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I think it is important to set expectations in your classrooms that are more technology rich. This will eliminate your students being distracted or the educator battling students playing games, or on sites that are not appropriate for the students to be on during class.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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I think that to manage a classroom it is so important that the students respect one another and that classroom community is taught and built upon all year long.

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Back to School: Why Creating Classroom Community is So Important

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The children in my class contribute to classroom rules and participate in discussions with teachers about fair consequences. Early in the year, we create a classroom manifesto that distills the community's belief system

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I loved all the ideas that this website had to offer. I think that if we follow these tips and ideas, and get to know our students and show our own vulnerability and compassion for learning and ourselves it will help foster that in our students.

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50 Tips and Tricks for High School Classroom Management

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No longer kids, but not quite adults, teaching teens can be hard! These tips for high school classroom management will make your life easier!

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Students will follow in the example you set. Students are accustom to frustration and anger when it comes to the classroom, so if we change our responses from negativity to positivity it will give the students more accountability to their misbehavior.

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I think it is important to be more involved in the world of technology. Students are not going to want to lug around huge textbooks, so find ways to utilize products that uses materials that involve students in work that is more exciting. I think that this will change the classroom and help students to feel more part of a 21st century classroom

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Kids Discover - Nonfiction Products for Children ages 6 to 14

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Kids Discover is an award-winning educational publisher of high-interest, nonfiction products for kids. Print Titles, iPad Apps and Digital Library.

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I believe wholeheartedly that this framework has a lasting impact for students of all ages. In my classroom I was to use the AIW framework and methods so students can be more engaged in what they are learning and so they can see the value of the things they are being taught. I think managing a classroom and combating behavior issues can be fought singlehandedly with classroom engagement and the framework of AIW.

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Be prepared to expect the unexpected and have a strategy ready for what is to come if a confrontation arises with students. You should never argue with a student.

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The dos and don'ts of dealing with classroom confrontations.

Fortunately, many educators have developed strategies for dealing with confrontational students. At the top of the list: "Never get into a power struggle," says Mary Barela, a middle school teacher in Fort Collins, Colorado. "You are the adult and know better. If the conversation feels like it is slipping toward a power struggle, find a way to change the course."

That may feel like it is easier said than done, so we asked educators for their advice on defusing tense situations with students. Here's their list of Dos and Don'ts.

Dos

Engage students by providing a "hook" for each lesson at the beginning to keep them thinking and interested.

Dr. Robert Feller from the University of Washington believes these hooks prevent potential disruptions and stimulate students' minds so they focus on the upcoming lesson. Teachers can do anything from a simple science experiment or a game that connects students' lives to the lesson.

"Attention grabbers may be used to provoke thought, facilitate active learning, or just share experiences, says retired teacher LaNelle Holland in Whitesburg, Georgia. "The teacher who asks challenging questions stimulates student interest. Empower your students by encouraging them to participate in activities of the whole group or in smaller groups."

Try to understand the student's background and home life.

Problems at home or a difficult home life are often a reason for disruptive children. If you know where your students are coming from, you are in a better position to relate. Author and education researcher Dr. Elise Trumbull believes that a connection with students creates a level of respect and trust between students and the teachers. If teachers can start to understand students' cultures better, a partnership can be formed between school and the home with the parents.

"Taking the time to learn about a child's background can make the difference between compassion and callousness," says retired teacher Diane Postman of Yorktown, Virginia. "Knowing a child is dealing with family issues or poverty can lead a teacher to make allowances or adaptations to help a struggling child succeed. This can ward off some behavioral problems and help the child to save face."

When a disagreement or confrontation arises, show the student how to deal with it in a dignified manner and maintain the integrity of your classroom. Frank Iannucci, a math and computer science teacher from West Orange, New Jersey, says teachers should immediately stop the confrontation and arrange to discuss it with the student in a mature, adult manner, regardless of the age of the student, after the period. This demonstrates to students that fights can be stopped before they get out of hand.

Amy Van Wormer of St. Petersburg, Florida, agrees. "Respectfully remind them of why there are there, and continue with the lesson. If [the behavior] continues, request to meet [the student] privately outside of the class," she says. "[Ask the student] to make the right choices and ask why they are having trouble doing the right thing."

React in a way that allows the student to save face.

Never engage a student in front of classmates. It embarrasses the student in public, sends a message that you don't care for the student's feelings, and could potentially escalate the situation.

"Maintain control of your own actions and somehow find a way to give the disruptive student an 'out' so that he or she can back down without losing too much face," says Barela. "Another option, if possible, is to remove the student from the learning environment so that the two of you can deal with the issue privately. Even taking a short walk out in the hall can do wonders for both of you."

Don'ts

React to every little distraction unless it is distracting other students.

If you react to everything that goes on in a classroom, you'll lose too much valuable teaching time. If the primary problem is one child's behavior, you can talk to him or her in private, but as long as the student isn't disrupting the class, it's not worth stopping instruction to address a situation.

Linda Marino, a special education teacher in Mexico, New York, has one method to avoid power struggles. "I have certain students who love to instigate and distract each other, so I made distraction tickets. I give students a ticket when they ignore the negative behavior of another and do not let that student distract them. At the end of the day, we have a lottery drawing with the daily distraction tickets and the winner gets a special prize from me."

Keep your composure while dealing with students, because disruptive students will look for any opening to create chaos. You need to be a role model for students and show how to properly deal with an argument.

"Don't get 'in their face' and stay calm!" says Holland. "Also, don't take it personally. Kids run rampant on emotions and if handled correctly, you can usually keep it under control."

Fighting for the last word in an argument only prolongs the argument. Try to understand where the student is coming from, but don't add more fuel to the fire by adding a quick jab at the end.

According to Christopher Perillo, a high school science teacher in Kenosha, Wisconsin, "Teachers who insist on having the last word are bringing themselves down to a juvenile level. Students will remember this and that teacher's value will be diminished."

Use language that will put the student on the defensive.

It is much better to focus on what you don't understand by using "I statements" and "feeling statements" rather than "you statements." This will allow the student to explain instead of argue their point. It also allows the student to understand that the teacher isn't trying to pin them into a corner or assess blame, but rather understand the student's actions.

"We all can get angry at some point in our lives, but how we deal with it constructively is important," says Patrice Palmer, a second-grade teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Using 'I' messages and not 'you, you, you' messages is important because it doesn't put someone on the defensive."

Following these dos and don'ts should help you run a smoother classroom and allow students to be academically engaged instead of engaging in arguments.
Illustration By Dave Clark

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Fortunately, many educators have developed strategies for dealing with confrontational students. At the top of the list: "Never get into a power struggle," says Mary Barela, a middle school teacher in Fort Collins, Colorado. "You are the adult and know better.

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There is potential in every child, and if we realize that than our teaching can be more effective and engaging. We need to have the "I can" bug.
"And I uncovered that if learning is embedded in real-world context, that if you blur the boundaries between school and life,then children go through a journey of "aware," where they can see the change, "enable," be changed,and then "empower," lead the change. And that directly increased student wellbeing. Children became more competent, and less helpless. But this was all common sense."

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TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript: Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.

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Every Friday in my classroom I want to implement one class period a week for students to work on something they are passionate about. It allows them to drive their own personalized instruction. It gives students the opportunity to choose what they want to learn, research, modify, build, invent, and/or create during 20% of their time in your classroom.

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I think that it is important to make education a collaborative effort rather than be a traditional teacher. That does not mean that I am not the authority, but it helps students to be more engaged in what they are learning and helps them to see the value beyond school in their education efforts.