# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
No, you're not going to ignore their misbehavior.

It's just that . . . well, let's back up a little.

When you first receive your roster for the coming year, it's normal to want to get the lowdown on your new class.

It's normal to seek out teachers from the grade below to see if you have any especially difficult students.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

But by doing so, you can actually trigger their misbehavior. You can cause these challenging students to jump right back into the same bad habits they struggled with the year before.

You see, teachers who know ahead of time which students have a proclivity to misbehave will inevitably try to nip it in the bud. They'll try to prevent it from growing into a major problem.

So they'll seat them in the front of the room. They'll pull them aside for pep-talks, warnings, and reminders.

They'll try to "catch them doing good" and use their hovering presence as a deterrent.

But what this does is send the message that nothing has changed from the year before-or the year before that. Teacher after teacher has employed the same strategies.

Yet they continue to disrupt learning. They continue to be silly. They continue to argue, play around, and get up and wander the room during lessons.
Because the extra attention, especially during the first week of school, is a form of labeling.
It tells them loud and clear that they're not like the other students. It tells them that they're not good enough, that they can't control themselves, and that they need special attention.

The truth is, labeling has a profound effect on individual behavior, more so than any other classroom variable.

It reinforces the false narrative difficult students already believe about themselves that "behavior problem" is who they are-as much a part of them as their eye color or shoe size.

So, on the first day of school, when they find their assigned seat in the front of the room, when they notice your frequent and proximate attention, when they're asked to line up behind the most well-behaved student in the class . . .

Their heart sinks.

Because they know that no matter what-new year, new class, new teacher-they can't escape their destiny.

Resigned to their fate, they shrug their shoulders and give you exactly what you expect. They become a walking, talking, misbehaving self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's sad and tragic. Yet it's a scenario that is repeated again and again in classrooms all over the world, with the same predictable results.

From the moment the new school year begins, if your behavior is in any way different around those few students with a "reputation," they'll recognize it immediately.

After all, they're looking for it. They're highly attuned to it. They know it intimately because they've been on the receiving end of it their entire lives.

So what should you do instead?
Treat them with the same gentle kindness, humor, and respect you do all of your students.
Don't go out of your way. Don't seat them in front of the room. Don't pull them aside for reminders, if-I-were-yous, false praises, warnings, and the like.

Instead, give them a chance to turn over a new leaf.

Pretend they're already perfectly well behaved. Act as if they're already successful. Show them that you believe in them by interacting with them just like you do everyone else.

Give them hope that this year is going to be different, and those backbreaking labels, which are causing so much of their misbehavior, will begin to slide off their shoulders.

Their eyes will rise to meet yours. Their expressions will soften. Their breathing will deepen.

Relief will wash over them like a summer rain.

Again, this doesn't mean that you'll ignore their misbehavior. You'll still follow your classroom management plan to the letter. You'll still hold them accountable.

Just like everyone else.

Give these school weary and teacher wary students a chance to become the potential you see in them.

Grant them a new prophecy.

Rewrite their story.

And they'll never be the same.

PS - The Smart Classroom Management Plan for High School Teachers will be available this Monday, July 18th. If you're a high school teacher, I hope you'll check it out.

Also, if you haven't done so already, please join us. It's free! Click here and begin receiving new-article updates in your email box every week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why You Should Ignore Difficult Students The First Week Of School - Smart Classroom Management

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
No, you're not going to ignore their misbehavior. It's just that . . . well, let's back up a little. When you first receive your roster for the coming year, it's normal to want to get the lowdown on your new class. It's normal to seek out teachers from the grade below to see if ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's common for teachers to bemoan the state of listening in their classroom.

" Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself."

" I say it over and over again, and they still don't get it."

" It's almost as if they've completely tuned me out."

But rarely will they point to themselves as the reason.

Rarely will they look inward and analyze their own practice.

They assume that students either listen well or they don't, and that they have little to do about it.

But the truth is, you have a profound effect on listening.

Consistency, temperament, likability, clarity, presentation skills, and even tidiness are all important factors.

There are also strategies that can improve listening almost instantaneously, which you can find in our archive.

But one of the most important factors is how you speak when giving directions. What follows are three simple changes that can make a big difference.
1. Talk less.
Most teachers talk too much. Their voice is a looping soundtrack to every day-reminding, warning, micromanaging, and guiding students through every this and that.

If you cut the amount of talking you do by a third, and focus only on what your students need to know, then what you say will have greater impact.

Your words will reach their intended destination, and your students will begin tuning you in rather than tuning you out.
2. Lower your voice.
It's common to increase your volume to get students to listen better. But a loud voice is unpleasant and too easy to hear. It causes them to look away and busy themselves with other things.

When you lower your voice, however, and speak just loud enough for students in the back of the room to hear, they instinctively lean in. They stop moving and rustling.

They read your lips, facial expressions, and body language. By requiring a small amount of effort, your students will listen more intently.
3. Stop repeating.
When you repeat the same directions over and over, you train your students not to listen to you the first time. You encourage apathy and lighten their load of responsibility.

Saying it once creates urgency. It motivates action and causes students to stay locked in to the sound of your voice.

It also invests them in their learning. They begin to understand that education isn't something that is done to them. Rather, it's something they go out and get for themselves.
Stay The Course
If you're struggling with listening, the above strategies will do wonders. At first, however, they may cause things to get worse.

Because your students have grown accustomed to you taking on the burden for their listening, they may very well ignore you.

They may become even slower to action.

This is normal. It tells you how far learned helplessness has taken root in your classroom. But once they feel the shift in responsibility from you to them, they'll begin to change.

They'll begin looking at you, tracking your movements, and anticipating what you want them to do next.

They'll begin nodding their heads and eagerly completing your directions.

They'll become empowered to do for themselves because responsibility feels good. It's important. It fills with pride.

It makes good listeners.

If you haven't done so already, please join us. It's free! Click here and begin receiving new-article updates in your email box every week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Speak So Students Listen - Smart Classroom Management

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's common for teachers to bemoan the state of listening in their classroom. "Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself." "I say it over and over again, and they still don't get it." "It's almost as if they've completely tuned me out." But rarely will they point to themselves as the reason.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I've written A LOT about behavior management: creating a strong, positive classroom culture and being proactive, as well as what to do about extreme student behaviors and how to undo your classroom management mistakes. I've talked about how to avoid getting discouraged by these kinds of behaviors, and how to not give up on apathetic kids.

But I haven't addressed practical responses in the moment to student attitudes:

How should you respond to the little things students do that are rude, disrespectful, or just annoying?

What should you do for minor behaviors that don't necessarily warrant some kind of consequence, but that you can't let slide every time?

Is there a way to keep kids from eye rolling, teeth sucking, muttering under their breath, and so on?

What do we do about bad attitudes?

I don't want to settle for trite rehashed info, so I reached out to Robyn Jackson, founder of Mindsteps Inc, because I knew she could take this conversation to a deeper level. Robyn was a National Board Certified English teacher in Maryland, just outside of Washington DC, and has since been an administrator, adjunct professor, consultant, and speaker. She's been championing equity, access, and rigor for over 15 years.

Robyn is seriously one of my favorite experts in the education space, because she has a deeper understanding of human behavior and motivation than anyone else I know, and she always keeps it real. I've had the pleasure of seeing her speak in person a few times and I just hang on her every word-there's so much good info there. She has this lovely way of uncovering the root problem and also calling you out on your own mess instead of allowing blame-shifting.

I highly recommend using the audio player below to listen to the full interview, but even if you'd rather read, grab a pad of paper, because you're going to want to take notes.
Want to listen to Robyn instead of read? Download the audio above!
Is it even possible to create a class culture in which kids don't get an attitude or disrespect you over minor things (especially at the secondary level)?

Absolutely. In fact, how depressing would it be if that weren't possible? I don't just believe it's possible, I've seen it, and I've seen it with all kinds of kids.

I spend a lot of time in schools, and I'm in all kinds of schools - urban schools, suburban schools, rural schools, schools in the US, schools in other countries. I've seen it happen, but creating that kind of classroom culture is not easy. I don't have anything like, "All you have to do is ___ and you can have that kind of culture." There are a lot of things that go into it, including not just the personality of the students, but the personality of the teacher.

One of the things I shrink from whenever we talk classroom management issues is espousing a particular strategy, because those strategies work if you have a particular personality. They don't work with some personalities. We often don't factor in who we are when we're thinking about grabbing strategies and applying them. There is no key that says if you're this kind of personality, this strategy will work, and if you're that kind of personality, this strategy will work. It's a lot of trial and error.

The teachers I've seen pull off this off created a classroom culture that is a good fit for their own personality and the personality of the kids involved. I think that both are really important, and I think it's often a missing link that people have when they're trying to figure out how to create that classroom.

