I think back to when I was a teacher...
It’s the end of the school year. Summer beckons, and I put the last school year behind me and look ahead to a relaxing summer…
Fast forward to about August 1st, and that’s when the dreams begin. You know the ones I’m talking about. The “it’s-the-first-day-of-school-and-I’m-not-ready” dreams. Nightmares, really!
Back then, when those dreams began, I knew it was time to get down to business and begin getting ready for the upcoming school year. Each year, part of my routine was to consider what went well and what could be improved for next year, and that always included classroom management.
Why is classroom management so important? If your classroom is well-managed, everything else can easily fall into place. Lessons run more smoothly, tensions are lowered, and everyone is happier. Walk into a well-managed classroom, and you can instantly see the difference. So what does it take to achieve this ideal?
1. Be proactive. For anyone who has read Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you know that “Be proactive” is one of the habits. In fact, it’s the first one, and that’s because it sets the stage for everything else that happens around you. Being proactive means thinking ahead and making a plan. How do you want students to transition from one activity to another? How could a particular instructional activity create disruption in the room, and what can you do ahead of time to prevent the disruption? Being proactive, instead of reactive, will make your classroom a more pleasant environment to be in.
2. Choose what works for you. A quick search on Google or Pinterest will provide you with more classroom management ideas than you could ever hope to implement in one year. How do you choose? Think about what will work for you. A plan with too many moving parts won’t work for someone who doesn’t have the time to consistently implement it all year long. A plan that requires a large amount of bulletin board space won’t work in a classroom with limited wall space. When choosing management ideas, think about whether or not you can see yourself effectively and consistently using these ideas all year long.
3. Choose what works for your students. The reason there are so many classroom management ideas is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. Consider the age and maturity level of your students. Consider their sizes (height). When possible, talk to their teacher or teachers from a previous year to find out what worked with a particular group. You may find yourself tweaking your plan every year to best meet the needs of your students. And that brings us to the next point.
4. Be flexible. You’ve put a plan in place, and you expect that it will work! But what if it doesn’t? It is important to be flexible enough to identify when something is not working and make a change. Or go “off plan” when the situation calls for it. Or to make adjustments for individual students who may need it.
5. Be consistent. Wait. How can you be flexible AND consistent? Maybe I should rewrite this as “Be consistent in the beginning of the year,” or “Be consistent most of the time.” Consistency is important, because students feel most secure when they know what the expectations are. And because you want your plans to become habits, meaning that they need to be repeated consistently. And also because you’ve spent the time to put plans in place, so of course you should follow them! But if you are mostly consistent, that’s what counts. That leaves room for a little bit of flexibility.
Bonus: I recently read a reminder from one of my favorite classroom management gurus, Harry Wong. In a recent article, he wrote, “Classroom management is not about discipline. It is about organization and consistency.” When you look at classroom management in this way, you will find that, if your classroom is organized and you are consistent, the need for actual discipline is largely reduced.
So as you are enjoying the remainder of your summer, begin to think ahead to how you are going to manage your classroom this year. You’ll find that a little bit of proactivity now can go a long way! Sweet dreams…
Jennifer Caldwell
Executive Director
Standards Solution
Standards Solution
