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There is odd consensus that you can only use time-out for elementary-age students. This is silly. There is nothing wrong with removing a student who is interfering with the rights of others to learn and enjoy school. No one is too old. If I ... Read more
Not much fires a teacher up more than a student talking back. It has a special way of getting under the skin because . . . It’s blatantly disrespectful. It typically happens in front of the class. It directly challenges your authority. How you ... Read more
In Malcom Gladwell’s 2003 book Blink, he describes how experts can know what they know but not know why they know it. They experience a flash of recognition or vision of truth—and blink moment—based on years of past experience and know it to be ... Read more
Kneeling down to a student’s eye level to discuss behavior or impart an important lesson is common practice. It’s recommended without second thought. Teachers do it every day. The idea is that it’s more effective and the student is more likely to heed your ... Read more
The ability to get your students’ attention anytime you need it is critical for good teaching. Because . . . It saves time. It allows you to give further instruction. It’s a sign of a well-behaved class. The signal you use is unimportant. It ... Read more
Several years ago, a colleague confided in me that she was afraid to hold her students accountable because she was convinced that they would hate her for it. Some of her students were taller than her and looked like adults, which may have been ... Read more
How you give a consequence matters. It’s not just do or not do. The way it’s performed goes a long way toward your students taking responsibility. It’s another of the small details that separate just getting by from exceptional classroom management. The latter requires ... Read more
Last week, I wrote about how to fix time-out if it isn’t working. And I got some peculiar responses. “What if students like time-out?” “What if they want to stay in time-out?” “What if they prefer the quiet of time-out?” “What if they’re soured ... Read more
Understanding time-out, its purpose and function, is key to its effectiveness. Yet, as I visit classrooms, many teachers get it wrong. It’s not a dunce-cap punishment or place for students to feel shame, which only causes resentment and more misbehavior. Rather, time-out must be ... Read more
I’m not an expert in autism. Nor do I have a degree or teaching credential in special education. I write only from the perspective of a classroom teacher. This article is a response to many questions we’ve received here at SCM about autistic students ... Read more
Many years ago, my 4th grade class took part in a school-wide science fair. There were awards for best projects per grade level, best projects overall, and various other categories. The teachers acted as judges. A boy named Seth had what I believed to ... Read more
Whenever your students are performing a routine, you must observe them closely. There are three reasons for this: 1. Knowing that you’re watching keeps them on track. 2. It’s the only way to confirm expectations are being fulfilled. 3. It allows you to enforce ... Read more
Here at SCM, we get many questions about the letter-home consequence. For the uninitiated, a letter home to parents can be part of the third consequence of the elementary classroom management plan that we recommend. The key word is ‘can.’ You see, it’s an ... Read more
How to plan for a substitute teacher in a way that ensures good behavior is a question I’ve gotten a lot over the years. I’ve answered it dozens of times during coaching sessions and PD trainings. However, I’ve been reluctant to make it into ... Read more
Here at SCM we love shortcuts. We love saving time, lowering stress, and simplifying everything so we can enjoy all that is fun and rewarding about teaching. We also love efficiency, clarity, and honesty. It’s this last one, honesty, that we’re going to talk ... Read more
One reason many teachers struggle with misbehavior, disrespect, and the like is because they’re not strong leaders. In other words, they lack . . . Presence Confidence Boldness Courage They tend to have an external locus of control and difficulty grasping that they alone ... Read more
Expect pushback and challenges to your authority during the first few weeks of school, especially if you teach in an exceptionally challenging environment. It’s normal, and it’s okay. You see, for now your students aren’t who they really are (or who they can become). ... Read more
Stress is not only bad for your health, but it makes you a worse teacher. It causes you to . . . Lose your cool. Raise your voice. Be unlikable. Worst of all, however, is that stress brings tension and excitability into your classroom, ... Read more
The SCM approach is built on simplicity. Although it takes commitment, and there is a fair amount to learn, anyone can do it. Short or tall, new hire or veteran, follow SCM like a paint-by-numbers Hokusai and you can create a thing of beauty. ... Read more
It’s a common question here at SCM. Should you teach your classroom management plan immediately on the first day of school or wait and ease into it? Intuitively, it makes sense to wait. Perhaps a bonding activity or getting-t0-know-you game is a better choice. ... Read more