They think there's some magic bullet: "I must not be doing something right," or "I saw another teacher," or "I read something that this teacher said, and it worked for them. Why isn't it working for me?" We don't factor in who we are and how much of a difference that plays in whether or not a strategy will work.

What are appropriate consequences for kids who show disrespect?

I think we have to distinguish between disruptions and disrespect, because not every disruption is disrespectful. I don't think teachers should tolerate disrespect, . That always has to be addressed. But a disruption may not be a sign of disrespect. I think we have to be really clear about the difference. I'm trying to think of a clean, easy distinction, but oftentimes there isn't one. One person's disruption is another person's disrespect.

But typically I consider: Is the child trying to challenge my authority in the classroom? Is the child doing something in direct disregard for something that I've directly told them to do? That feels more like disrespect. Is a child being a teenager? Then that's a disruption.

So disrespect I never ignore. Disruptions, I may or may not ignore them. I may not directly address them right away, because I might be able to redirect that student, or I may be able to get that student re-engaged. I think that that's the difference. We have to be really careful about how we interpret student behavior, because a lot of times in our frustration, we end up interpreting things as disrespect that were never intended to be disrespectful.

How do you keep yourself from taking students' misbehavior personally?

I still struggle with not taking it personally, even though I know better. Somebody's attitude rubs me the wrong way or does something that I feel is disrespectful when really there's something else going on, and rather than taking the time to figure that out before I respond, I just react, and say, "Hold up. No. Wait a minute."

Especially now, because a lot of times when I'm teaching or doing demonstration lessons, there's a lot riding on that demonstration. I'm coming in and showing people how to do something, and I'm the supposed expert. And when somebody does something that's a disruption or is blatantly disrespectful, it's hard for me to step out of, "Wait a minute. You are challenging me. You are a 13-year-old. How dare you?" Or, "Wait a minute. I've got to show people that I know what I'm doing, so I can't allow you to have any ground in my classroom."

Those are short-term solutions. And you might be able to quash the rebellion in the moment, but you have lost the war, because classroom management/discipline is supposed to be about helping our students become better at managing the learning and managing themselves.

When we sacrifice that bigger goal for a temporary win, we create other problems down the line, and it doesn't even feel good to us. It doesn't. We think it's going to solve that issue of that, "I feel disrespected," and it doesn't. It doesn't solve either of the issues. It just quashes the rebellion at the moment.

How do you show the class you're in control without escalating the situation?

When you make the wise decision to not escalate things in the middle of class and to address it later, it's tough when the student tries to get the last word. There's something inside of us that finds it hard to walk away from something like that. We immediately worry that our other students are going to think, "Oh no. Look, he got away with it."

This is a hard situation, and it's hard to take the long view of things. Students won't think that he got away with it if you are effective in that post-classroom conversation, and the next day he comes to class and he's well-behaved. So you have to think about it from that perspective and remember: don't sacrifice the war because you want to win a small skirmish. You're fighting a bigger war.

I hate to use war language when we're talking about dealing with children, and I say "children" but I mean teenagers. I taught secondary-I'm not talking about third-graders here. I'm talking about that 16-year-old who's being a jerk in class, and doing it for attention, and at that moment, he is being disrespectful, right? So how do you deal with that?

The first thing is that you have to keep in mind the longer game. Is the goal of that exchange to prove to the other students that you're in charge, especially when so many things can go wrong, or are there other ways to show students that you don't tolerate that kind of behavior?

For me, I think that if you let it go right then and there, as bad as that feels, and you settle it when you talk with that student later on, and then that student comes to class the next day and is well-behaved and the students see that that student is being respectful to you-then what students are going to think is, "Whoa. She must have let him have it in that other conversation. She's not somebody you mess with," and they leave it alone.

If you don't settle it in that follow-up conversation, then that's when students start getting the idea that that behavior is tolerated. Students are always watching, yes, but you aren't tolerating that behavior now. What you're not doing is getting in the last word, and eventually that student looks ridiculous, especially if you remain calm and you remain in control of the classroom.

That's the struggle: remaining calm, because I know what that feels like in the moment. I've had those situations where you're sitting there and you're thinking, "Oh no. What are the kids going to say? Do I respond? Do I not respond?" And unfortunately there's no manual for this, because kids come up with all kinds of things that we're not prepared for. There's no way to prepare for it other than this:

At all times, remain calm. At all times, remain in control. You don't worry so much about what the other kids are going to think, because you are in control, even of that situation. It's one thing if that student is doing something and you're cowering in a corner. It's another thing if students see you choosing to ignore that behavior. It's not that you are tolerating or they can get away with it. What students will see is that you've made a choice to ignore that behavior.

How do you show students you are CHOOSING not to engage?

A long time ago I wrote a couple of blog posts, and the title of the series was, Are You a Discipline Problem? And it was directed at teachers. It wasn't to blame teachers, but it was to make this point: A discipline problem is anything that disrupts instruction. Anything. Which means that a child can be a discipline problem, but it also means that a teacher can be a discipline problem.

When you choose not to escalate the situation as a teacher, you choose not to become a discipline problem, because the moment that you start getting in the last word with that student, you now are playing that student's game. What you're trying to do is get the student on your page, not get on the student's page. If the teacher follows up with the student, gets that student back on track, then that's what the class is going to see-that's the permanent, lasting effect that students will notice.

You can make it clear to the other students that you are choosing not to engage . Even in how you ignore, you can look at the student sadly, shake your head, and then keep moving with what you're doing and get everybody back on track. And that will look like you're just, "Poor pitiful little thing. You have no idea what you're in for when I talk to you after class." You can do that, and that shows that you remain in control.

If the student's trying to get you to react, and you do, then you're playing his game. You just have to remember: W , even though it feels horrible to do so. ho's in charge? I am. That means you just let the "last word" stuff go But you don't have to just let it go and act as if it didn't happen. You can acknowledge it without engaging in it.

You can look at it and shrug your shoulders and keep moving with what you're doing. Then everybody knows you saw it, you've chosen to ignore it, and you've handled it without escalating it.

How do you find a "teacher look" that works consistently?

Some teachers are tough teachers. I'm the kind of teacher that I could stop a kid in his tracks with a look. I've looked at kids before, a kid started getting smart with me, and I looked at her, and she immediately said, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" But that's who I am, right?

There are some people who haven't found their teacher look yet, or whose look isn't as ferocious, and so they shouldn't try the look. Because if kids don't buy your look, if there's no conviction behind it, then all students are going to do is say, "You can look at me all you want ... " That can escalate things.

So whatever you do, commit to it, but make it fit who you are. Some teachers look disappointed, some teachers look sad but not cowed. Some teachers look at them and say a certain word. "The look" can mean a lot of different things. It could be there's just a look, or maybe it's body language.

Or maybe you respond with humor. Some teachers might say, "Aw, do you need a hug?" and then the rest of the class laughs. So you have to figure out who you are, and that's why it's so important to do something that's consistent with your personality, and not try to be the teacher with the look, if that's not who you are. You have to find what works for you.

Will ignoring disruptive behavior just make it worse?

There's a way to deal with the behavior without escalating it, without saying a word, that lets everybody know the student is going to be dealt with. He has not won, and everyone including him knows it-you're just choosing to ignore it.

And if you make the choice to ignore it obvious, that's the difference. It's when we don't make that "ignoring choice" obvious that there's a problem. When kids aren't sure: "Are you ignoring it or did he beat you into submission with his words? Which one is it?"

So I think it's important that you have to make that choice obvious, however you choose to do that, but you don't have to engage it or escalate it.

I think that's the thing that they don't teach us about deliberate ignoring: you don't ignore it as if you don't see it. You're just ignoring it as if, "I'm not going to deal with it at this time." And is students see that choice, then you are still in control of your classroom.

What happens when you try to tell parents about a behavioral situation, and they think you should accept being treated like a doormat?

Oh, no, never, never, never. Not just because "no one deserves to be treated like a doormat," I just think it's hard for kids to learn in that kind of environment where they feel like they're in control of the classroom. It just hurts you and it hurts the kids, so never accept being treated like a doormat. But what do you do instead?

As a teacher, I had parents cussing me out, I had parents slamming down the phone and hanging up on me saying, "You handle school, I'll handle home. If you can't do your job, why are we paying taxes for you?" I've had parents come up to the school and lay me out. I've had administrators who have capitulated to parents' demands.

I've also had the other side of the coin as an administrator where parents are calling the school, and the child can do no wrong, and how dare you? I've had parents get off the phone with me, leave work, and drive up to the school in order to just yell at me in person.

I've learned over the years that there are a couple of things you can do to enlist parent support:

1. Be proactive. At the very beginning of the year, outline what the expectations are, and also explain how you're going to support that student.

