No, not freely. Students should never be allowed to talk socially in class whenever they wish. However, when narrowly defined, giving your students the option to talk with their friends for a minute or two during the school day is a smart idea. Here’s … Read more
Smart Classroom Management now has a YouTube channel. Our plan is to post long-form videos that cover the core principles of effective classroom management. Think of it as a classroom management school to take you from novice to expert. Our new video is called … Read more
There is a classroom management strategy that hums along in the background of the most effective teachers. You can’t see this strategy. It isn’t applied once and reused when needed. It isn’t a step-by-step, how-to process. I don’t believe it’s ever been revealed in … Read more
While observing classrooms, it’s common for me to see students staring at screens during independent reading time. Chromebooks mainly but also tablets and, in some cases, even phones. But, why? Are screens better at improving reading than actual books? Do they deepen comprehension, speed … Read more
At the end of every school year we post a report card for teachers. The purpose is to assess the extent you were able to follow the principles of Smart Classroom Management. The exercise takes just a few minutes, but the experience is invaluable. … Read more
It doesn’t matter whether you have a week left in the school year or a single day, just like any other break, be it winter or spring, you must keep pushing the envelope. This doesn’t mean that you can’t schedule more learning games or … Read more
There are rare times when you do need to send a student to the principal. But only for the following reasons: Violence Threats of violence Weapons Drugs Fighting Continued or severe bullying In other words, anything dangerous. The reason is to protect yourself legally, … Read more
Much like teachers allowing students to listen to music when their entire focus should be on learning, this one caught me by surprise. Evidently, there are teachers sharing their personal social-media pages with students. A message from a reader clued me in. I was … Read more