The classroom management secret, as defined in the book of the same name, is this: Creating a classroom your students love being part of combined with an unwavering commitment to accountability. Every one of the hundreds of SCM strategies support this definition as well … Read more
One of the most common questions I receive is: “How can I allow for free-flowing discussion given the SCM rule about hand raising?” This is a great question because at first glance our classroom management plans don’t allow for open, back-and-forth interaction among students … Read more
As I write this, I’m staying overnight in the Phoenix airport. My flight was diverted mid-flight on the way home to San Diego because a plane was stuck on the finest city’s one and only runway. So 238 of us are trying to get … Read more
The lie isn’t that childhood trauma doesn’t exist. Of course it does. Some of our students have been abused and neglected. Others have witnessed violence, criminality, drug use, and indescribable family strife. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Adverse childhood experiences can have … Read more
Misbehavior tends to increase as we edge closer to holiday break. It’s a phenomenon as old as Santa and just as predictable. But it isn’t inevitable. There are strategies that allow you to avoid the rise in rambunctiousness, excitable voices, and impulsively bad behavior. … Read more
They’re needy and urgent. They follow you around and pull on your hem. They ask a zillion questions and expect your personalized attention. It doesn’t occur to them that you have other students, which drives you mad and stresses your willpower to the brink. … Read more
Things happen. Interruptions fall from the sky. Events and incidents out of your control invade your well-ordered peace like the hordes of Cimbri. A fire alarm. A student yelling outside your classroom. A schedule change. A recess downpour. Colleagues you count on drop the … Read more
Your temperament will transfer to your students like Covid in a college dorm. Thus, your calmness from opening bell to dismissal is critical. That isn’t to say that you can’t be enthusiastic about your subject matter or that you shouldn’t emote, playact, and express … Read more