That way the idea of handling it in-house is re-couched as, "When things get out of line," or "If things get out of line, here's how I'm going to help and support your child. And here are the ways that you can help me support your child," so that you lay out the expectations: "When I give you a call, this is the script, this is how I expect you to handle it."

You lay it out before things go badly, so that you have precedent there, and it's not the first time parents are encountering your expectation for their support. You've laid out what that looks like to you, you've had that conversation with parents ahead of time. You can do that at back-to-school night or in other ways.

2. Get the story to the parent before the child does.

If something happened in school that day, make the call home. Email is not enough, because parents may not read their email before they talk to their child, so you really want to get to the parent. Whoever gets to the parent first controls the story.
3. If you can't get to the parent first and s/he is angry, let the parent vent BEFORE you talk.
When parents are yelling at me like it's my fault, I don't interrupt. I let them vent, and when they are done yelling, then I will come in and talk. I've been yelled at by a lot of parents, because I hold my kids at pretty high standards, and not all parents are supportive of that. So let them vent and hear them out, because in their complaints you'll always find the way to their hearts.

I hated it when parents yelled at me and screamed at me. If parents are being disrespectful, they're cussing you, they're calling you outside of your name, you can stop the conversation until they can calm down, and then solicit some support.

But in most cases, they're like, "I don't know why you keep calling me. I feel like I'm doing my work at home. If you can't handle it ... " If it's that kind of thing, hear it out. In that is a plea for help. Basically that parent is saying, "I am having enough struggle controlling him at home. I don't need more of this."

4. E nlist parents as partners rather than tattling on their kids.

I think that's the most important thing. Parents may be accustomed to the school calling home about their child, and it feels like you're tattling, or it feels like you're saying their kid's not a good kid. So I try to talk about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, and use the language of the goals that the parents have for their own children.

How do you convince parents that the consequence you chose was appropriate and get their support?

Once I had a situation with a father in which he didn't believe the son should be suspended. I said, "I know this feels like punitive for your son and you don't think he deserves it, but let me talk to you about what I'm hoping. Tell me what are your hopes for the kind of young man that you want your child to be."

And he started talking to me about that, and then I said, "You know, I have some of those same hopes for him, and this is why I think it's really important that he is suspended, because this isn't punitive. I want him to learn a lesson, and I think we've gotten to the point where the only way he can learn this lesson is that he have a consequence that's dire. And in giving him a consequence on this level, we save him from having to face an even more dire consequence later on. We have to get this behavior out of him."

And so I talked to the father not just as, "Your child did this, and therefore he's having this consequence," but also shared the thinking behind the consequence. I'm not asking him to handle something, which I think puts a lot of parents on a defensive kind of posture. I'm saying, "Here's what I'm doing in support of the type of child that I think we're both hoping that your son becomes, and here's what's behind it." And every time I've done that-and I've had to do it quite a bit-I've secured the support of the parent.

When you don't have the support of the parent, when it seems like they feel their child can do no wrong, you need to talk about the discipline not as a punishment. You connect it to the goals that the parent has for the child, to the challenges the parent may be having with the child. When you show the parents that this is not a punishment (that's what they're protecting their child from, punishment), you're teaching them that this is another learning opportunity.
And when you do that sincerely, it's really hard for parents to resist someone who cares so much about their child that they're taking the time to apply the discipline, even when the parent doesn't agree.
What happens when your approach totally backfires-how do you figure out what you should have done differently?

One of the things that I find really challenging is that people will bring situations to me and they'll say, "What should I have done?" And the truth is, I don't know. I wasn't there.

And quite frankly, things happen so quickly in the classroom, it's hard to do a postmortem. It's hard to say, "You handled this correctly," or "You did it incorrectly." There are just so many moving parts.

When I see teachers out there who are sincerely trying to support students, I wish that I had a tactic, a magic word, something that I could give them that works every time, but I've not found it.

When I can't find the magic thing that works every single time, I always fall back on the principle that I should change my perspective and look to discipline as another learning opportunity. It's something that I would treat with the same rigor that I use when planning any other lesson.

When I'm planning my consequences and my responses, I plan it with the same intention that I would plan a learning activity. I think about what I want the child to ultimately learn from engaging in this disciplinary activity with me or working with this child to manage behavior. It relieves me of some of the natural, human feelings around how the child is behaving at that moment.

And it's a hard thing to hold onto. I'm not perfect at it. But every time I've done it that way, I have found a way to reach the child. And every time that I haven't done it that way, I look back with regret on how I handled things.
No time to finish reading now? Download the audio and listen later on the go!
How do you respond when nearly half the class is talking over you?

I stop. I mean, what's funny is, it's not just kids. It happens to me when I train teachers, too. I stop. I just stop. Sometimes it may take four or five minutes, depending on the class. If I'm walking in cold, I might not do this ... but I'll tell you what I don't do.

I don't say, "I'm not going to talk as long as you're talking," because then they're like, "Fine. We don't want to hear from you anyway, thank you." So I don't set myself up for that response, but I stop and I talk about . why

I try to make a case for why what I'm saying is more important, and try to secure their respect. But I don't talk over kids. I don't just keep going, especially when it's half the class. And I don't try to say anything smart either, because that's just a setup. I just stop. And when people get quiet, I start talking again.

How do you respond to profanity-when kids are just casually conversing with each other and you hear a curse word?

Oh, no. I'm old fashioned. People have to work on their own tolerance. Nowadays the language is so profane, but my kids know how I am about this from the beginning. A lot of times I don't have to say anything. A lot of times it's just a part of how they speak, and they catch themselves, and they're like, "Oops."

When I was younger, when I first became a teacher, I was trying to charge 10 cents every time somebody cursed, but that creates a lot of problems, so don't do that!

What I try to do now is just set an atmosphere in the classroom where kids know that's not appropriate, and then when it happens, I just stop, and I say, "Can you rephrase that using the language of the classroom?" And kids do, and they apologize, because they know that that's not something that I really like in the classroom.

What do you do when a student refuses to comply with a really simple request, like "put your phone away" or "sit down"?

When a student refuses to comply with a simple request, most of the time there's a bigger issue at stake. It's not just about the request-there's something else going on. And a lot of times it doesn't have anything to do with you on that particular day. They're going through something else.

So if they refuse to comply with a simple request, I'm not going to stop instruction until I force them into submission. I'm going to get instruction going and then check in with the kid, because if not, that's how you get those blow-ups. That's how you get the kids who just go off.

If it's a simple request like "put your phone away", and they don't do it, I move on. I say, "OK, I'll deal with you in a second." I get everybody else moving so that the learning in the classroom doesn't stop, and then I deal with that student.

The exception is if it's become a big disruption (like if they're loudly playing a game on their phone, and it's interrupting everybody else's learning), because then I'm going to have to deal with it right away. They've created a bigger issue. But if it's just simply, "My phone's out. I'm not putting it away right now, and you can't make me," then let me get everybody else started so I as the teacher don't become the discipline problem. And then once I've got everybody moving where they need to go, then I'm going to go deal with that student, and at that point, it's not about the phone.

One of the things I learned from Cynthia Tobias, who has this great book on strong-willed children, is when strong-willed kids don't comply with a simple request, ask the question, "How come?"

So I say, "Put your phone away," and then the student just doesn't do it or says no, and then I say, "How come?" calmly. And a lot of times that gets them talking so I can find out what else is going on. They'll say, "I'm talking to my mother-my grandmother is sick," or "I don't feel like it." "OK, why not?" You get them engaged in conversations that can help you figure out what's going on and help you deal with the real issue, and not make the phone the issue.

How do you respond to kids who are volatile and belligerent when they're spoken to about their behavior-those who can't accept correction?

Oftentimes I'll say, "We can't continue to do this. I have a job, and you've got a job. And a lot of times you're reacting in ways that, to me, feel out of proportion for what I'm asking you to do. So I need to know what's going on with you, and we're going to have to figure out something else that you can do instead, because that particular reaction doesn't work. You're allowed to have a reaction, but let's find one that will work in the classroom. "

Then we figure out something that works. With some students I've had to do "antiseptic bounces." So I might say, "OK. Our arrangement is that if you're getting to the point where you feel like you can't behave in this classroom, then you can go sit in the back of Ms. So-and-So's classroom and finish your work there, and Ms. So-and-So knows you're coming." The student goes in her room, and sits in the back. I've found that that works with some of the really volatile students.

Others have a safe word that they say when they feel like they're about to go off. And when I hear that word (it's something that's just between me and the student), I say, "OK," and I back off. The student then gets himself together and we address the issue when he's calmer.

I have to work it out with the student so that we have an agreement. Then once you have that agreement, you can hold them accountable to the agreement, even when you can't hold them accountable to the behavior and to the behavioral expectations of the classroom.

What's the most important thing you try to remember about student behavior, attitudes, and disrespect?

