Toes tap, knees piston, eyes dance about the room—the air hangs heavy with uneasiness and distraction. The students can barely contain themselves, all but bursting to talk and move and burn off pent up energy. Even when the classroom is quiet, the enveloping tension … Read more
It’s easy to hold a grudge against difficult students. It’s our natural tendency; our default setting when someone angers us or hurts those we care about. It’s an extension of that initial surge of annoyance and frustration that comes over us when a student … Read more
It’s common for teachers to send difficult students to the office. Fed up with the interruptions, the silliness, and the overt disrespect—and after so many threats and warnings—they haul the offending child down for some face time with the principal. Some schools require a … Read more
It’s frustrating. You start your class working on an independent project, a writing assignment, or a rotation of centers, then begin quietly calling selected students for small-group instruction. And for the first few minutes it goes well. But just as you settle in and … Read more
Happy New Year! And thanks for being a regular reader of Smart Classroom Management! From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for your continued support of SCM. Your generosity in sharing your favorite articles with your friends and followers keeps … Read more
Most teachers don’t observe their students enough. Because they’re too busy meeting with them. They’re too busy leaning down to help. They’re too busy scurrying from student to student talking them through every this and every that. They assume that if you don’t look … Read more
Friendship drama. The very words can make you shudder. Tears, jealousy, hurt feelings, histrionics, he said-she said . . . Although it’s the last thing you ever want to deal with, you simply can’t ignore it. Because it will dominate the lives of whoever … Read more
Heartfelt praise based on true accomplishment is powerful stuff. It feeds your students’ internal motivational engines. It spurs them to greater success. It reinforces the slow-to-grow belief that hard work matters, that it really is more than worth the sweat and toil. Certainly they … Read more