Classroom Management = Classroom Culture

Other than you, the only person who is more aware of your weaknesses in classroom management is the worst kid in your class. He or she knows where your blind spots are, how to distract your attention, and exactly how to push your buttons to get your blood boiling. As a teacher, knowing how to manage your classroom is a skill that is continually developed and improved upon throughout your career. Here are some helpful ways that any teacher in any setting can improve his or her classroom management skills.

First, let’s clarify the difference between “classroom management” and “discipline.” Classroom management is the responsibility of the teacher and has to do with the procedures, routines, and rules that are set and maintained to the point of becoming a classroom culture. On the other hand, discipline is the responsibility of each individual student and is more about impulse management and self-control. It’s important to distinguish between the two because of the relationship between them. The way you manage your classroom should have a positive effect on students’ discipline and not the other way around. Focusing on discipline causes us to be reactive to negative behaviors rather than actively working to establish and maintain a positive, safe, and productive classroom culture.

Warm + Strict

Many teachers, especially new teachers, struggle with how to define their teaching style… whether to be strict or nice? Being only one or the other is a surefire mistake, but these qualities don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Being both warm and strict sends a strong message to students: because you care about them, you’re going to hold them to a high standard of behavior. Teaching from this perspective will also model for students how to have a healthy relationship based on mutual respect.

It’s important to note here that being strict simply means holding students accountable for their behavior, not becoming a snarling tyrant when one student steps out of line. As teachers, we have to distinguish between the child and his or her behavior. It’s the difference between saying “your behavior is inconsiderate” and “you’re inconsiderate.” Further, students should know that consequences are consistent and temporary, meaning that everyone is treated the same and that, once they’ve dealt with the consequence of a mistake, it’s immediately in the past. The next time you see them, greet them with a smile rather than a grudge.

Explain It

Once you’ve decided what rules and procedures you’d like your students to follow, it’s worth taking the time to explain to them why things need to be conducted that way. For example, rather than saying “be quiet!” say, “if you need my attention, please raise your hand. Repeatedly calling out my name disrupts the concentration of other people who need to work.” If you can’t adequately explain a rule or procedure, perhaps it’s not a useful part of your classroom culture, and it should be reevaluated.

Practice It

Have you ever tried to conduct a new kind of activity that you thought your students would absolutely love only to have half the class goof-off while the other half languishes in bored silence? Before we go making sweeping generalizations about “the problems inherent in the new generation,” consider the very likely possibility that the lesson failed simply because the procedure is new to them. Before any skill can be mastered, it must be practiced, and classroom management is no different. Both the teacher and students have to practice rules, procedures, and routines until they become embedded in the classroom culture. After you think you’ve practiced it enough that everyone should know what to do, practice it again!

With-It-Ness

Teachers with the best classroom management almost always are the most “with it,” meaning they’re perceptive of the goings on of their class. By our nature, people, especially children, are opportunistic. Even our best students may be tempted to misbehave if they think we’re not looking. As teachers, we should strive to know what every child is doing (and even thinking about doing!) at every moment. Though it may sound impossible, the more “with it” we are as teachers, the fewer opportunities students will have for impulsive lapses of judgment.

Corporal Punishment

Sadly, despite the fact that almost every developed country (still not the US!) has banned the use of corporal punishment, some teachers still find it acceptable to strike a child in order to motivate good behavior. I happen to work in one such community where many parents actively request that their teachers “lash,” “flog,” or “whip” their children. For any other teachers out there working in a setting where corporal punishment is used, I’d like to offer two ways you can help turn the tide against this form of child abuse. The main way is to model for other teachers how you manage your classroom without the use of corporal punishment. Modeling as a teaching strategy can be as useful outside the classroom as it is inside the classroom.

The other thing you can do is speak out against corporal punishment whenever the topic comes up and you feel comfortable doing so. I often tell teachers who I know use this tactic that if a student’s behavior became so bad that he or she needed to be hit, then the teacher probably missed some warning signs along the way which could have prevented the incident. Even in casual conversations, a little social pressure can go a long way. I like to pose the following question to parents and teachers in my community: what is the worst thing that would happen if everyone stopped using corporal punishment?

As teachers, we’re obligated to ensure all learners have access to a safe, orderly, and stimulating learning environment. To that end, having strong classroom management is a skill that must be practiced by teacher and students until the rules, procedures, and routines are indistinguishable from the classroom culture. Please send us your comments, questions, and any classroom management techniques you find effective.

Creative Commons Love: Michael Hvorecky, lecercle, and Rex Pe on Flickr.com

Written by Nathaniel Stewart