talking to”!
Other methods I use is contacting the coach. That helps depending on how supportive the coach is.
Hi!,
I highly recommend reading the Classroom Management Plan article and then go from there. I had the most difficult adult year of my life when I changed grades to 4th (toughest class ever had!), changed schools and had achilles tendon surgery! It drove me to be better and I found this website. It changed the way I teach and I’ll never go back… wish you the best !
Ordered the book, High School Plan, and paid for it and so far have received nothing when I should have received an email copy immediately.
HELP!!!
Hi Neil,
It went to the email associated with your Paypal account. Email us at michael@smartclassroommanagement.com if you have anymore problems.
I so totally understand the frustrations that educators are experiencing! An (early) retired Chicago Public School teacher, I had 3rd grade students fighting, one pulling a knife, managed to get them to the office….and was told to take them back to the room and WRITE up a report before sending them to the office. I No wonder excellent teachers quit …we are TEACHERS, not prison guards (although it feels like it) and not allowed to TEACH due to administration so afraid of the parents and the students that disrupt (a polite word…what can you call someone who exposes himself and gets away with it?) and control the school. How can we teach when we have no backup, no support from administration or parents? The students who “graduate” from high school can’t read or do simple math. Thank God for the parents that are finally taking control of the school boards and demanding that teaching the basics of reading, writing, math, science, etc. are the priority and that those students who interfere with the learning of others are removed.
The culture of the school and policies of the school administration sets a lot of the tone for discipline. Also, your ability to enforce your class rules plays a part in the students’ perception of what they can do. If the students regard you as “soft” they will push the limits of behavior in the classroom. You can blame the parents, the admin, society, technology but YOU are in charge of your class. You get a reputation with the students as being someone who does not put up with fooling around. This does not mean you are the scary mean teacher, but I see it as being professional with the students. There is a big difference in being friendly and trying be “friends or the cool teacher “ with your students. You WANT to have a good day, you WANT things to go smoothly so you are having fun with the students, but you don’t need student approval for this.
My thoughts, David, are: This is not a safe situation. First, keep track of your efforts for your protection, student accountability, and also admin’s and parent accountability. Use emails/paper trail. 2nd, follow through on your discipline plan. Some things have more severe consequences such as skipping out of class, harming another student, endangering the class = referral to office, detention, loss of points, and call home. (If the office sends them back, which sounds like the boat you’re in, it’s on them. You’ve done your part and that is all you can do.) For lesser problems: 1st warning, 2nd warning loss of points, 3rd warning loss of all points, call parents, detention. Use reflection sheets for each warning not only to help them learn, but is documentation of student also saying what they did. (This has helped when parents questioned what happened.) Call parents with your version of what happened before the student gets home so they are prepared. Document calls to parents and what was said in a teacher call log or emailing parents. What do you think?