In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
~Thomas Jefferson
Have you ever taught a lesson in another teacher’s classroom?
In other words, have you ever taught students whose classroom behaviors, attitudes, and habits have been shaped by someone other than yourself?
It’s an odd and enlightening experience.
Sometimes, if the teacher is good, it can be very pleasant. Other times… not so much. It’s hard to overcome weeks and months of poor teaching in a 30-minute lesson.
The difference between a classroom taught by an effective teacher and one taught by someone struggling with classroom management is striking.
You know within five minutes how much–or how little–learning is taking place.
There is a lot that stands out in your mind while teaching students from both ends of the classroom management spectrum. But one thing is indisputable. In classrooms with poor classroom management, the students believe they are, to some degree, in charge.
When a teacher leaves a leadership vacuum of any kind, and to any degree, the students will fill it with a vengeance.
So how do you know if this is happening to you? How can you tell if you’ve ceded leadership control to your students?
There are three telltale signs:
1. Your students will offer frequent suggestions.
Your students may not yet be able to write a coherent paragraph, read at grade level, or tie their shoes, but if they’re unsure about who the ultimate authority in the classroom is, they’ll tell you how you should do your job.
They’ll give frequent suggestions and reminders. They’ll advise you on how they think you should do this and do that. They’ll tell you that Tim is still in time-out, recess is starting soon, and, oh yeah, you forgot to teach vocabulary this morning.
In other words, they’ll be more interested in your responsibilities than their own.
2. Your students will be bold and disrespectful.
Without raising their hand, or having an understanding of the facts like you do, they will brazenly tell you that you’re wrong. They will lie to you when you both know the truth. They will approach you whenever they feel like it, interrupt you, and speak to you like they would a younger brother.
They’ll look you in the eye after an act of misbehavior and dare you to do something about it.
3. Your students will have a blasé attitude.
They’ll sit with a slouch. They’ll groan. They’ll take their sweet time. They’ll roll their eyes. They’ll chew gum in front of you. And if you have the audacity to correct them or give them a warning, you’re likely to hear a dramatic, “Oh my gosh! What did I dooooo?”
Absent of strong leadership, there is no sense of urgency in students, no bright-eyed enthusiasm, and little work ethic. They’ll appear jaded, bored, disinterested, and way too cool for you.
What To Do About It
Some teachers respond by trying to be buddies with students, with trying to be more like a facilitator than the teacher they desperately need. The fact is, when a teacher reveals him or herself as less than the ultimate authority in the classroom, the students will exploit it for all it’s worth.
The solution is to establish yourself as the clear leader of the classroom. Few teachers ever really do this, and because of it, their students walk all over them.
So how do you do it? How do you communicate to your students that you are unquestionably in charge of the classroom?
You tell them. And then you tell them again whenever they need to hear it.
You stand to your full height, look them in the eye, and give it to them straight. Say something like:
I’m your teacher and I’m in charge of this classroom. That’s my job. That means I make the decisions. I decide how you behave, what we learn, how we learn, and when we do the things we do. You don’t. Your job is to sit up straight, follow directions, and be the best student you can be. And that’s it.
If there is anyone who doesn’t understand this, anyone who is unsure about what your job is and who is in charge, then I want to see you at recess. Otherwise, show me right now, for the rest of the day, and for the rest of the year, that you understand.
These aren’t just words you recite. They must be part of who you are—your conviction, your principles, and your passion for leading students. They must also be backed by a classroom management plan you’re committed to following.
Deep down our students don’t want to slouch or goof off or tell us how to do our jobs. They do it because they’re uninspired. They do it because they have no one to look up to, no respected leader in the classroom to follow, and no reason to buckle down and focus on their sole purpose for being in your classroom:
To learn.
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That is just so true Michael, I teach a craft to grades 1 to 6, and there is only one class who is able to respectfully and delightfully do their work and enjoy their time with me. Interestingly, the same was true last year with different kids from the same teacher’s class! I don’t enjoy the classes of the other teachers and am only hanging on until I can get my own class! I struggle not to get into an authoritarian battle with the other classes, in my attempts to get them to produce some work (which is, after all, my job!). Thank you for your posts, Stephanie
Thank you, Stephanie!
Wow, Michael. I was already blown away with inspiration half way through the above article. I’m new to teaching and I know I’m still learning to carry the authority of a teacher (and I really do want to carry that authority for the sake of the students). So I was eagerly anticipating the solution that I knew you’d provide. And when I got to where you wrote “So how do you do it? … You tell them.” — I just laughed and laughed, because not only did I instantly feel it to be true, I know it’s going to work for me. Thanks a million.
This is great advice to make a classroom less about real learning & more about power & compliance.
Remember it was Benito Mussolini who said:
“Let us have a dagger between our teeth, a bomb in our hands and infinite scorn in our hearts.”
What saddens me more than anything is that a young, inexperienced teacher might read this and be some how inspired to mistreat children with such a misguided manner.
Joe
I couldn’t disagree more.
Nor I. I am a new teacher, therefore so far my bigger experience with children is my parenting (my eldest is 11). I have also run a playgroup in the past, and although at times with my own children I feared I may repeat the overly authoritarian parenting I received, I parent consciously, fairly, and with a view to enable their own spirits. The children of parents who were less inclined to guide their children in learning how to learn and socialise, also rarely smiled or had happy friendships, nor did they respect other people and their property (including their parents).
I will strive not to create a fear-based classroom, and will aim to form a future class so that after a time, while they know where the buck stops, I can become more of a facilitator for their ideas and learning because we have a harmonious, happy, industrious and respectful classroom. But I don’t believe that occurs without effort, the student’s or mine.