It’s critical that you create a culture conducive to excellent behavior. Indeed, and of course. That’s what we do here at SCM. We teach exactly what you need to do to cause students to want to listen, learn, and behave. Much of this work ... Read more
The lie isn’t that childhood trauma doesn’t exist. Of course it does. Some of our students have been abused and neglected. Others have witnessed violence, criminality, drug use, and indescribable family strife. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Adverse childhood experiences can have ... Read more
I’ve spoken to thousands of teachers about their classroom management struggles. They all have much in common. I repeat myself a lot. My advice is “do this and don’t do that.” This is one reason SCM has been successful. Our strategies are straightforward. I ... Read more
Now that your school year is over, it’s time to make a commitment. By commitment, I mean never going back. Never giving in. Never allowing yourself any other possibility. Iron-clad locked, guaranteed, and assured. What’s done is done. The commitment I want you to ... Read more
Your personal 2023-24 Smart Classroom Management report card is here! To review, the SCM report card is a rating system that revels the extent to which you followed SCM during the past school year. It evaluates your strength and weaknesses so you can use ... Read more
Here’s the scenario: You witness a student break a rule, so you enforce a consequence. But then, out of nowhere, a student nearby denies the misbehavior. In other words, they jump in and say . . . “It wasn’t him!” “He didn’t do it.” ... Read more
Many years ago, before I started SCM, a district administrator who knew of my fascination with classroom management came to see me. She wanted me to visit a teacher at a nearby school. She didn’t tell me why, only that I would enjoy it. ... Read more
A common scenario: A student disrupts your class and you deliver a consequence. All good. But the moment you finish, another student laughs at the disruptor. Laughter in this situation is infuriating because it makes light of the sacredness of uninterrupted learning. It also ... Read more
For students who are motivated and determined to do well, group work is an exercise in frustration and unfairness. They do all or most of the work. Yet the grade is shared. And although they would love to say, “No, I’m not doing it ... Read more
I’ve been writing here at SCM for 15 years. 748 articles. 12 books and e-guides. Above all else, this takes focus. Which, in this day and age, I have to protect like a rare orchid. Otherwise, I’ll lose the ability to shut out distraction ... Read more
I know full well the opposing arguments. It’s outdated. It’s subjective. It’s discriminatory. It’s discouraging. It’s culture-denying. But with the right touch and spirit of compassion, you’re helping your students immensely by encouraging clear and universally understood spoken language. Here’s why: It gives them ... Read more
Here at SCM we talk a lot about the importance of letting your classroom management plan do the work of improving behavior for you. About how this approach . . . Saves time. Lowers stress. Builds rapport. Embodies fairness. Engenders trust. Inspires respect. It’s ... Read more
“Can we skip grammar practice just this one time?” “Can we have an extra day to do our homework?” “Can we do 10 math problems today instead of 20?” The requests are followed by a cacophony of sweet and impassioned pleas. “Please Mr. Fluffy! ... Read more
This time of year things tend to get sloppy. Students are feeling the lazy pangs of summer approaching. It’s in the tea, the daily grind, and the changing weather. Left alone, this feeling will morph into poorer and poorer performance. Only you can do ... Read more
The jettisoning of firm consequences in favor of a purely restorative approach has caused more dangerous behavior among students. It’s like nothing I’ve seen in 30+ years of teaching. Nowadays, a student can fight, bully, torment, throw chairs, and threaten a teacher without being ... Read more
Well, it isn’t trickery. It isn’t manipulation, bribery, or intimidation. It isn’t lecturing or one-on-one counseling. It isn’t rewards or tokens, threats or “caught being good.” Although these and other common methods can dampen misbehavior temporarily, they don’t actually change it. In fact, they ... Read more
I can tell how effective a teacher is before seeing them in action. I just need a few minutes in their empty classroom during a typical day. If it’s orderly . . . Desktops clear and neatly aligned. Zero visible clutter. Floor free of ... Read more
Have you heard of pressure passes? They’re slips of red or yellow paper that allow difficult students to leave your classroom anytime they like. Yep, they just flash you the pass and then walk out. They’re all the rage among counselors and administrators, who ... Read more
Your classroom management plan is a small part of effective classroom management. It’s critical and absolutely mandatory, but by itself won’t get you very far. It’s the rest of it, primarily what SCM is about, that makes the plan go. A common refrain here ... Read more
If you stress over the possibility of misbehavior, then it’s a sign your classroom management is in need of an overhaul. You see, when you take on, mentally or otherwise, even an ant’s toe of what should be your students’ burden, you ease the ... Read more