If you’re struggling with classroom management, then chances are you become annoyed when your students misbehave. Your blood pressure rises. Your eyes narrow and your lips tighten. Your displeasure can be seen and felt from every corner of your classroom. But every time you … Read more
One reason many teachers struggle with classroom management is because they confuse motivation and accountability. Although related, they are two separate areas of classroom management. To be effective, they must remain separate. Teachers run into trouble when their attempts to motivate students to behave … Read more
It’s a common refrain. “With a student like Erik, you have to pick your battles.” “In my class this year, I’ve got to pick my battles.” “The best advice I could offer would be to . . . pick your battles.” The idea behind … Read more
There are those rare teachers, perhaps one or two at every school site, who pride themselves with how late they stay after school. It gives them a kick, a buzz from feeling that they’re going above and beyond for their students. They like the … Read more
If there is one classroom management mistake made more often than others, it is the practice of giving reminders after misbehavior has already occurred. It’s so common, in fact, that it passes the lips of many scores of teachers daily—even hourly—in schools from Fresno … Read more
One of the most common email questions we get is . . . “What about students from disadvantaged backgrounds?” The question never ceases to knock me back on my heels because, truth be told, every strategy on this website has been developed in classrooms … Read more
There is a pervasive fear in teaching that if you’re not on top of your students every moment—coaxing, guiding, advising, directing—you’ll lose control of your classroom. If left unchecked, this fear turns otherwise easygoing men and women into micromanagers, hovering over their students like … Read more
Trying to persuade students to behave is one of the most prevalent methods of classroom management. This is why it’s so common to see teachers huddled privately with students—trying to push the right buttons, searching for the right words to say, attempting to convince … Read more