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Classroom management becomes a little more bearable when students feel like you are taking into account their identities and validating them.

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Your students should feel like the consequences they receive for their behavior are fair.

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Out of all the things first-year teachers worry about, this is probably number one on the list. Behavior management is tricky because you may struggle with aligning to your school’s disciplinary actions and/ or aligning with your own ethics and morals of how to discipline a student.

Behavior Management/ Discipline

My first advice is, before you even go into your own classroom, you should inquire about behavior management/ discipline during your interviews. When I was interviewing, I asked, “What does behavior management and discipline look like at this school?” The reason I asked is because I knew that it would be against my own morals and ethics to go into a school that had demerits. I do not believe in repeating the oppressive cycle that is giving students of color demerits that likely lead into bigger consequences. Thus, this helped to narrow down more schools.

When you finally do get into a classroom, it is not your responsibility to behavior manage and discipline in a fair way that treats all students with equity. One of the downfalls of first-year teachers is that they let certain things slide until they have had enough! This is not an effective strategy for two reasons; one: your students are not being treated fairly if you discipline some and not the others; two: students will be able to catch on that you actually do not know what you’re doing. According to Safety Without Suspensions, when implementing a school-wise positive behavioral approach in your school, “schools are reporting reductions in problems behaviors, improved perception of school safety, and improved academic outcomes” (Skiba & Sprague, 2008). Therefore, it is important that first year teachers create a safe, genuine environment for their students. Instead of immediately jumping to outlandish consequences, teachers should practice empathy. Once a student feels like you have no hope in them, they will believe this for themselves and continue to have behavioral issues.

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Without rapport and relationships, lesson plans are useless. I make such a bold statement because I’m going off of my experience as former public education student and as a current teacher. Building relationships with students and actually getting to know them will go a long way. They appreciate the gesture so much and it has greater effects on their academic and social-emotional learning.

Respectful, Supportive, Encouraging and Positive Interaction

Relationship building with your student is something that should be prioritized. Without a relationship with your students, it will feel like you are teaching strangers. We have to think of our students as individual people who have individual lives. In order to meet all of their needs, it is important to know who they are, what they find important, who their family is, where they live, what’s important to their culture, etc. By knowing this, teachers will have a stronger connection with their students. One important aspect of relationship building is that the teacher must be culturally responsive. Because our students come from so many backgrounds and walks in life,  it is important that we tailor or instruction and relationship to them. According to Culturally Responsive Classrooms for Culturally Diverse Students With and At Risk for Disabilities, “as our society increases in diversity, teachers and other school personnel have a corresponding need to increase in their understanding of the integral relationship between culture and social behavior and the need to view students’ behaviors within a cultural context” (Cartledge & Kourea, 2008). When we look at students’ behavior and their cultural background as mutually exclusive, we fail the students in building organic, genuine relationships. Effective teachers take into account the environment they enter at all times in order to maintain cultural responsiveness and have a positive effect on their students. When students of color do not feel like they have to compromise their identity at the sake of building a relationship with their teacher or performing well academically, they flourish even more. Thus, it is super important that first-year teachers prioritize student-teacher relationships in order to have a smooth sailing year. When students feel respected and loved by you, they are less likely to cause behavioral infractions and tend to perform better academically!

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It is important that all teachers find their own unique way of teaching. Oftentimes teachers are expected to following a cookie-cutter version of teaching—making it an inorganic experience. However, as a first-year teacher, it is your responsibility and right to develop your own teaching voice that is person and effective for you and your students.

Enthusiastic Captivating Presentation

The first year teaching can be really nerve racking and many teachers just simply want to be “liked.” However, having students like you is often then compromised with the lesson plan or the expectations set for students. It is important to keep in mind that the expectation for students should always remain high. One way to be enthusiastic and captivating is to actually have a hook! As said in Teach Like a Champion, this is what Lemov calls the “anticipatory set” (2011). This is the first part of the lesson that will be introduced to students; therefore, it should be interesting and captivating! For example, if you are teaching poetry to students, why not start with some rap or spoken word that is more culturally responsive? If you’re teaching students about the constitution and the bill of rights, why not start your lesson by telling a story on a girl who was sent home because of the shirt she was wearing? This is important because it immediately captures the attention of all students and makes them more eager to learn the rest of the lesson. This will pay off tremendously and will not take up much of the lesson.

Differentiated Approach

Whether you are a special education teacher or not, differentiation really makes or breaks your classroom. Personally, this may be one of the most difficult tasks as a first year teacher since it isn’t high priority, but it can really improve the way your classroom is run. The ability to meet all students’ needs is what all teachers aim for—low performers, moderate performers, and then the high flyers. Oftentimes, teachers are just told to meet needs, without exceeding them, which is why sometimes our high flyers sort of stay stagnant and aren’t challenged to grow. As a first year teacher, you should ask to have a mentor if you don’t already have one. This will be important for when things become rough, need advice, or are just merely trying to make sense of a situation.

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As a first-year teacher, the orchestration of your classroom is one of the most important factors to keep in mind of. This includes, but is not limited to, establishing classroom routines, optimal use of space and strategic organization to best suit all students.

Classroom Routines

Classroom routines are one of the most important factors in classroom management because it allows students to get into the swing of things. This is the opportunity for teachers to tell students how they walk into the room, how papers are passed out, how are they dismissed from class, etc. According to Marzano ‘s Classroom Rules and Procedures, the design " and implementing of rules and procedures in class… has a profound impact on student behavior and on student learning” (Marzano, 16). When students have a routine that is consistent every single day, it becomes second nature for them and they are less likely to become distracted. That’s why, as teachers, its important to establish these routines. For example, in my classroom, I greet all of my students at the door and they are to enter in quietly and immediately take out their planner, notebook and required text. This has worked wonders in my class as it gets everyone moving and reduces the amount of time wasted.

Optimal Use of Space and Strategic Organization

This is one part of classroom management that is frequently overlooked by teachers. This is such an important part of classroom management, especially for special education teachers! For example, if one of your students has ADHD, it would not necessarily be beneficial for that student to be placed by a window. We want all of our students to be engaged, and that wouldn’t be setting the student up for success! Also, even think about area more prone to traffic (trash can, door, etc). It would be smart to avoid placing highly- distracted students by this traffic area.