You have a bigger end game than that moment when you feel disrespected. And you're not just teaching that student: every student who witnesses it learns something, too.

So, you have to be very careful about how you respond to student behavior and address it. Because in that moment, whether you realize it or not, you are teaching. You want to make sure that you're teaching the right lessons in every interaction. It's not just that student: everybody's watching, and everybody's learning.

I think when you take that principled approach, you cut down on a lot of the disciplinary issues that happen in the classroom so they never even come to the surface. You never even have to deal with them when you set up a classroom in that way.
Want to learn more from Robyn Jackson? Visit mindstepsinc.com, or check out her (amazing!) book, Never Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching. This post is based on an episode from my weekly podcast, See blog posts/transcripts for all episodes Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes Subscribe to the podcast in Stitcher Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers . A podcast is like a free talk radio show you can listen to online, or download and take with you wherever you go. I release a new 15-20 minute episode each Sunday and feature it here on the blog to help you get energized and motivated for the week ahead.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to respond to rude, disrespectful student attitudes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I've written A LOT about behavior management: creating a strong, positive classroom culture and being proactive, as well as what to do about extreme student behaviors and how to undo your classroom management mistakes. I've talked about how to avoid getting discouraged by these kinds of behaviors, and how to not give up on apathetic kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Welcome to your first year of teaching. This year will test you more intensely than just about anything you've done up to now. It will deplete all your energy, bring you to tears, and make you question every talent or skill you thought you had. But all these tests, if you approach them the right way, will leave you better and stronger than you are today.

Advice is available everywhere you look, and some of it is very good. Still, with everything you have to do right now, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it all. And the fact is, a lot of those tips won't work very well if you fail to follow this one essential rule:

Surround yourself with good people.

By finding the positive, supportive, energetic teachers in your school and sticking close to them, you can improve your job satisfaction more than with any other strategy. And your chances of excelling in this field will skyrocket. Just like a young seedling growing in a garden, thriving in your first year depends largely on who you plant yourself next to.

Many experienced gardeners follow a concept called companion planting: placing certain vegetables and plants near each other to improve growth for one or both plants. For example, rose growers plant garlic near their roses because it repels bugs and prevents fungal diseases. Among companion plants, the marigold is one of the best: It protects a wide variety of plants from pests and harmful weeds. If you plant a marigold beside most any garden vegetable, that vegetable will grow big and strong and healthy, protected and encouraged by its marigold.

Marigolds exist in our schools as well - encouraging, supporting and nurturing growing teachers on their way to maturity. If you can find at least one marigold in your school and stay close to them, you will grow. Find more than one and you will positively thrive.

Few teachers will be lucky enough to be planted close to a marigold - being assigned to one as a mentor, co-teacher, or team leader will be rare. You will have to seek them out. You can identify them by the way they congratulate you on arrival, rather than asking why anyone would want this godforsaken job. Or by the way their offers to help sound sincere. Or just by how you feel when you're with them: Are you calmer, more hopeful? Excited to get started on a teaching task? Comfortable asking questions, even the stupid ones? If you feel good around this person, chances are they have some marigold qualities.

Once you've identified your marigolds, make an effort to spend time with them. Having a hard day? Go to your marigolds. Not understanding how to operate the grade reporting system? Go to your marigolds. Confused by something the principal said at the faculty meeting? Marigolds. They may be on the other side of the building, out of your grade or subject area, or otherwise less convenient to reach than others. If your school is especially toxic, you might have to find your marigolds in another school, or even online. Make the effort. It's worth the trouble.

While seeking out your marigolds, you'll need to take note of the walnut trees. Successful gardeners avoid planting vegetables anywhere near walnut trees, which give off a toxic substance that can inhibit growth, wilt, and ultimately kill nearby vegetable plants. And sadly, if your school is like most, walnut trees will be abundant. They may not seem dangerous at first. In fact, some may appear to be good teachers - happy, social, well-organized. But here are some signs that you should keep your distance: Their take on the kids is negative. Their take on the administration is negative. Being around them makes you feel insecure, discouraged, overwhelmed, or embarrassed.

WALNUT TREES ARE POISON. Avoid them whenever you can. If you don't, they will start to infect you, and soon you'll hate teaching as much as they do.

Doing this may be a challenge: Your supervisor might be a walnut tree. You may be co-teaching with one. You might work on a whole team of walnut trees, spending hours with them every week. Touching base with your marigolds will help flush out the toxins that build up from contact with the walnut trees. On top of that, simply identifying certain co-workers as walnut trees can help dilute their power over you. If I'd had a label I could mentally place on certain people in the schools where I worked, they would have had far less of an impact on me.

So in the spirit of identification, here are some common walnut tree varieties to look out for:

Kid-Hatin' Kate, who will snort every time you share a positive anecdote about your students. Spend enough time with her and you'll believe every single one of them is a lying, cheating little sneak and you're a fool if you think otherwise.

Retirement Dan, who regularly reports on how many years he has left before he's "outta here." He then adds with a chuckle that you have about thirty, right? Dan will find your enthusiasm about school "cute," but will then tell you to "just wait...it'll wear off."

Twenty-Page Tina, who sets impossibly high standards for her students and brags when kids fail. You had your kids write a five-page paper? Tina assigned twenty. Your mid-term had fifty questions? Tina's had a hundred and fifty, and only a dozen kids passed it. The students say her exams are the only ones they ever have to study for. After talking to Tina, you'll feel the urge to triple your kids' workload and add at least ten trick questions to your assessments, just to get your average down.

Badass Bobby, who overhears you talking about your students acting up in class and says, "They would never try that crap in my room." Whenever you leave a conversation with him, you go and scream at your kids.

Hattie-Who-Hates-the-Principal. Self-explanatory.

Lawsuit Steve, who sees you touch a student's forearm and says you better watch out. He "had to give up hugs years ago" and is always reminding you to "be careful."

My-Time Margaret, who counts the number of minutes she got for lunch, complains about serving one more day of car-rider duty than anyone else, and knows precisely what time she's legally required to be in the building each day (not a minute earlier).

And Good-Old-Days Judy, who hates anything new and never fails to mention how much better things used to be.

Be especially vigilant during PDs, when you'll find yourself in a veritable forest of walnut trees. It will be the worst when the presenter asks you to perform some task - read student work, for example - in groups. The trees will slowly turn toward the center, leaves rustling, snarky comments dropping off their branches like walnuts whacking the table. It won't matter how potentially interesting the activity might be, as soon as they huddle up it will be snark, snark, ugly, ugly, hate, hate. When this happens, recognize that you are surrounded, hold tight to your roots, and remember your marigolds.

Your search for marigolds will yield imperfect results: Not everyone is all-marigold or all-walnut tree. There will be some in the building who just make you happy - go to them for a mood boost. Some who aren't terribly good at the teaching part, but love the kids to death - seek them out when you need to be reminded of how much you love them, too. Others will take care of you - encourage you to rest, slack off a little, not beat yourself up. And some who are intensely into the craft, who always have a great strategy on hand and keep up on current research - they can really help you stretch your abilities. Learn who has what marigold qualities and get what you can from each of them.

Finally, try to find some compassion for the walnut trees. Their toxicity comes from a place of real pain, and they themselves probably fell under the influence of the walnut trees who came before them. Plus, it's not like their complaints have no basis in reality. Teaching is a ridiculously hard job, some say almost impossible.

Before you climb that peak, you'll need to choose a sherpa to escort you through the trek. The first option is Walter Nutt, who starts by asking why in the world you'd want to do something like this. He describes the many others who have died trying to do this climb, how sick you'll get, how people have polluted the trail, all but destroying what was once a pristine and beautiful mountain. The second option, Mary Gold, congratulates you on your courage, sits down with you to map out some important strategies, and finishes off by saying It's a crazy-hard, mammoth task, but you know what? We're going to kick that mountain's ass.

Who do you want leading you up that peak?

Find your marigolds and stick close to them. Grow big and strong. Kick that mountain's ass. ♦

Download a PDF of This Article
You may want a copy for yourself or to give to your Marigold (something from the Marigold Collection in our shop would make a great gift!). To download your own copy, click here to sign up for our mailing list, and the PDF will be on its way to your inbox.

Give a gift to your Marigold

Do you have a Marigold in your life? Show your gratitude with a t-shirt, coffee mug, or other Marigold-inspired gift. Browse our whole Marigold collection here.

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Advice is available everywhere you look, and some of it is very good. But a lot of those tips won't work if you fail to follow this one essential rule.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Creating a Safe Space for Learning

Morning meetings at Symonds Elementary are a school-wide practice that originated from the Responsive Classroom model, which is based on the idea that students' social-emotional growth is just as important as their academic growth. Symonds teachers adapt the Responsive Classroom model of a morning meeting to fit their classroom needs, using it to create a classroom culture where students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.

