This was probably my toughest year in education with teachers quitting, class restructuring, & unbearable student behavior. Some days I questioned returning to education, but I made it through to the end of the year sticking to my tried and true method of classroom management, instruction, and building community. In this blog post, I plan to share that method with you…I like to call it the 4 C’s of Classroom Management.
Stay Calm
The first C stands for calm. I have a naturally calm demeanor which translates into my classroom. I keep the overhead lights turned off and several lamps turned on around the room. This creates a peaceful and inviting environment that limits overstimulation and allows students to relax and learn.
How does calmness play a role in classroom management? You know the management of those unbearable behaviors that I mentioned earlier. I had several students who were used to engaging in disrespectful banter with their peers and adults. I don’t believe the students even knew what they did was a form of disrespect until it was explained to them.
Let me give you a mild example, “Sally sit up straight and please put your shoes on”. Sally responds, “Oh my God, leave me alone” while shrugging her shoulders and rolling her eyes. How would you handle this situation? Would you further punish and embarrass Sally? OR would you talk to her calmly? I am hoping that most teachers will do the latter.
Calmness is so important because you want to de-escalate the situation. Here is how I handled that particular situation. I went over to Sally and explained that her response was disrespectful and that if there was a reason that her shoes were off and she was slumped down in her seat, she could talk to me about it. She explained that her feet hurt because her shoes were tight. I said “Thank you for sharing that with me and allowed her to keep the heel of her foot out of her shoe. That situation would have turned out differently if I reacted to her disrespect instead of simply responding.
Stay Confident
The next C stands for confident. In the situation, I narrated above I was not hurt, or bothered by Sally’s response to my simple request. Often, teachers are offended by student behavior because they take it personally. My advice is to BE CONFIDENT in your expectations & expertise. Students try to communicate bigger things that have nothing to do with us as teachers through their behavior and we have to be confident in ourselves and never take it personally. It’s a hard ask but so important.
Stay Consistent
Was that the only time Sally took her shoes off and slumped in her seat? No, of course not. However, I was consistent in my requests and responses each time. Eventually, Sally began to ask if she could take her shoes off or put her head down. Consistency is key in any classroom management plan. You have to say what you mean and mean what you say. Be consistent in your rewards, consequences & expectations.
Build Community
Building community is an integral part of classroom management. Your interactions with students will help them feel safe and lead to a strong classroom community. The easiest way to build classroom community is through picture books. If you want students to be kind, read a book with a character learning the same trait. Want a generous class? Read a book with a selfish/generous character. So much can be learned from the interactions students see from you and learn from characters in picture books. My ebook: Building Classroom Community through Read Alouds outlines my top 3 picture books to build classroom community easily and organically.
There is so much more to classroom management than what I expressed in this post. Below I added a graphic and you can read THIS BLOG for a more detailed approach to my classroom management style.
Thanks for stopping by,
