You can throw all your credentials out the door. Every one of your letters of recommendation and pat on the back from the teachers will do you no good. If you suck at classroom management, you won’t be successful in the classroom.
Fortunately, classroom management is not complicated. Although establishing good management habits is quite difficult (old habits are hard to break), if you just keep a few things in mind and make a habit of them, you’ll be hitting home runs in your classroom in no time.
1) Love and laughter are powerful potions: If students are convinced that you care about them, they are much more likely to cooperate with you than if they think you don’t. This does not require you to act as their “friend.” That will quickly backfire on you. Rather, learn to take a genuine interest in their lives. Remember your hopes, dreams, and what you are good at. Ask questions about their lives. Smile and laugh often. Show them how fun and quirky life can be, and they’ll enjoy coming to your room.
2) Your door is the door to two different worlds: the environment, the shape and the decoration of your room are tremendously important. No desk mazes, please! Desks should be arranged so that you can reach any student quickly, because it is essential that they keep moving. Acting badly happens more often with stationary teachers, so moving around will help keep interruptions in check. Also, think outside the box when decorating your room. Go beyond some hackneyed school slogans. Students should see a very clear difference between their room and what is beyond the door.
3) Master the Art of Non-Verbal Kungfu: Have you ever “watched” a student on the way back to work? If so, you probably found it more effective than barking at a student. “Tim, it’s the third time … if I see you do that again, I …” We all know what you’ll say five minutes later: exactly the same thing. Non-verbal skills communicate a lot to potential wrongdoers. Even where your toes make a difference! Also, in an effort to entertain, many students seek to lure you into a verbal exchange. Don’t give in to this! Instead, nip it in the bud with your body language.
4) Let Procedures do the heavy lifting for you – the build begins immediately after the student enters their room. In my room, for example, the first thing students do is grab their notebooks from a table by the door, then they immediately sit down and complete their doorbell job, which is written on the door. If student wanders, I put an end to it quickly. Things like this put a lot of “organic” order in your classroom so you don’t have to be a classroom cop.
5) Quality instruction is your gasoline: When students are not participating in the lesson, they are disconnected. This leads to interruptions. Students must participate bell to bell and must be active frequently. If you talk for 30 minutes straight, of course they will get frustrated quickly. Instead, break up the lecture: give a three minute Power Point, then ask students to ask a partner about it. Continue with the presentation, then ask them to answer a question in pairs. There are many ways to do this. The key is to get them to interact with the information often in multiple ways.
This is just a taste. * Tools for Teaching * by Fred Jones and * The First Days of School * by Harry Wong go into greater detail. I highly recommend both books. Consistency is key – if you are consistent in implementing these pillars, you won’t feel so helpless at the end of the day.