I speak to a lot of teachers who’ve been struggling with classroom management for years. And I’ve noticed some common themes.
I thought I’d share them with you.
Because knowing the biggest hurdles and avoiding them, in any field of endeavor, is a shortcut to success.
So what follows are five reasons why some teachers continue to struggle year after year with classroom management.
1. They’re confused.
You need one classroom management approach. Picking and choosing what you like from different methods, books, or philosophies results in surefire failure.
You see, they’re not meant to be used together. Each SCM strategy, for example, is made to mesh with and make every other SCM strategy stronger and more effective.
Throwing in something from PBIS or using “the five questions” baffles students, pulls them in different directions, and ultimately causes more misbehavior.
2. They’re lazy.
Sorry, but it’s true. Some teachers don’t want to put in the modest effort to learn a single approach well enough for it to bear fruit. It doesn’t take a lot. It really doesn’t.
But they want it all done for them. They want three tips or a single video to right the ship. They want someone to hold their hand and walk them through what is clearly written on the page.
To be successful, you have to be well-versed. You have to know why the strategies work and how best to use them, which takes study and reflection.
3. They’re mistaken.
The mistaken belief that their teaching situation has never been encountered causes them to subsequently believe that there is nothing they can do about it.
Rest assured, the conditions you’re experiencing, no matter how bad they seem, are the same as thousands of other teachers right now. I’ve run into very few truly unique circumstances. Perhaps two or three in the last 15 years.
Here at SCM we’ve seen and accounted for everything under the sun. It isn’t just you or your school. Your classroom isn’t a hut in the Hindu Kush and your students aren’t from Alpha Centauri.
4. They’re full of excuses.
There are people who will give you a thousand reasons why they can’t exercise. Almost none hold water. Go for a walk at lunch or do sit-ups in front of the television. There. Done.
It’s the same with classroom management. Some teachers come up with reason after reason, one after the next, why sending students to time-out, for example, or asking for quiet during independent practice won’t work.
But what they’re referring to aren’t reasons. They’re excuses. Here at SCM, we crush excuses underfoot like Goliath of Gath.
5. They’re chaotic.
Although they’ll never admit it, there are people who thrive on drama. They revel in telling people how tough their life is. They like the specialness of it and the attention it can bring.
Deep down they don’t want a peaceful classroom because then there won’t be anything to rail against. So they sabotage themselves. They arrive late or can’t get organized or fail to be consistent because they have “so much going on.”
They’re perpetually flustered and can never be helped unless they admit that it is they themselves standing in their own way.
You Are Responsible
All of the above have one thing in common: The fear of being responsible.
You see, if it isn’t possible to have a well-behaved class due to what can be perceived as being out of their control, then they’re off the hook.
They can say nobody ever showed them how or they don’t have time or that there is no support from administration, etc.
The stark truth, however, is that although some situations are more challenging than others, it can still be done. No matter where you teach or who you are. But you have to stop lying to yourself. You have to look reality in the face.
You have to throw away the deceptions and doubts, embrace the burden and responsibility, and decide: “I can do this and nothing will stop me.”
PS – My friend Eva Moskowitz has a new book out called A+ Parenting. She is absolutely brilliant and I highly recommend her insights on parenting. Click here to learn more.
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Hi Michael,
The one area that most teachers struggle with is “What do we do when admin won’t let us send kids out and parents won’t respond to the letters or calls about behavior?” Some kids’ main motivation is to derail the classroom. If they don’t go to reset or refuse to be quiet, they win and we lose respect and credibility in the eyes of the other kids and the perpetrator’s goal is fulfilled. Have you found a way to handle that situation?
Tammy
Tammy you and Debi you are correct.
I am very consistent in all of my classroom management policies and have been for years. Many students are apathetic, do not care about grades, and are immune to consequences. Calls home fall on deaf ears. The offenders keep offending and I/we are burned out at the end of every week. Our district behaviorists do not know what to do or how to advise teachers. Student behavior problems are way beyond a classroom management policy. Thank you for your weekly encouragement.
I agree with your comment about calling home. Often, teachers get accused of picking on kids they try to redirect because those kids lie to their parents.
This. So very true.
I want you to know you are not alone. I can’t decide which is worse-the behaviors or the apathy. Kids don’t care when they get written up and there is no accountability. How can you manage a classroom when this is what you’re dealing with?
