For regular education classroom teachers, giving rewards in exchange for good behavior is a mistake. It’s true that “do this and get that” type rewards can improve behavior in the short term. As in, “Sit up straight and give me your attention, and I … Read more
Can you tell if you’re going to have a long behavior day within the first few minutes of the morning bell? Most teachers can. Dark clouds on the horizon will appear before your students even sit down. Maybe it’s in the way they enter … Read more
With over 500,000 page views, How To Handle Disrespectful Students is one of the most popular articles on this website—and for good reason. A disrespectful student can get under a teacher’s skin like almost nothing else. When confronted with disrespect, it’s easy to take … Read more
It’s one of the great challenges of teaching. How do you compete with the distractions of a modern student’s life? How do you interest them in what you’re offering when their entertainment options are so immediate, so exciting, and so easy? How do you … Read more
If you’re like most teachers, you stray from your classroom management plan. Oh, your intentions are good. You really do want to follow it to the letter. But ultimately you don’t. Situations keep getting in the way. Like, for example, when one of your … Read more
I hope you’re reading this. I hope the title piqued your interest. If it did, I’m glad you’re here. The topic is a special one. I hope I can do it justice. Bringing laughter into the classroom is so close to my heart that … Read more
One of the happy truths about classroom management is that you can always press the restart button. You can always call a do-over. Any time you like. So as soon as you notice your students becoming less motivated and more prone to misbehavior, that’s … Read more
Are you able to relax and enjoy school assemblies, or do you sit nervously, hoping your students will behave? Does it drive you crazy when they chat with each other, act silly, or rise up and block the view of the students behind them? … Read more