Four Key Components of Morning Meetings

Every day at Symonds Elementary starts with morning meetings. Teachers use their first 20-25 minutes of class time to check in with their students, develop their social-emotional skills, and prepare them for the learning ahead.

Developed as a part of the Responsive Classroom (RC) model, morning meetings have four key components:

Greeting: Students and teachers greet and welcome each other.

Sharing: Students share something about themselves or their lives, and the rest of their peers listen, then ask follow-up questions or offer comments.

Activity: The group completes an activity that encourages teamwork while re-emphasizing social or academic skills.

Morning message: Students read a short message from their teacher, usually describing what is to come in the day ahead.

According to Responsive Classroom (PDF), the goal of these four components, and the meeting as a whole, is to "set the tone for respectful learning, establish a climate of trust, motivate students to feel significant, create empathy and encourage collaboration, and support social, emotional, and academic learning."

"The reason these. . . techniques are exceedingly effective for us is because they are followed in every classroom every day," Principal Richard Cate says. "All school staff are involved in morning meetings, so that everyone has a similar baseline for the management of their instruction. Kids become used to being listened to and teachers to 'whole body listening' themselves. This forms the foundation of our respectful community and creates a positive school culture."

Laying the Groundwork for Success

1. Adapt It to Your Classroom

While the RC model lays out a clear structure and order to the components of the morning meeting, Symonds teachers adapt the practice to fit what's best for their classrooms. Third-grade teacher Alli Carr found that she needed to change the morning message to fit the needs of her students and her schedule. She now goes over the calendar during the meeting instead, and puts the message on what she calls the "Learning Board" so that her students and other staff members know what the objectives are for the day.

Fifth-grade teacher Gretchen Hoefer decided to move the sharing section of her meeting to another time in the day, because she had limited time in the first part of the morning before students left for extracurricular activities like music or art. To make it work, she simply moved that component to a time later in the day when she knew that she would have everyone back in the classroom.

Teachers can also adapt on the fly if they see a need, such as choosing an activity that might calm students down if they come in energized, or choosing an energetic activity if there will be a lot of sitting that day in class.

2. Ensure Structure

But while teachers adapt the meeting to fit their needs, maintaining a structure is important. "The order of the meeting is set by me, but I never change it during the year," Carr says. "I think the structure is super important. . . it also allows the kids to know what is coming."

3. Set Expectations

Teachers hoping to start using morning meetings in their classroom will need to spend some time setting expectations. "You do a lot of modeling at the beginning of the year," Carr says. "Everything from how to greet each other, how to ask questions and how to respond to questions. Sometimes you feel like you are being a stickler on the little things, but in the long run, it really works." And taking the time to teach students those social-emotional skills, she said, ultimately means that teachers "will have more time to teach as the school year moves forward."

Scaling to Encourage Growth

Once the groundwork is laid, students are comfortably and successfully participating in morning meetings, and the classroom community is established, teachers at Symonds often scale the activities or greetings to be more challenging.

"As the kids get older, you can challenge them a bit more with your expectations," Carr says. Instead of a typical greeting such as, "Good morning Alli, I hope you have a great day," she might ask them to use an adjective other than great or good, or ask them to ask a question as a part of their greeting. Then, to add another challenge, Carr might have the questioner ask a follow-up question once he or she gets a response to the initial greeting question. "Adding these little tweaks can help promote good listening skills," she says.

The morning meeting also scales across grade levels, so that the higher grades are building upon the foundation laid in the lower grades. Fifth-grade teachers like Hoefer work to raise the bar and introduce new greetings and activities that their students haven't yet experienced. Teachers in the higher grades also start incorporating new skills, such as leadership and public speaking, by giving students the opportunity to lead morning meetings either by themselves or with a partner.

The sample greetings and activities below are from fifth-grade teacher Gretchen Hoefner.

Sample Greetings and Activities for Fifth-Grade Students

Simple Good Morning Greeting

One student starts and greets the student next to them by saying, "Good morning, _____." They make eye contact and face each other when doing this. The next student returns the greeting and then greets the person on their other side. You can add a handshake or high five to the simple greeting.

Different Languages Greeting

Same as above, but using a greeting from a different language.

Introduce Your Neighbor

Each student interviews a partner by finding something out about them (favorite book, favorite food, favorite activity) and then sharing that with the rest of the class. "This is my friend _______, and his or her favorite activity is _______."

Ball-Bounce Greeting

Everyone stands in the circle. Using a 10-inch inflated ball, the first student says, "Good morning, ______" to another student and then bounces the ball to them. After they have greeted someone and passed the ball, the student sits down.

The Warm Wind Blows

Each person needs a clearly marked spot in the circle (rug square or chair). One person starts in the middle of the circle and completes the statement, "The warm wind blows for everyone who likes to __________ " (play soccer, eat pizza, go skiing, etc.). Everyone who agrees with this statement has to find a new spot in the circle (including the person in the middle). They cannot move to the space right next to where they were standing. Whoever is left without a spot in the outer circle stays in the middle of the circle and is the next one to say, "The warm wind blows for. . ."

Group Juggle

The goal of this activity is to pass an item around the circle with as few drops as possible. Start with one ball. I have used four-inch Nerf balls or stuffed Beanie Babies. Set up a passing pattern for the ball/item so that everyone in the group receives it once and then passes it on to someone else. Pass to someone across the circle, not right next to you. One person starts the sequence and will get the ball/item back after everyone has had it. Once you have your order, start at the beginning again and see if you can pass the ball/item around to everyone without dropping it. You can add in more balls/items to increase the challenge of the activity.

Colored Dot Game

Put a colored sticker dot on the forehead of each student. The child does not get to see what color it is. Have four or five different colors of one-inch dots available. Without talking, each student needs to find other students that have the same colored dot.

Coseeki

One student volunteers to be "it" and leaves the circle to stand in the hallway for a minute. Another student is chosen to be the leader. The leader leads other students in different movements (hand clap, foot wiggle, head nod, etc.). The students watch the leader closely and imitate his or her actions. The "it" person comes back into the room and has three chances to guess who the leader is.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Morning Meetings: Creating a Safe Space for Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Morning meetings at Symonds Elementary are a school-wide practice that originated from the Responsive Classroom model, which is based on the idea that students' social-emotional growth is just as important as their academic growth. Symonds teachers adapt the Responsive Classroom model of a morning meeting to fit their classroom needs, using it to create a classroom culture where students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most teachers begin the school year strong.

They teach their classroom management plan in detail. They set expectations and polish and hone routines.

They build quick rapport and inspire good initial behavior.
Everything seems so easy.
But then, three or four weeks in, things begin to change.

Restlessness creeps in. Attitudes develop. Listening takes a nosedive and the room starts buzzing with voices and excitability.

Some will tell you that this is only natural, that it happens to every teacher.

The truth, however, is that slowly, imperceptibly, you've fallen into a progression of bad habits.

This progression, which is extremely common, opens the door to misbehavior and invites it to come in.

It's also completely avoidable.

What follows are three bad habits that, unless you're aware of and know how to stop, will progress from one to the next like a California wildfire.
1. Complacency - The Kindling

At the beginning of the school year, your students are just getting their bearings. Many are hoping to turn over a new leaf. Others are looking for a fresh start, better habits, new friends, less trouble, etc.

They're more eager and receptive than at any other time of the year.

This is wonderful, of course, because it gives you a wide-open window to establish your boundaries and expectations. But there is a danger lurking.

You see, the novelty of a new school year can give you a false sense of how things are going. The bright, attentive faces, the positive energy, the natural motivation . . .

It can all cause you to become complacent.

It can cause you to let your guard down, take your foot off the gas, and question-in the far recesses of your mind-why you need to be such a stickler about following rules, routines, and procedures.
2. Inconsistency - The Spark

Before you know it, you're letting a few, wee little bitty things go.

You ignore the occasional call-out. You overlook, or fail to notice, how your students enter the classroom. You look the other way when enforcing a consequence is inconvenient.

And slowly but surely, these small inconsistencies send the message to your new class that you don't really mean what you say.

Predictably, their respect for you takes a hit. They start pushing boundaries to find out what you will and won't enforce. They begin thinking that maybe you're not who they thought you were.

Now you're struggling just to get their quiet attention. Your directions are met with yawns and sighs and zero sense of urgency.

Frustration builds.
3. Resentment - The Fire

Inevitably, no matter how disciplined you are with your emotions, when your students are ignoring you or misbehaving right in front of you, it's hard not to get frustrated.

It's hard not to become resentful.

It's hard not to react and try to regain control by glaring, threatening, or raising your voice. Which, in turn, makes your relationship with them antagonistic and distrustful.

It weakens your influence, likability, and rapport and undermines your classroom management plan.

It turns you into just another mean teacher.