I love your books, articles, and videos. I teach in a special education school in NYC and this year I have been able to implement the SCM strategies is such positive ways that my days are happy and productive in the midst of a challenging teaching dynamic.
I say all that to let you know what a difference your ideas, approaches, and encouragement have made in my daily life.
I came to your work when I was filling a leave replacement position at a Success Academy Charter school located in Harlem. Through that experience, I certainly heard of Eva Moscowitz and spent many months seeing the ideas she and her team have for revamping education. I found the mission exciting and important.
The first few weeks of my work at the school ended up being absolutely soul-crushing. Classes were chaotic, teachers were often yelling at students, and the emotional climate of many rooms was incredibly stressful and negative.
I had taught for 8 years before this (in another state) and had enjoyed productive, calm, and even joyful classroom dynamics. I could not figure out why this all felt so tense and unhappy all of the time. It ranks as one of the toughest and most demoralizing time of my career. In and effort to find solutions for me and my students, I googled “how to be a happy teacher again” and your books popped up.
Reading them changed my teacher world. Some of it was incredibly difficult to sit with the fact that my decisions and my choices were at the bottom of many of the problems I had experienced. I am a damn fine teacher. I love my work, and I honestly adore my students (even the “bad” ones that make us growl internally). And…I had not been consistent and clear in what I expected. I had not always held myself and my students to the highest standards. I had sent a message to them that I did not believe in them enough to lovingly, dedicatedly hold the line.
I changed. I grew. I tried.
At Success Academy, I did not have the support of my department head or mentor teacher to try these techniques, to take some time to reset my room and earn my students’ trust. I knew, however, that if I could just start the next year off on the right foot, I might be able to create the sort of classes where these kids could thrive. The work in that school was hard work, but it was good work.
Sadly, the business practices of Success Academy are particularly hard for teacher retention and many excellent teachers leave the program not because they disagree with the vision of the program, but because the program relies on unsustainable workdays and processes that burn even the best educators up and out of the schools. The turnover rate is staggering.
I was approached by another school for an interview (some friends in common had recommended me). As I gave my demo lesson, I knew I would move to the new space if offered a position. Not just because of the clean and inviting facilities, but more as a result of the atmosphere created by the staff of warmth and efficiency combined.
I spent a few weeks finishing the year at Success Academy and knowing that I had accepted a position at the other school. During those weeks, and as they prepare for the next school year, our admin announced that they were using a “new” tool of classroom management, The Smart Classroom Management approach!
When I read this post today, I decided to write to you and share a little of my experience with Eva Mosowitz’s controversial program. I hope that educators are using the SCM approach. In my time there, I saw many good and decent people resort to yelling and punishing out of desperation and frustration. Few of the employees have an education background at all (I have a Masters in Ed + 45 additional graduate course credits, and hold multiple additional endorsements, and had taught middle school in a Title 1 school for 8 years before going to Success Academy).
I hope your work influences the program there. One of the things that pushed me out of the program was the level of conflict and frustration I saw between children and adults.
In my current school, again, a special education school, I have been thriving using your program. My students come to me with lots of wounds and stress from past experiences in a regular education environment. They are edgy and mistrustful at first. When I stay true to my plan, share warmth and respect and fun with them, and still hold them accountable for their actions, my classes are truly the best spaces on earth, and I love going to work every day.
I did not intend to write a novella today. But I did want to share the context of why this topic means so much to me right now. I appreciate the space to put it out there.
SCM works if you work it. I use your four rules and three consequences and they are 100% effective. I do have students recite the rules each time we re-enter the classroom and hand write them once a week. If students take the responsibility onto themselves it makes my job much easier. I did have a student who needed to be removed for breaking rule number 4: Respect your classmates and your teachers. The student was sent to in school suspension and the moderator asked me to send a laptop for the student to work. Thankfully the same student hadn’t charged his laptop (and I wouldn’t have sent it anyway), I sent a nice packet of work to be done. Now each time he’s about to break one of my four rules I ask him if he’d rather do the packet of work alone with security. He instantly changes his tune.
Thank you for all you do and it’s true, follow one classroom management technique and work it. Aloha!
You’re omitting the acknowledgement that you have backup and can send a disruptive child out.
