When I was a new teacher many years ago, I was told by a veteran colleague that the school’s principal valued praise above everything else. So when the boss walked through the door for my first formal observation, I started throwing around praise like … Read more
Misbehavior, disrespect, inattentiveness, low motivation, slow academic progress. The things most teachers stress over aren’t a concern for experts in classroom management. It’s true. If your students behaved like you wanted them to, if they were motivated and respectful, if you had your dream … Read more
The fundamental purpose of classroom management is to spend more time on academics and less time on behavior. The quicker your can handle misbehavior and move on, the better. This is one reason why it’s best to rely on your classroom management plan. If … Read more
There is a reason students tattle. But it has nothing to do with them. They are not the problem. They’re merely doing what they feel like they must do. The problem is with you, their teacher. Have you ever noticed that when students tattle … Read more
Lecturing individual students is a common classroom management practice—just another tool in a teacher’s tool belt. But it’s a colossal mistake, born of frustration, that does nothing to curb unwanted behavior beyond several minutes. The reason? When you lecture individual students, it’s done out … Read more
If you’re like most teachers, you’re in a hurry much of the time. Your schedule is overloaded. Your curriculum is bursting at the seams. And you have precious little time between one activity and the next. Stress rises along with your dissatisfaction, but you … Read more
The idea is simple. If your students like you, they’ll want to please you and seek your approval. Which gives you leverage—leverage to influence behavior like almost nothing else. And the best news is… it’s automatic. Your students will automatically behave better simply because … Read more
Classroom management is easy. Let me rephrase that. Classroom management should feel easy. If it feels difficult to you, if it feels like you’re straining and working to get students to behave and pay attention, then you’re doing something wrong. Effective classroom management is … Read more