The end result is even more misbehavior, scant leverage to do much about it, and every day feeling like the Siege of Bastogne.
Stay True

This same sad progression will play out this fall in classrooms from here to Bangladesh.

So how do you stop it?

You stop it by being aware of how quickly and easily it can happen and by refusing to take even a single step down its slippery slope. You stop it by never giving in and never going back on your word.

You stop it by cultivating the mental toughness to do exactly what you say you'll do.

So right now, this second, vow to follow your classroom management plan as it's written. Stay true to your promises and high-bar standards.
Keep your foot on the gas.
And your students will only get better, sharper, and happier than they were the week before.

If you haven't done so already, please join us. It's free! Click here and begin receiving new-article updates in your email box every week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3 Bad Habits You Must Avoid This School Year - Smart Classroom Management

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Most teachers begin the school year strong. They teach their classroom management plan in detail. They set expectations and polish and hone routines. They build quick rapport and inspire good initial behavior. Everything seems so easy. But then, three or four weeks in, things begin to change. Restlessness creeps in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Alternative Discipline - California Teachers Association

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teachers: Looking for more videos to include for Hopes and Dreams? Check out our

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The 2x10 strategy: a miraculous solution for behavior issues?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The 2×10 strategy is simple: spend 2 minutes per day for 10 days in a row talking with an at-risk student about anything she or he wants to talk about.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Listen to my interview with Michael Linsin here or read a full transcript.

When I was a teacher, classroom management was not my strongest suit. I relied heavily on forming good relationships with my students, thereby preventing misbehavior. This worked about 90 percent of the time; I really didn't have a whole lot of behavior problems. Unfortunately, the way I dealt with that other 10 percent was rather haphazard: Far too often, I defaulted to the "Wait till there's a problem, then react" mode.

If I had known about Michael Linsin back then, if I'd had access to the stockpiles of advice he shares on his website, Smart Classroom Management , I would have done things differently.

For you, though, it's not too late. If you haven't already discovered Michael Linsin or Smart Classroom Management, this will be a good day for you. Because a few weeks ago, Michael and I spent close to an hour talking on Skype. I asked him to share his advice for teachers implementing a classroom management plan for the school year.

For those who want the quick version, I have pulled the four most important points he made-four keys to setting up and implementing a classroom management plan so that it really works-and summarized them here.

My biggest classroom management mistake was that "wait and see" mentality I mentioned before. I never really had a clear plan, and I don't remember ever giving more than a few minutes to explaining my rules and procedures to students. Honestly, I didn't want them to think I was mean, or boring, or lame. I wanted to talk about the good stuff on day 1, not bog students down with a bunch of negativity.

And year after year, that bit me in the butt. It's not that I had badly behaved students, but my lack of clear structure made my job way harder than it had to be. If I'd set up and communicated a clear behavior plan at the beginning of each year, I know I would have enjoyed teaching a lot more.

A classroom management plan should not be complicated. All you need are rules and consequences.

Classroom Rules

Linsin recommends creating a short, simple list of rules. "It's important just to think about how you can protect your students' right to learn and also protect your freedom to teach. You want to think about all those behaviors from your experience that are interfering with those two goals, and you create a set of rules as boundaries that protect that freedom."

In his basic classroom management plan , Linsin recommends including the following rules:

1. Listen and follow directions.

2. Raise your hand before speaking or leaving your seat.

3. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

4. Respect your classmates and your teacher.

Now I'll tell you this: I have always had my doubts about simple lists like this, because I felt they were way too open to interpretation (and misinterpretation). Too much gray area. But that's because I didn't understand how to effectively implement a simple list of rules. Now I do, and I'm going to get into that in Key 2. But first, the consequences.

Classroom Consequences

To accompany the simple list of classroom rules, Linsin recommends a short sequence of consequences for breaking the rules:

1. Warning

2. Time-out

3. Letter home

Linsin acknowledges that these rules and consequences are pretty standard, and he does not insist that all teachers stick to his specific choices. "There is no magic in the rules and consequences themselves," he says. "It's how you present them and then how you fulfill them."

That's where the magic starts to happen.

This is not the same as "going over" the rules. That's just reading off a list and basically telling students what you expect. While that's better than nothing, it isn't enough. If you want students to really understand exactly how they should behave and exactly what will happen if they don't, you need to teach your behavior plan as you would any other piece of content. The bulk of this, Linsin says, can be accomplished through detailed modeling of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.

"Model those rules so there are no misunderstandings about what they mean, and what behaviors they cover. You would model from your perspective as the teacher and as a student, so you may be sitting in a student's chair with the students surrounding you showing them precisely how to raise their hands."

Linsin urges teachers to be excruciatingly specific in this modeling. "The more detailed you are, even to a ridiculous degree," he says, "the more effective and powerful it is. I may show them the actual bend in the elbow of how to raise their hand, the finger placement..."

And after you model the behavior, have the students model it back for you. "You may have the whole class showing you how to raise their hand, how to get up to get a tissue. You may have one model, and then you'll have five model, and then you'll have them all model at the same time."

Although this kind of detailed teaching takes time at the beginning of the year, it ultimately saves you time and frustration later. And it may not be necessary to teach ALL the rules on the very first day. "Let's say you have time to only model one rule," Linsin says. "If you model it in a highly detailed way, it transfers. They begin to understand that you're going to expect that with everything. The first routine you teach of the year, you want to teach the heck out of it, to a remarkable, ridiculous level, because you're not so much teaching the routine, you're teaching how to do things the right way. You're teaching excellence. You're setting the tone of 'This is how we do it here. We do things the right way, and we pursue excellence in everything we do.'"

When it's time to enforce your rules and consequences, establish some professional distance between you and your students. Execute your plan without getting emotional about it. Linsin advises teachers to be "incredibly personable with the students, and build really close relationships, but when it comes to classroom management, you're an unfeeling robot almost. Or a referee on a football field. You call them like you see them."

For a lot of teachers, this is easier said than done. I know it was for me. When students misbehaved, I did kind of take it personally. My heart believed that if they respected me, if they cared about me, then they wouldn't talk when I was talking, they wouldn't fool around when they were supposed to be doing something else. It upset me, and I'm sure that showed on my face and in my voice. It added an extra layer of tension and compounded the problem, making the interaction more about the student and me than about the behavior.

It would be far more effective for teachers to train themselves to perceive misbehavior the way Linsin does.

"It's not me," he tells himself. "It's a choice they're making, and there's a consequence for that choice. I'm not going to take it personally. I'm not going to feel like that student is doing that because of me."

He urges teachers to treat infractions quickly and with no emotion. "I believe in never lecturing, scolding, any of that kind of stuff, because every time you do it, it just makes managing your classroom more difficult."

Although making sure students have razor-sharp clarity of your behavior plan is essential, it's just as important to make students want to be in your class.

"You have to sell your program," Linsin explains. "My number one goal is not that at the end of the day that they know the rules and consequences. It's that they're happy and excited to be part of the class. That they run home to their parents and say, 'Oh my gosh. I have the best teacher. I have this awesome class. We're going to do this and that this year. It's going to be great.' Because that's what's going to give you the leverage. The classroom management secret is to create a classroom that students love being a part of."

So spend lots of time that first day getting students excited about the year, about the learning they're going to do and the community they will create. "The idea of classroom management, of my website, is not just to get through the day," Linsin says. "It's to create an experience those students will remember for a lifetime ." ♦

Michael Linsin is the author of several books on Classroom Management: Dream Class , The Classroom Management Secret , and The Happy Teacher Habits *. His most recent publication is an e-book, The Smart Classroom Management Plan For High School Teachers .

* Some of these are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I get a small commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you.

There's a lot more where this came from.
Join the Cult of Pedagogy mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to my members-only library of free downloadable resources, including my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, which has helped thousands of teachers spend less time grading. If you are already a subscriber and want this resource, just check your most recent email for a link to the Members-Only Library-it's in there!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Classroom Management: 4 Keys to Starting the Year off Right

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How to set up and implement a classroom behavior plan that really works, with advice from Smart Classroom Management's Michael Linsin.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
For the Heroes: A Pep Talk From Kid President

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For years I've had a poster on my classroom door that reads "Learn Like A Champion Today."

Each student taps it on their way in.

To an outsider it may appear to be a silly ritual. Cutesy, perhaps, but of no real consequence.

They would be wrong.

In fact, I believe it to be an important motivational tool.

Granted, by itself, the poster doesn't mean much. It's a homemade 12″ x 18″ rectangle of laminated construction paper.

But the act of tapping it, the decision to reach up and give it a rap, is where you'll find its power.
It's the meaning behind the action that makes it work.
Tapping the poster is a way of saying yes to you, your program, and the learning environment you've created. It's a physical expression of their commitment before they even enter your classroom.

It also serves as a reminder that hard work, good behavior, and politeness are expected. But you can't just slap it up on your door and expect it to have an effect.