Hi Nicole – if you don’t mind me asking, what are the four rules and three consequences you mentioned? I bought the course but don’t recall reading about that…
My colleagues and I read your posts and books and discussed (and implemented) strategies you’ve posited with each other.
I do get a bad feeling sometimes after reading your advice because I am meant to feel like it’s ALL on my shoulders to fix. And if I bring up any counter arguments to your position, well then I’m just lazy and making excuses.
I don’t appreciate that because I genuinely want to get better and solve classroom management problems.
It just feels like you throw your advice out there and then walk away and don’t want to be questioned.
I will take your advice with a grain of salt and use what I think is helpful knowing it’s not an end all be all to my situation.
What you’re doing is overall helpful, I only wish you would reply to others’ comments who seek more information.
I also agree with taking this advice in the article with a grain of salt. I feel we need to know our strengths and limits so we can see if we can get help in those areas. There is a Lot of responsibility on shoulders of educators. It is a 10 month commitment and we can only do our best day to day. Stay strong and keep the faith. I appreciate your honest response
Thank you for what you wrote. It helped me to know there are others who feel the same. AND thanks for the encouragement. You stay strong too! 💪🏼
Michael,
I am a PreK-5 music teacher and have read your book “Classroom Management for the music, art and pe teacher” many times and lead several book studies with colleagues. I do implement the principles of SCM and work at high energy, engaging lessons. I have very little behavior problems in my room. I am at a PBIS school and do implement some of the positive reinforcement according to our school policy. I think that when “mixing” in other techniques a teacher can still be successful in the classroom. I relate it to the point system. I have a 5 point system and they earn points towards a class goal (free day!). I particularly love your reminder to stay calm no matter what!! Also, dispassionately let the classrooms management work itself! Thanks so much!!
I am sorry but your point about teachers ‘thriving on drama’, ‘like the specialness’, ‘are late and disorganized’, is damn rude.
Reading these comments does not make me want to read your books or take your advice.
Teachers need to be respected for their hard work and for all the hours they put in to prepare lessons that engage students. Teachers make phone calls to parents during their breaks and after school because they want the students to be encouraged by their parents to learn at school. Teachers should be praised for their ability to persevere through thick and thin and teach unruly children.
Teachers should not be criticized as you are doing.
Thank you for saying exactly what I was feeling.
Yes, thanks.
Teachers are not supported. Admin, parents, the legal system work against classroom management. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place; expected to fix kids with no support and everyone against them.
This article confirms my belief in society’s downward spiral and why teachers worth their salt should leave the industry.
This. If someone told me they wanted to be a teacher, I would try to talk them out of it. I can’t wait to be finished.
Michael’s methods are GOLD. I myself am a Teacher Trainer, co-run a worldwide teaching program and teach a couple of different grades in different schools. I have watched myriads of teachers drown under the stress, rudeness and frustration of fighting 20 kids in a classroom. I have guided new teachers through SCM and helped turn around many teachers mid-year through SCM – it is GOLDEN!! I have not seen one DEVOTED SCM follower fail. I have taught over 800 students and SCM works on EVERY CHILD, even the ones that the admin gave up all hope on. SCM is a GIFT for EVERY CHILD. Now, if you notice, I capped the word “devoted” because I agree with Michael’s sharp and pointed rebuke – if you are lazy, or love drama, or are wishy-washy, SCM doesn’t work. That’s just the way it is. Positive-reinforcement systems or Relationship-based classroom management can work halfway – you stick in a bit of this program, use this mentor’s cute technique, hang a sign from this website and hopefully slosh through your year, dealing with bumps and confusion along the way. SCM is a paradigm shift, a whole different way of thinking, and you need to be both-feet-and-the-rest-of-your-body-and-brain all the way in. I tell teachers, “the method I will guide you with is all-or-nothing. I am not pressuring you to follow it – you can walk out now and find something more chilled and flexible to follow, in your comfort zone. But if you want to create a magical classroom experience – every day, every minute, all year – you need to be 100% in. No second thoughts, no half-way, no backing out.” So yes, this post is totally true. It may hurt, but it only hurts because it is so true. Don’t try SCM halfway – it’s gonna be a mess. You gotta be all the way in, every post and every method. Grab a cup of hot cocoa, put your feet up and start reading and reading and reading – and I have even taken notes from his blogs in my personal notebook – this stuff is LEGIT TRAINING.
