Here at SCM we talk a lot about the importance of letting your classroom management plan do the work of improving behavior for you.
About how this approach . . .
Saves time.
Lowers stress.
Builds rapport.
Embodies fairness.
Engenders trust.
Inspires respect.
It’s also a lot more effective than trying to convince, remind, persuade, intimidate, appease, flatter, lecture, reward, counsel, manipulate, or falsely praise students into behaving.
So much so that it actually changes behavior.
The SCM way of nothing-personal accountability is best for all students. However, it’s especially effective with difficult students. In fact, it’s the only thing that really works.
It’s the only thing that when combined with a learning experience they look forward to turns them into happy and contributing members of your class.
It does this this because it removes YOU from the accountability equation. You see, when there is no one to blame or rail against, your most challenging students naturally begin to point the finger at themselves—often for the very first time.
You’re just the referee.
As long as your enforcement of consequences is triggered to a tee by the transgression of your rules, and applied the same for every student, they’ll never blame you. As long as you’ve defined your boundaries with exacting clarity, they can’t.
Their reasoning, unique to the human condition, won’t let them. They may get angry at the universe. They may even pretend to get angry at you. But they’ll be unable to contort the blame and responsibility of their mistakes in your direction.
It’s like backing a car into a light pole. It’s not the pole’s fault. It’s not the car’s fault. It’s not because your mom didn’t cut the crusts off your sandwiches when you were a child. It’s your fault. It was a mistake, granted, and we all make them, but you can’t hide from the truth.
You have no choice but to own it and accept the consequence. Stark reality is the best teacher.
It’s the same with students. When they own it because there is no other choice—because you never let them off the hook—they’re forced to consider the only option available: They’re the problem. Yes, they may try like mad to justify and squirm and lie their way out of it.
But the truth always wins, inevitably, as long as you stay the course. Soon, they’ll begin to make better choices and witness the fruits of those choices. All on their own, which leads to change.
But you have to let your classroom management plan to do it’s good work without your interference. You have to refrain from lecturing, appeasing, or telling misbehaving students what to think and how to feel. You have to stop the condescending rewards and manipulation.
You have to stop all the excuses.
My most challenging students call me sir. Every one of them. I’ve never asked them to. Nor have I asked why they do it. I assume it’s out of respect, which is good, of course.
But it’s not me, not personally anyway. It’s the approach. In this day and age, more than ever (because it’s so rare), students thrive when responsibility and accountability, unattached to anyone or anything but them, is placed on their shoulders.
So I heap it on. Day after day. I take seriously my responsibility for great lessons, good humor, consistent kindness, and following my plan like an NFL referee.
Listening, behaving, and learning, however, is on them.
And it’s that weight that transforms, that opens their eyes, that enables them to stand on their own two feet, accept both credit and blame, and become the mature, contented, and respectful students we want them to be.
PS – A lot of SCM topics were touched on in this article. Please see the archive or use the Search bar for more information.
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With so little time left in this year, it’s easy to forget these truths. Thank you for the reminder!
As always, this is excellent advice and a reminder to not take student behavior personally. My students respond well to my classroom management, but I’ve had a couple parents comment that it creates “anxiety” for their child who is held accountable, or it doesn’t allow for expressing the child’s opinions, or it’s too “severe.” I’m not exaggerating these responses. The parents are trying to interfere with the management of the classroom. Any suggestions?
I’ve had the same parent problem- telling me I expect too much, I’m being unfair, causing anxiety, etc.
Hi
Does the plan also work for floating teachers/single subject teachers?
Or would you recommend some adaptations?
I use it for K-5 Music tadem with 1-2-3. This has been the best system for me in my 30+ years of teaching. It was Michael Linsin’s book, “Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers”, that introduced me to his approach.
Helpful! Thank you!
Thank you! I teach 2nd and have shared your emails with my daughters for years now as they worked through college as teacher assistants. Both in their first year now teaching their own classes. Middle daughter is 1st Grade and my youngest at 20, was hired as a high school freshman Comm teacher. They are both doing amazing in a very diverse, low socioeconomic community (with gangs). They have great classroom management, have established a strong rapport with their students, and have been recognized for having model classrooms. I know this is because of your emails and my encouragement to stay the course (established rules and expectations) and never take students actions personally. Thank you for cultivating great teachers as well!
