Recently, I watched a second grade teacher walking her class to lunch.
She was leading from the front and extremely active. She would stop often to guide her students with her hands, fuss with their lunch boxes, and remind them to stay in line.
The students were relatively well behaved but distracted—staring off into the distance, bumping into each other, lost in thought.
The line was moving at a snail’s pace, taking five minutes to walk just 100 feet. Given the teacher’s animated behavior, an observer would assume that her students needed all of that attention.
But they didn’t.
In fact, they didn’t need the teacher at all. Second graders are perfectly capable of walking to lunch, or performing any other routine, without any teacher input whatsoever.
Yet, spend a couple of hours on any school campus and most routines look just like this, even with much older students. The teachers are talking, directing, and bustling about and the students bored and daydreaming.
Or worse, they’re misbehaving.
—Which is a bright red flashing sign that the students are very effectively learning how to be helpless and dependent on others, even for the simplest things like walking to lunch or opening a laptop.
The truth is that routines are one of the best opportunities teachers have to impact students and change them for the better.
Done right—with the teacher modeling how to perform routines and then allowing students to carry them out independently—they produce maturity.
They give students purpose and responsibility. They teach them to become more detailed, more aware, and more focused on finishing tasks, chores, objectives, and responsibilities.
Furthermore, students love doing for themselves.
Well-performed routines transfer excellence to everything they do—from study habits to attentiveness to academic performance.
The teacher I watched that day seemed to enjoy her job. She seemed to care about her students and clearly took pride in her reputation (mentioned again and again by several on campus) as an excellent teacher.
But her approach, her aggressively doing and doing for her students, was hurting them. It was holding them back.
It was steeping them in learned helplessness, stifling their independence and motivation, and removing from them a golden opportunity to grow in maturity and responsibility.
Routines are a means to an end. But the end isn’t the lunchroom or their seats after a transition. It’s the lessons they offer, which when allowed and nourished by the teacher, can be profound.
Even life-changing.
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I teach 7th and 8th grade science and lines are not happening at this age. I’m ok with that moving from class to class, bc students do walk in lines during fire drills, and do it quite well bc the have the independence at the right times.
My question involves end of class dismissal. My routine is to have them pack up by retrieving their book bags from their nearby book bag cubbies and returning to their seats till dismissal. Every other teacher let’s them line up by the door where they began grabbing each other, grabbing science displays, messing around with markets, the newline board, EACH OTHER, it’s so chaotic. It brings chaos into the 4 min passing period and into the next classroom. Am I being controlling? Out of line? Is this a hill to die on? My students, 3 weeks in, fight me on staying at their spots (lab tables) likely bc NO ONE ELSE does this dismissal style. I could use help discerning what to do here to keep hands in check and student destruction of property in check. Thank you for what you do, I use your techniques DAILY for happy learning students… until dismissal.
Don’t stop what you are doing. This closing routine allows you to close out the learning in a productive style and focus on front loading the next class rather than unwittingly having students focus on an unofficial end of class “recess” which will usually result in them mentally moving on earlier and earlier as the year goes on.
Maybe tell them that the class can try lining up by the door, under the following conditions – hands to self, no loud voices, etc. If they mess up they will need to go back to their seats and not get another chance to try it their way for a certain # of days.
Stick to your preferred routine and procedure. I’m a 30 year middle school veteran classroom teacher. I currently teach math intervention. I run a tight ship of high expectations and explicit routines and procedures. When my students complain that other teachers don’t make them follow certain routines and procedures, I simply and calmly tell them with a smile that I can only control how things work in my classroom, and I have my reasons from experience in which I need them to trust. I explain they’ll soon realize how smoothly and safely (academically, emotionally, and physically) things run in my classroom bc we follow my routines and procedures. I explain other teachers have their choice to manage their classrooms differently, but I have explicit expectations as well as full confidence in them to choose well and meet those expectations. I also give praise when they meet the expectations which in turn,
builds up their intrinsic motivation and self-assurance that they’re capable of choosing to rise to excellence. The push back early in the year can be strong, but with my patience, perseverance, and predictability, the vast majority of students accept and come to appreciate the expectations.
This is how I also gave my student’s dismiss from my class. It curbs chaos and the physical altercations that can arise from the super energetic kids. I frame it as preventing chaos and learning to be still for a minute, yet still allowing them to chat with peers. They are already exposed to high levels of stimuli with their electronic devices and even some of their educational games in school (on computers.)
Do not stop what you are doing even when others gaslight you into thinking you’re too strict or controlling. The kids probably don’t realize it, but you are keeping them safe. Perhaps some day they will understand why you did what you did.
Kudos to you and good luck this school year!
Even as retired teacher, still in touch with students in a different context, I believe this will lead to my growth as an advocate for children. Where can we find an inspiring description of the modeling, the independence? I feel like I’ve encountered these descriptions before. Ready to read about it and be inspired again. Thanks!
Hi,
How do you suggest getting students to independently stay quiet in line then? This is my first year teaching 5th grade. Prior to this year, I’ve taught middle school and never had to walk students in a line quietly to lunch. Ive been wondering better tactics on how to get them to be better behaved and quiet in line.
Let them whisper or talk low. Why must they be absolutely quiet?
I have been a middle school teacher for 19 years. The best thing ever for me: if you talk in line, your name goes on my sticky note and you get silent lunch. One reminder in the classroom, but zero reminders in the hall. Just consequences. And if you argue with me about it, you get another day, until you stop talking. You will have maybe even 5-6 kids at silent lunch because they don’t believe you, but then the numbers will trickle down very quickly. Same rule every day. I walk with a smile on my face and awesomely-behaved, silent children in the hallway.
I turn around and make them start over until they do it correctly. They are highly motivated to have their full lunch break and will police each other to do better.
Model then practice until they get it right early in the year (first week). It takes time, but if you do this they should learn quickly that you will insist on it. If you have one student who is doing poorly send them to the back of the line or front, but make sure to thank them for doing it properly once they do. Be big on connection so you can more easily carry out correction.
I would suggest:
The first few days- model/demonstrate then have them do- go back and try again until they meet the expectation.
Next, assign a line leader and rotate that job so everyone gets a turn over the weeks. Fire and replace anyone not rising to the occasion- but they usually do.
Do NOT lead the line- you walk near the back. You see better and they won’t try stuff behind your back. And this sends the message that you expect them to do it on their own. Without a word, point and direct anyone fooling around to the back. 🙂
Live this and agree
I am a 7th grade teacher. I do not understand why I have to take my students to lunch. When I lived in Germany, my school was 7th-12th grade. My middle school classes were intermingled with the high school classes. When the bell rang, we walked to our next class. We walked to lunch without direction from teachers. I truly believe that if we taught our students the expectations, they could meet them. However, trying to convince admin of this is not easy.
Let me guess she tied their shoes would a student asked them to tie their shoes instead of doing it themselves!
I’m a retired Grade 2 teacher in Ontario. I always walked in front of the line; however, I told the students that I didn’t want to know I had a long line of children behind me. Always had the best line walkers! If they respect you they should fall in line. It was actually fun for them to make me proud. It works if I am substituting also ( although all the kids at that school know my expectations.
I have not received an email from Smart Classroom Management since this one received on August 30, 2025. I would like to continue reading the articles. Thanks.
Hi Deby,
We just checked our records. The emails have been sent per normal. The last one that was opened was on 9/14.