In 2018, I wrote a similar article that included 14 questions.
It resonated with a lot of teachers because it helped prepare them for the best year of teaching they’d ever had.
Other than a few tweaks, I’ve left most of the original questions intact. The only changes were made for clarity.
I also added seven questions to better encompass the SCM approach. With that, what follows are 21 questions to ask yourself before the first day of school.
1. Do my rules cover every possible misbehavior?
2. Are my rules simple, definable, and enforceable?
3. Do I know exactly what does and doesn’t constitute breaking each rule?
4. Am I prepared to define for my new class the precise boundary of each rule?
5. Do I know how to respond to every act of misbehavior?
6. Do I know what I’m going to say when enforcing consequences?
7. Am I committed to following my classroom management plan as written?
8. Do I know what makes my consequences most effective?
9. Do I have a simple and reliable method of keeping track of consequences?
10. Am I committed to catching all misbehavior through vigilant supervision?
11. Am I prepared to never argue, berate, glare, question, or lecture my students?
12. Do I know my content knowledge well enough to capture and hold attention?
13. Am I ready to be as calm as a lotus pond no matter what happens?
14. Am I committed to having a consistently pleasant demeanor every day?
15. Am I ready to eschew all external rewards in favor of intrinsic motivation?
16. Am I ready to pursue excellence in every lesson, transition, routine, and activity?
17. Am I prepared to teach clear, detailed, and single-objective lessons?
18. Am I ready to shift total responsibility over to students to practice independently?
19. Am I prepared to protect silent, independent work time from all interference?
20. Am I committed to offering worthy praise only?
21. Am I ready to have the best year of teaching I’ve ever had?
Each topic has been covered extensively on this website and can be found in the archive at right (bottom) or by using the search feature on the menu bar.
They’re also presented and organized for optimal learning in our bestselling books.
Finally, if you prefer, we’ve been quickly building a library of SCM instruction on our YouTube channel.
PS – Check out this week’s YouTube videos:
1. How to Handle Difficult Students the First Week of School
2. Why Students Keep Arguing with You (And How to Stop It)
3. How to Get Students to Actually Follow Your Routines
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