There is great freedom in consistency. Because when you follow your classroom management plan to a tee, you remove the guesswork. You eliminate the stress of lecturing, correcting, and trying to convince your students to behave. You wipe away the friction and resentment. The … Read more
Your class rules are the first line of defense against misbehavior. They should never be left to chance. They should never be created as an afterthought or copied from the teacher next door. They must be created thoughtfully and in a way that is … Read more
Stroll through virtually any school and you’ll hear teacher voices spilling out into the hallways. You’ll hear them echoing above the clatter of their classrooms. You’ll hear them correcting and admonishing, directing and demanding for attention. If it were an office building, library, or … Read more
Ask a struggling teacher how their class is going and they’ll inevitably bring up one or two students who take up much of their time. They’ll lament the disruptions and the battles. They’ll tell horror stories of incidents past. They’ll share how they’ve tried … Read more
There is a lot of bad classroom management information out there. Now more than ever. Not a month goes by that we don’t hear of another irresponsible method being promoted. We hope to list our top ten worst strategies in a future article, but … Read more
When I began this blog more than six years ago, I made a commitment to telling the whole truth about classroom management. The good and bad. The harmful and transformational. What really works and what doesn’t. Along the way we’ve dispelled myths, exposed misconceptions, … Read more
Maybe it’s the way they interrupt you. Maybe it’s their disrespectful tone. Maybe it’s their silliness or side-talking or affinity for misbehaving at the worst possible time. Whatever it is, it bugs you. It gets under your skin. It prompts an internal dialogue you’re … Read more
At this time of year it isn’t unusual for routines to become sloppy. Your students, after all, are growing tired of the grind. The pressures of testing weigh heavily. Morning songbirds remind them that summer is near. Despite faithfully following the do-it-again strategy, your … Read more