Classroom Management: How to A.C.T.

What’s the most important skill that college doesn’t teach you?

Classroom and behavior management.

• You can be a content expert and design engaging, rigorous, creative lessons…

• You can have pinterest-perfect decor and bulletin boards… 

• You can be up-to-date on all the latest evidence-based best-practices…

But none of that will matter if your classroom is like a 3-ring circus.

While most teachers don’t go into the profession with a dream of wrangling student behavior every day for 8 hours, once they get into the classroom, they quickly find out that’s exactly what they must do if they want any chance of doing anything else.

Usually, we learn classroom management through:

• sink-or-swim,
• trial-by-fire,
• praying for the best,
• throwing darts at the wall and hoping one sticks…

Or they glean what they can from mentors and colleagues who are more seasoned, if they’re lucky enough to have access to some. 

Trouble is, none of that is consistently reliable. Today, let’s talk about some concrete ways to develop this skill that is completely essential for success as a teacher. 

Fake it ’til you Make it

I grew up about 2 hours north of New York City, in the beautiful Hudson River Valley. There was a commuter train that ran directly into Grand Central Station, and at the time, children under 12 rode for just $0.50 each way! My mother, therefore, made it her mission to take me to the city as much as possible while I still qualified for the discounted fare. (I learned those thrifty habits early!)

By the time I was 16, I was allowed to take day trips there by myself, and then I ended up living there full time my freshman year at NYU. One of the best things the NYU School of Ed does is throw you into a classroom as a teacher’s aide first semester (why don’t more colleges do this instead of waiting until senior year??)

I did end up in some pretty shady neighborhoods and subway stations during my daily travels to get to and from my placements, though.

Did I feel the eyes and hear the comments called out toward me?

Yup.

Was I nervous?

Many times, yes.

But my trips to the city as a youngster had taught me how to blend in with the “natives” in a way that didn’t scream target to anyone with ill intentions: head up, eyes straight, look ahead, don’t talk, walk confidently and with purpose. In other words, act like you own the place and people will think you do.

The same holds true for the classroom: ESPECIALLY if you’re a brand new teacher. None of us enters the classroom for the first time feeling like we are in complete control and have all the answers (…and can I be honest? I still get nervous on the first day of school and on every Open House night, even after 18 years!)

But…I’ve learned that you have to just dive in, be confident, and trust the process. You may not have all the answers (who does?) but you have been hired as the authority figure in that room: act like it’s yours…because it is.

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

A.A. Milne

The Personality Factor

OK, so we need to acknowledge that classroom and behavior management may come more naturally to some than others based on personality type and student population. However, it really is a skill that can be developed by anyone. 

The great thing about behavior management is that it’s totally customizable; there are some underlying universal principles, and from there you can alter the delivery to jive with your own personality and teaching style. 

The downside of this is that there truly is no one “right” way to do it.

There’s also the continually changing piece of who your students are: class personalities differ greatly because we are dealing with dynamic and emotional human beings. Therefore, the classroom management strategy that works like a charm for your morning class might very well fall flat on its face for your afternoon class. 

So, what’s a teacher to do? 

As I mentioned before, there are some universal principles. No matter what age, ability level, or subject you teach, you CAN successfully apply the A.C.T. principle to your classroom management. 

What’s that? I’m glad you asked…

A.C.T. like a Real Person

There are two things that ALL students, as human beings, crave and respond to: 

1. knowing that someone genuinely cares about them, and 
2. being able to rely upon a predictable set of routines and/or policies that make expectations (for teacher and student) clear.  

So, as you start off your school year, IT IS WORTH YOUR TIME to hold off/slow down on content for the sake of clearly establishing and reinforcing routines and building relationships. These routines and relationships need to be Authentic, Consistent, and Transparent. (And because the education field loves acronyms…here’s another one for you!)

Be Authentic and Transparent

Be a real human. You became a teacher, presumably, because you care about children and care about helping them, because you actually do want to teach them something and contribute to their lives and development in some kind of positive way. 

(Can I be blunt for a moment? No judgment, but if this does not describe you, please reconsider your career path. So much damage has been done to children by teachers who actually don’t care about kids and have no problem showing that attitude without a filter…if that’s you, please move on to another career where you will be happier and won’t leave collateral human damage in your wake).

Students are people, and teachers are people, too. Be PEOPLE together.

NEWS FLASH: PEOPLE ARE NOT PERFECT. THAT INCLUDES YOU. Even though you’re the authority figure in the room, you’re not perfect either. Kids learn more than just content from you: they learn how to navigate LIFE when they see you mess up, admit your mistake, and move ahead gracefully. 

Be Authentic. Be Transparent.

Just like the “soft skills” of classroom management, the “soft skills” of grit and resilience are best learned by watching examples. 

So when you have a lesson that sinks, don’t be afraid to jump ship, even in front of the students. Tell your class, “Well, I tried this…and I can see that it didn’t work for you, and it didn’t work for me, either. But I want you to learn, and I want you to succeed. So we are going to try something different with this, ok?” 

Adjust your grading policies if you need to. 

Adjust your assignments and deadlines if you need to. 

Nothing is gained by stubbornly forging ahead to the bitter end when you know that it’s doing your students a disservice. Your commitment should be to your students and their learning, not to your own pride and ego of “I created this thing, and doggone it, it is GOING to WORK!” 

Be Consistent

…Wait a minute, didn’t I just tell you a few sentences ago that you should be willing to change things mid-stream for the benefit of your students? 

YES, and if your students know that this is how you operate, that actually counts as consistency! They know they can rely on you to have their best interest in mind even if that means changing course. And they will be more willing to follow your lead because of it. They will trust you. 

Whatever routines and expectations you set up in your classroom, stick to them until they no longer work and need revision. And be honest with your students about when you make the revision and why. Treat them like they are human beings with logical minds living in the real world just like you, and you will establish a baseline of mutual respect.

Respect

One last thing: I’ve already written an entire post on respect, but it’s worth mentioning again.

In my opinion, establishing an atmosphere of safety and respect is the absolute bedrock of classroom management. If a student doesn’t respect you, they have no motivation to listen to anything you say.

(Side note: I think this is one reason why substitute teachers often have such a tough job–they walk into a room full of kids they have no relationship with and are expected to keep those kids in perfect control. It’s a tall order).

If you can earn a student’s respect, they are more likely to respond to your correction if they have a behavior problem later on.  

Wrapping it Up

Basically, for good classroom management, you need to remember why you love teaching: because you care about people and enjoy helping them. Then relax, and let that shine through. A.C.T. like yourself, own your room, model respect…and the rest will work out along the way.