When I visit classrooms, I rarely see a classroom management plan posted. It’s the first thing I look for. Because it tells me a lot about the teacher. Namely, the importance they place on protecting students from disruptions in learning. Here are six other … Read more
Great teachers teach lessons differently than their colleagues. It’s why their students are more engaged, productive, studious, and academically competent. Yes, there is a classroom management component to their success. Great teachers are experts in this area too. But lessons form the backbone of … Read more
Here at SCM, we embrace simple things that have a big impact. Maintaining a calm disposition is one of those things. If you do nothing else, if you make no other changes to your teaching practice, you’ll notice some surprising effects. You’ll experience what … Read more
At the end of every school year we post a report card for teachers. The purpose is to assess the degree you were able to follow the principles of Smart Classroom Management. It takes just a few minutes to fill out, but the experience … Read more
If you follow your classroom management plan every time a student breaks a rule, you’re ahead of 95 percent of teachers. Most never get there. However, despite your consistency, if you make this one mistake during your follow-through, you’ll undermine the most important factor … Read more
There is a moment when classroom behavior always gets worse. It is a moment that is entirely controlled by the teacher. Yet, few teachers are aware of it. The moment consists of something the teacher does—or, more accurately, doesn’t do. It also typically gets … Read more
Many teachers have an out-of-control class and don’t realize it. Maybe it’s because they’ve gotten so used to chaos and disrespect that they think it’s normal. Maybe they’ve never actually observed a polite, well-behaved class before. Maybe no one has told them the hard … Read more
The idea that being too nice is the reason you’re struggling with classroom management is a misunderstanding of why students misbehave. This is a common belief and why you often hear the following advice: “Don’t smile the first two months of the school year.” … Read more