You must first define its meaning.

You must walk your students outside your classroom during the first week of school and, while modeling how you want them to enter, explain that by tapping the poster they're agreeing to three things:
1. To give their best. 2. To behave their best. 3. To have a positive attitude.
These aren't rules, mind you. They're a set of principles that define the learning culture you want to create. So when a student taps it, they're in effect buying into that culture.

Further, tapping the poster flips an internal switch, signalling that it's time for school and that negativity, laziness, immaturity, and the like must be left outside the door.

The result is that they enter your room ready to learn.

Again, it's the meaning the poster represents that makes this so. It's the promise and commitment that comes with the decision to tap it that elicits the Pavlovian-like response.

So what happens if they don't tap it? What if they stroll by without so much as a glance at the poster?

Nothing at all.

Because it must be entirely their choice. If it isn't, if you force your students to tap it or glare at them when they don't, then it loses its power. It no longer possesses any meaning.

But here's the thing: As long as your students enjoy being part of your class (The Classroom Management Secret), it will become a habit they enthusiastically take part in.

You may be thinking, Well, that's fine and good for some teachers, but the students at my school are too jaded (or too old or too cool).

I haven't found this to be the case.

In fact, the more challenging the school, the more impactful the strategy.

The idea is a play on a poster the Notre Dame and University of Oklahoma football teams tap on their way out to the field.

And if 85 young men from every conceivable background can buy in, so can your class.

It's important to note that the poster isn't a panacea.

On its own, it can't make or break your classroom. It's merely a strategy that supports a happy and well-behaved learning environment.

It's a strategy that helps ensure that each day begins on the right foot, that each day starts with a reminder that entering your classroom comes with responsibility.

That the next 60 minutes, or six hours, matters.

And so do they.

If you haven't done so already, please join us. It's free! Click here and begin receiving new-article updates in your email box every week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How A One-Second Strategy Can Motivate Your New Class - Smart Classroom Management

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For years I've had a poster on my classroom door that reads "Learn Like A Champion Today." Each student taps it on their way in. To an outsider it may appear to be a silly ritual. Cutesy, perhaps, but of no real consequence. They would be wrong.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Listen to this post as a podcast:
This post was originally contributed to Cathy Rubin's blog, The Global Search for Education, on the Huffington Post.
They are watching.
Every moment students spend in our rooms, amid the business of the day, the paper pushing and content coverage, amid the set-up and tear-down of projects, they hear everything we say. About ourselves. About the world. About them. They watch how we handle ourselves when we are pressed for time and when we receive gifts and when we screw things up.

So yes, deliver your curriculum. Yes, provide rich, hands-on, authentic learning experiences. Offer rigorous academic challenges. Raise the bar. Coach and guide. Nurture. Push. Advise.

But also be: To truly lead is to pay attention to who we are in the downtime, in the margins. To help them become the best people they are capable of becoming, we must first be those people.

We can do it in these ways:

1. Lead with imperfection.
Try things you're not good at, right in front of them. Demonstrate a spirit of experimentation. Speak of your mistakes without judgment.

2. Lead with assertiveness.
Show them how a self-assured person says no. Show what it looks like to set firm limits, without apology and without hostility.

3. Lead with relationships.
Let them hear you laugh with other teachers, prioritize loved ones, and speak respectfully of your significant other. Let them see what healthy relationships look like.

4. Lead with language.
Use the right words to describe concepts. Avoid dumbing things down. Savor a good word when it presents itself.

5. Lead with self-control.
When a student makes you angry, think of how you tell students to handle their own anger. Then do that.

6. Lead with manners.
Say please and thank you. Avoid cutting people off mid-sentence. Have sensitive conversations in private. Respect other people's time.

7. Lead with quality.
Take a few extra minutes to get something right. Do what you say you're going to do. Proofread.

8. Lead with humor.
Laugh. Be silly. Don't take yourself too seriously. Avoid mocking or ridiculing your students. Mock yourself instead.

9. Lead with enthusiasm.
Share your obsessions. Geek out on the things students think are uncool. Show them that it's possible to fall in love with a forest, a perfect pizza crust, the moment when a song changes key.

10. Lead with humility.
When you don't know something, say so. Allow for the possibility that you might occasionally be wrong. Check your ego. Apologize.

To stand before children-share physical space with them day after day-is a rare privilege. In every minute we spend together, they will learn something. Whatever it is we put before them, they will learn from it.

Let's make it good. ♥

There's plenty more where this came from.
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. To thank you, I'll send you a free copy of my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half. See you over there!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lessons in Personhood: 10 Ways to Truly Lead in Your Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to this post as a podcast: This post was originally contributed to Cathy Rubin's blog, The Global Search for Education , on the Huffington Post. They are watching. Every moment students spend in our rooms, amid the business of the day, the paper pushing and content coverage, amid the set-up and tear-down of projects, they hear everything we say.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Yes, it's scary. Yes, it's easy to assume you already know what students think about your class, how well they're handling the workload, what activities they like the most. Yes, it's possible you know best. Still.

If you've never asked students for serious, honest feedback, you're missing something. If you ask the right questions and give students the time and encouragement to supply quality answers, student feedback can benefit you in so many ways.

The Benefits

1. Increasing Student Engagement

By finding out what learning activities students like the most and least about your class, you'll get better at designing lessons that really engage them. Of course, your job is not to entertain your students 24/7, but if some methods of delivery are better received than others, then they're likely to result in greater learning gains as well.

2. Preventive Discipline

Learning more about each student's experience in your class can go a long way toward improving the relationship you have with them. And that can go a long way toward improving classroom management.

3. Differentiation

Grades and test scores don't tell the whole story. A student who is getting excellent grades might be accomplishing that only with tremendous effort and hours of work at home. Conversely, a student who consistently turns in mediocre work might actually want more of a challenge. By asking students how well the work fits their abilities, you can adjust your instruction to better meet their needs.

4. Bullying Prevention

When students are given an opportunity to share their feelings about your class, they might also include information about students who harass them, or each other. If a student says he hates coming to your class every day, the reason might have more to do with his peers than with anything you're doing. Gathering student feedback is the first step toward discovering the things you don't know about your own classroom.

5. Self-Preservation

Many school systems are implementing teacher evaluation programs that include student feedback. And at the college level, student evaluations can significantly impact a professor's promotion and tenure. Instead of waiting for the "official" forms to be distributed to students, get ahead of the curve by asking for similar feedback early, while there's still time to troubleshoot.

Gathering Student Feedback, Step-by-Step

Start by asking good questions.

Create a written survey you distribute to students. Even if you teach online, you can distribute forms electronically. Here are some questions that should be included:

Is the work in this class too hard or too easy for you?

Do you feel our tests and quizzes are fair?

How easy is it to approach me with questions or concerns?

Do you feel our class time is used wisely?

What do you like most about this class?

What do you like least?

What else do you think I should know?

That last question might seem like a throw-away, but it can elicit some of the most powerful and significant information you'll get. Some students will use it to tell you about a problem they're having with a classmate. Others will tell you that the handle on the class supply drawer is broken. You just never know what you're going to get, so be sure to add an open-ended question like this to your survey.

Next, create optimal conditions for quality feedback.

Distribute the survey at the right time and place. What worked best for me was to set aside 5 to 10 minutes at the end of a class period and have students do it then, rather than having them take it home.

Talk to students ahead of time about the purpose of the survey and your desire to hear their true feelings. Give them examples of "mean" feedback (insulting another person) and "constructive" feedback (describing your own experience). Assure them that if they tell you something critical about your class or your teaching, you will not give them a bad grade or punish them in return.

Make sure the room stays quiet and that students keep their responses as private as they would with a test.

Decide ahead of time if you want students to put their names on their surveys: Anonymity will often get you more honest responses, but without names, it's harder to do much follow-up work on them. I would tell my students that they could leave their names off if that made them more comfortable, but that I would be able to be a better teacher to them personally if I knew what their responses were. Most of the time, students chose to add their names.

Finally, ACT on the feedback.

Gathering information is useless if you do nothing with it. Here are some ways you can respond to student feedback:

Talk. Then talk some more. Written feedback should be considered the first step. Once you've read the forms, follow up with individual students about their comments, and talk to the whole class about what you plan to do in response to what you learned. A few weeks later, check back with students to see if the changes are working for them.

Look for patterns. A complaint from one student is worth noting, but fifty million Elvis fans can't be wrong. Do many students say they don't like silent reading? Do seventeen kids mention "rug time" as a problem? Even if it's something you want to keep doing, a whole-class discussion can help you figure out ways to improve it.

Dig into the mysteries. Students may put cryptic things on their surveys that are just the tip of the iceberg. If there's anything on the form you don't understand, don't brush it off. Pull the student aside and ask her about it.