I work with pre-k students. I have accepted the fact that they are still learning how to follow rules and I realize that they will still occasionally behave like little untamed animals. Believe it or not, that is part of their charm, as it were. However, I put the responsibility of their behavior–good and bad–squarely on them. I tell them that if I were responsible for their behavior, I would choose perfection. They are beginning to understand and improve. I realize that kindergarten will be a rough ride for some of them, but all I can do is wish them well and know that the teacher and I have done our best. I love my little crazies and they know it!
What is hard about this is that we literally can’t treat all students the same. Students with a BIP in their IEP lots of times have different plans than other students. Everyone sees that students are treated differently. What do you suggest in these cases?
I wrestle with the “exceptions”, too. The need to document /try a different approach before issuing a consequence… and I’m not 100% sure if I’m remembering the current IEP document, or one from last year or a different student… I don’t have a suggestion, because I’m not sure I have a great strategy here. Just offering solidarity and understanding…
Double check the IEP?
As for students that are treated differently, I would love to see this addressed as well, but as a pointer, students usually understand who is getting accommodations and why. They’re the ones that get a front row seat to the meltdowns, panic attacks and verbalized thoughts of self harm. Explaining how and why it’s fair to treat them differently is still a challenge I would love to be guided through, but the seeds of the explanation I would give with all the time and energy in the world are already there in their experiences.
I love your advice! This should apply to parenting too.
I teach Pre-K. You’re approach doesn’t sound right for children this young.
“Your”
What ARE your consequences? I swear there just does not seem to be any consequence of behavior that works. The only thing that protects the classroom is to send them home.
I have always had good classroom management I think. I have a good sense of humor, love to create exciting lessons. Teach in a variety of ways. Kids have always come in, sat down, and we got busy. This year they might sit down, or they might stand in the back, and without redirection, they just wander around. They hide, or sneak into other spaces where they are not suppose to be. It is like they think they can go anywhere and do anything. They take things and break things.
They say horrible things to me and to each other. I correct it, I do not tolorate it, I have handed out consequences in a fair and impartial manner. However, they really don’t care. Sometimes they just ask for a consequence, as then they don’t have to do anything else.
MK
It sounds like it’s at a level that administration should step in and support you with, giving students detentions, in school suspensions, etc. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with all of that this year.
Which would be great if Admin would step up and support the CRT’S but this unfortunately rarely, if ever, happens. It’s always the CRT’S fault AND they will take the side of the parent. It didn’t used to be like this – Admin was always there for staff.
I feel you. This sounds rough. I think there are many reasons that behavior seems severe and consequences don’t seem to stick.
The first year after COVID, I experienced a lot of pencil breaking and throwing, and I think it was a lack of emotional regulation.
Even now, I still feel a sense of apathy in the classroom (for learning, and for consequences), which is frustrating.
I have also experienced this. In one class period, I have 5 of these students and they feed off of each other. Admin has met with them individually and with parents and admin tells the students they are running out of options. But at the next severe misbehavior, there are no severe consequences and this I am at a loss.
Great article
Thank you!
Would love to know what plan you use to hold students accountable! I find that so much of class time ends up getting pulled into classroom management -addressing, redirecting, reminding, etc. It causes us to lose a lot of instructional time, the responsible students get frustrated, and then it’s on to the next class before further follow up can happen.
I agree, Cherilyn
To those that ask questions about ‘what are the consquences?’ or how do you hold students accountable, look into the archives. Start with ‘classroom management plan’ in your query. All or most all answers to questions are on this website.
Thanks for the topic. Like some others mentioned, it’d be helpful if you could flesh out the example of your difficult students regarding the beginning and the middle of the process. What consequences did they experience? We don’t doubt that your methods work, but delailed examples of how would be useful.
Hi Megan,
Please see the PS. There are over 750 articles on this website. Dozens in the Difficult Student category of the archive alone.
Hi! Thank you so much for all your stuff. My current school has a policy that essentially says that all behaviours should be examined for extenuating circumstances eg rough time at home at the moment. Do you always always always do the consequences or do you sometimes look at individual circumstances?
Hi Pam,
Not in the way your school is suggesting. It would be extremely rare. I’ve covered this topic in the past but will put it on the list to revisit.