I believe that children need to push on boundaries, but also feel relieved to know the buck stops somewhere, as they live in a predominantly adult world where they don’t understand everything yet. Developmentally, abstract thought is only truly kicking in around class 6, and intuitive care for others in a consistent way at probably even an older age, which is why they need structure to be with each other in a productive way when they’re younger.
Each child deserves to learn and be respected, and that can’t reliably happen when there are too many bosses. They simply don’t have the maturity to direct themselves all the time.
Thanks for the great article Michael. I too think a teacher has to be bold and in charge (not like Mussolini of course) of the classroom. I can see Joe’s point, but I think that he is referring to an extreme authority figure.
I don’t think real learning can occur in an chaotic environment and that is what usually happens when there is no leader in the classroom. I have seen teachers who are very weak and their classrooms are like a zoo!
You’re right on the money, Bryan! It’s the teachers without strong leadership and without strong classroom management who tend to use hurtful, domineering methods like yelling, scolding, sarcasm, and the like.
Michael
Joe,
I completely agree with Bryan. There is NO Learning without the firmness and honesty of adult leadership and consistency of an enforced classroom management plan. These are children in need of our loving guidance–not the foe of Mussolini. Your comment makes me question if you have ever had the experience of being responsible for the learning of students in the classroom?
I was feeling so disappointed, then I read Joe’s comment, and my spirit was lifted again.
Awesome its a blasting idea to let our students know dat it is we teachers in charge of the classroom nd not they!
I felt like I was reading an article about teaching in the 1900s. I am an experienced teacher and have never taught like this. I encourage my students to THINK and if that means (respectfully) disagreeing with me and being able to prove their point, then that’s awesome. They are responsible for their own learning and know how to debate a point or check for second opinions. I am currently teachings 8 and 9 year olds and they are quickly becoming independent thinkers and learners.
Nothing annoys me more than getting through students from a teacher who thinks for the children, as you have described. They have no initiative and wait to be told to do anything. They are little parrots with no intrinsic motivation.
I have never had behaviour management problems, because I put it back on the kids. They know what they need to do to learn and it’s their responsibility to learn it. What does sitting up straight teach them? Children are more likely to misbehave for an authoritarian than a teacher who learns with them and teaches them WHY they need to behave.
My class always gets comments from other teachers and parents about how settled and well behaved they are. They make consistent academic progress and they love to learn.
Beginning teachers – please don’t read this article (which goes completely against 21st century learning) and believe that it’s the ‘right’ way to teach!
Regardless of what others are saying, I think a teacher is responsible for the behavior in their classroom and the learning environment. In many cases this means the teacher needs to be IN CHARGE.
I am a newer teacher, and I realized that many of my students act this way towards me.
Many times through the year, classroom management is like a roller coaster, with some seasons in which the students decide to behave because I’m being a “friend” but then just as soon lose respect for me because I’m not doing everything they want. I know why too. Part of it was not being completely consistent with my management plan which wasn’t perfect in the first place. Another is that I’m the youngest teacher in the school and I look almost the same age as the students.
After reading this blog for a while, I’ve been cracking down. I seem more authoritarian, but many of my classes now know who is in charge, and the behavior has markedly improved. I am now able to build ACTUAL meaningful relationships with some of these students rather than the shallow ones built under threat of misbehavior from the students.
Today we had an intruder drill, and I had completely RANDOM students in my room. I got them quiet and calm in 5 seconds flat.
After the drill I heard stories of other teachers whose students flipped over tables, were screaming and mocking the drill, and jumping out of windows. That would have been me if I didn’t make the changes that this blog is helping me make. Thanks Mike. I strive to become a classroom management master. =]
Chuck
Awesome, Chuck. Thanks for your comments.
Michael
Like everything else, it’s a balance. Educators tend to jump from one extreme to another and not take the good from all points of view. You don’t have to be a dictator to run a classroom, but you do have to have rules and expectations. As a tech teacher, I see classes from all across the spectrum of management styles….and the toughest ones for the “specials” teachers are those where the classroom teacher has no clear management.
So many factors go into student behavior. I don’t believe you can simply state: “These are my rules. You will follow them. This is my classroom.” This is a very 20th century approach to teaching that no longer works. One must learn to work collaboratively with students. However, the finger is always pointed at the teacher, never the cooperation among teacher to teacher, or teacher to administrator. No one ever seems to mentions the value system of the children themselves. Some students have already learned at home how to behave at schools; others have not. Some children come to school having been taught that you can disrespect your teacher at any time, for any reason. It is not always the fault of the teacher, although sometimes it is. Although rewarding at times, teaching is stressful. I dare any politician to teach for three straight years in an inner-city public school. Try and be a ‘cluster’ teacher — meaning you go into ‘other teacher’s rooms’ (because you have no room) and teach children with whom you only see once a week. You might see as many as 800 students per week! Other teachers sometimes ‘talk-over’ you during the lesson because during the time you teach, they are on their break and are allowed to talk over you. Amazing. Or, some teachers will say: “Let me know how my class did.” This is good teaching. This comment shows that the teacher is genuinely concerned about the overall welfare of his/her students. Other teachers will say: “You’re on your own. What goes on in here is between you and them.” (Never mind the fact that this kind of teacher sees his/her 30 students each and every day and could help build a better line of communication between cluster teacher and students, but they choose not to because they have an extremely limited view of the meaning of true leadership and actual collaboration with other colleagues.) How can one teach when adults are talking during their lesson? Don’t students see this and figure your lessons are so unimportant that people can simply talk over you? Before you go and point the finger at the teacher, look at all the factors that go into good teaching. I say we start to hold students and their families accountable for the behavior of their children. Then, let’s work on building increased respect for all for all staff members and students.