Don’t normally post anything but I am going to leave a long one here just to say I spoke up…
I have read this blog for many years and shared many of the approaches here and agree with most of what Michael says…however, the challenge with this type of “coaching” is that it is done at a distance. That means the “coached” must take and apply without the benefit of coach walking the journey along side them. That is not something that everyone can do or is willing to do, and that is not a negative thing. It just speaks to the differentiation that is needed but cannot be provided in this format.
I was a very successful high school teacher and later principal of an alternative school, and I broke many of the rules Michael cautions against, but I had a consistent philosophy… I wanted to help my students be the best version of themselves and build a community of American scholars ”By Any Means Necessary.” I considered every classroom problem my problem to solve and I was relentless in searching for ideas and techniques to help me solve them. I also considered every failure to be my failure. It just helped me not to remain in defeat, because I was coming back the next time with another battle plan.
I do think that the classroom challenges of today are screaming for strong male guidance because the epidemic of fatherlessness is real. That’s not politically correct, but if you ask any wife with children how the kids respond to her husband (their father) versus her, she will testify to the difference. That is IF he is truly filling his role. Not better or worse, just different.
My wife is an educator with more degrees and varied experiences than me, but she is the one that made me accept that truth as a reality for the classroom and our home.
There are times when I as dad need my wife (as mom) to navigate a situation with my children that she is more naturally suited for. And that is true for her as well. The men in schools (not males-that is different) need to be the type of men the students need. It will help everyone, including your female colleagues. Teaching is a profession dominated by women, and the women are great at it. The military is a profession dominated by men and never really “needed” more women in it. They wanted to serve, which is great, but there was no need to. Education is similar in that when families were sound, men were not really needed in the profession. Many served and did great, but there was no glaring need. Now without fathers and appropriate strong men as role models in many homes (for boys and girls), there is a need and too many are not willing.
So you have this type of “coaching” at a distance that does not meet every need for every situation but could be helpful with the right personnel support system to fight the daily battles together.
I told my alternate school staff, “These is no cavalry coming to save us. These students, these problems are ours. We can’t control the parent responses, the community influences, social media, etc. We control our efforts, our development, and our school. We signed up to work with those who others have given up on. So get to work. We can do hard better if we focus on getting better and we work together.”
It’s not for everyone but everyone is for someone.
Very, very well said, sir.
Wow. That was an incredibly written piece. Your students are lucky, sir.
Yes, kids definitely respond better with male teachers. I’ve taught for 22 years and I’ve noticed that for every single one of those 22 years. Thank you for acknowledging it.
This is something that will be felt around for ever. The populations are so different in attitude, experiences, surroundings that you must establish expectations and accepted responses from moment one and beyond. Some things that most administrators think will just fall into play will not because the population does not understand the why of management and how it is structured to keep learning flowing smoothly. The how do you make things flow without conflict and or flustration from both the pupils and the administrator must be accomplished. The teacher must set the tone with respect to the population. You must establish a common respectful procedure of setting goals and meeting deadlines and completing on task smoothly.It is of concern because all involved have a concept as how things are to go but only a bond of cooperative map or flow chart will lead to success. They struggle to manage populations that are from; too uninterested, too tired, too sleepy, too hungry, too unskilled to over advanced for the class setting. So, how do you manage it all is the question that may remain.
What do we do if we are required to use a certain classroom management system? My state/district/school REQUIRES us to use PBIS, it’s our entire framework. They look for evidence of it. We are also required to have specific rules – be safe, respectful, and responsible. I am contractually unable to stick to your system 100%. So what do you suggest for that?
I have similar issues as other commenters. I call parents and nothing happens. They say they don’t act that way at home so it must be me. My most disruptive behavior’s mother literally changed her number and won’t provide me with a new one. This is the reality of what we’re dealing with.
I have the same question. Our district uses CKH and PBIS. It is a district initiative. I would like to have a set of rules and consequences and be able to follow them consistently, but I am not sure how that fits into the other frameworks. It is frustrating, because what I read about the 5 questions is true. They take too long and students do not reflect on their behavior and change it. Additionally, when more than one student is involved, then you are asking the questions repeatedly? It’s not effective. Has anyone used this despite their districts wishes?