Solve the easy problems. One of the best things about getting this feedback is that it can alert you to a problem that's easy to fix. If a student mentions that the draft from the window bothers her, just move her. There. You just made the rest of the school year better for that kid.

Watch your ego. Reading even a little bit of negative feedback is no fun for anyone, so be aware that your first reaction to criticism will probably be defensive. That's natural, but it won't solve the problem. Remind yourself that the student took a risk by telling you, so take the problem seriously and resolve to calmly and constructively find ways to solve it.

Notice the positives. If the criticisms are getting you down, go back through and notice all the good things students said - those things matter. Figure out what you're doing right, then do more of it.

A Tool You Can Use Right Now

If you'd like something ready-made for gathering student feedback, here's a form you can use today: the "How's It Going?" Form. You can use it any time of year to get a quick snapshot for how students are experiencing your class. The form comes in two versions: One for elementary students and the other for secondary and college-level students. With each, you'll also get an editable form so you can add to or adjust the questions for your own needs, and a link to a Google Forms option if you want to conduct the survey digitally. Both forms are available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store:

The "How's It Going?" Form
The "How's It Going?" Form
Secondary/College Level Elementary Level

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Reasons You Should Seek Your OWN Student Feedback

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As teacher evaluation systems become more complex and intense, many of us ignore the richest source of information about our teaching. And it's right under our noses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Icebreakers that Rock | Cult of Pedagogy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don’t really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It happens every day in classrooms from Fresno to Kathmandu.

The teacher pulls aside their most difficult student for a private meeting.

Sometimes it's a lecture.

Sometimes it's a pep-talk. Sometimes it's to threaten or praise or question like a trial lawyer.

But in every case, the teacher is trying to convince the student to behave.

They're trying to use their tone of voice and creative use of words to inspire a change in behavior.

And although there can be some immediate improvement, it never lasts. In fact, the likely result is a worsening of behavior.

Because, when you try to convince students to behave, you're showing how much it means to you.

You're letting them know how much their behavior affects you, stresses you out, alters your mood, or gets under your skin.

And in so doing, you give away your leverage. You weaken your influence. You're cede the upper hand in the relationship and give your most challenging students the power to make or break your day.

This isn't something they consciously think about, mind you. It's just human nature.

When there is a crack in the foundation of leadership, however small, your students will fill it-or wrest control of the classroom right out of your hands.

To turn around your most difficult students, and actually change their behavior, you must never show how much it means to you.

Unless you need private information, it's best to refrain from pulling them aside for one-on-one chats.

Instead, if they misbehave, follow your classroom management plan. Enforce your consequences calmly and matter-of-factly. Pretend you don't give one whit whether they misbehave or not.

Deliver your news, then turn on your heal and walk away as if nothing happened.
Never let them see you sweat.
If, however, you notice real improvement in behavior, then let them know it-directly and honestly.
"Now that's how you do it!""I thought you were great today.""You can't do any better than that. Way to go!""I knew you could do it."
In the meantime, strengthen your leverage, influence, and leadership presence through your steadiness-your day-after-day kindness, consistency, pleasantness, and humor.

Show them, prove to them, through your smiles and hellos and friendly banter that every day is a new day.

Be the leader they need, not the weak-kneed groveler they don't.

Your refusal to pull them aside to woo, plead, coax, cajole, or manipulate communicates loud and clear that you believe in them.

That they really can do it.

It's an undeniable truth that they'll see in your eyes, your face, and your entire being every day of the week.

And it will change them.

PS - I'm hard at work on our first ever online course. It's called The Total Classroom Management Makeover and will be open for enrollment just in time for summer.

If you haven't done so already, please join us. It's free! Click here and begin receiving new-article updates in your email box every week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why You Shouldn't Try To Convince Difficult Students To Behave - Smart Classroom Management

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It happens every day in classrooms from Fresno to Kathmandu. The teacher pulls aside their most difficult student for a private meeting. Sometimes it's a lecture. Sometimes it's a pep-talk. Sometimes it's to threaten or praise or question like a trial lawyer. But in every case, the teacher is trying to convince the student to ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Stress is a killer.

And not just physically. It can also ruin your teaching career.

It can destroy your peace and happiness. It can affect your relationship with students.

It can severely limit your ability to manage your classroom.

The good news is that there is a lot you can do about teaching-related pressure, strain, tension, and the like.

Even if you're prone to stress, it doesn't have to be your everyday reality.

In fact, with just a few simple strategies, you can eliminate it from your teaching life.

Here's how:
1. Decide.
One of the most powerful and effective ways to rid yourself of stress also happens to be the simplest. It's called the decide-first method.

The way it works is just before your students arrive for the day, shut your classroom door and allow yourself a few minutes of uninterrupted silence. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and clear your mind.

Once settled, you're going to make one very important and very conscious decision.

You're going to decide that no matter what happens that day, you're going to keep your cool-inside as well as out.

Even if a family of orangutans comes swinging through your door, you're going to remain as calm as a mountain lake.

And amazingly, almost magically, you will.

The first time you try it will be a revelation. But if you run through the same routine every day, being calm and composed will become who you are.
2. Say no.
Nearly every teacher would benefit by using more of this two-letter word. If fact, if you don't say no regularly, chances are that you're overworked and near the end of your rope.

Now, it's important to mention that I don't just mean saying no to taking on extra responsibilities or joining another committee.

You may also need to say no to gossip, procrastination, micromanagement, busywork, and commiserating with negative colleagues.

Saying no can feel awkward or uncomfortable at first, especially if you have to tell someone face to face. But once you take a stand, you'll be shocked at how much time you have to focus on what really matters.

You'll be shocked at how much better you feel and how favorably your students respond to you.

The truth is, if you want to love your job, and be most effective, you must learn to say no often.
3. Accept.
So many teachers get worked up over things they have no control over-like new policies, programs, curriculum, etc. But why do this to yourself?

When something new comes down the pipe, it's far better and less stressful to accept it straightaway and then turn your thoughts to how you can make it work for you.

You don't have the time, nor can you afford the mental energy or anguish, to ruminate, complain, or become anxious over anything that has been decided by someone above your pay grade.

To do otherwise is unhealthy and self-sabotage.

I've found over the years that I can take just about anything and make it my own, find a workaround, or, if it isn't something I absolutely have to do, ignore it altogether.
4. Stop convincing.
Teachers who struggle with unruly behavior, disrespect, poor listening, and a chaotic room environment tend to rely on their ability to convince students to behave.

Which, even if you're blessed with natural charisma and a silver tongue, is a losing proposition.

Besides being ineffective, trying to counsel, question, scold, guilt, coax, manipulate, persuade, or otherwise find the perfect words to get students to behave is incredibly burdensome and the most stressful strategy you can use.

Instead, lean exclusively on your classroom management plan.

Let it do the dirty work for you. So many wonderful things happen when you simply allow it to fulfill its intended purpose.

Not the least of which is your peace of mind.

5. Shift responsibility.

One thing nearly all stressed-out teachers have in common is that they willingly, eagerly even, take on what are-or should be-their students' responsibilities.

After teaching a directed lesson, they fail to shift full responsibility for actually doing the work (independent practice) to their class. Instead, they disrupt the learning process by reteaching what they just taught minutes before.

They interrupt with reminders, clues, and suggestions. They rush to the side of every student who shows the least bit of struggle.

They don't allow their students to wrestle with the material, build academic stamina, or draw their own conclusions. They think that giving and giving and giving is what good teaching looks like.

But it's not.

Micromanaging, coddling, and over-helping very effectively produces learned helplessness. It dissuades listening and encourages dependence on you.

It creates a room full of needy, grabby students that make you want to run screaming for the parking lot.
You Can Do It

You can't be an effective teacher if you're laden with stress.

It shortens your patience, mars your judgment, and weakens your ability to build influential relationships with your students.

It also brings tense, negative energy into your classroom that you can't feel, but that visitors experience the moment they walk through your door.

No matter who you are or where you teach, the simple changes above can help you eliminate stress from your teaching life.

But it does take discipline. It takes forethought and commitment. It takes determination and the will to swim against the tide of what everyone else seems to be doing.

But you can do it.

The journey begins with one small, daily decision.

PS - For more on this topic, see The Happy Teacher Habits.

Also, if you haven't done so already, please join us. It's free! Click here and begin receiving new-article updates in your email box every week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Simple Ways To Eliminate Stress From Your Teaching Life - Smart Classroom Management

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stress is a killer. And not just physically. It can also ruin your teaching career. It can destroy your peace and happiness. It can affect your relationship with students. It can severely limit your ability to manage your classroom. The good news is that there is a lot you can do about teaching-related pressure, strain, tension, and the like.

# data[].attributes.body
Breakin' it down....

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Uploaded by Christine Miller on 2015-10-08.