240: When Your Classroom Management Goes Off the Rails
Dec 8, 2024
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In this enlightening discussion, Claire English, founder of The Unteachables, shares her insights on classroom management and teacher well-being. She outlines three key reasons why classroom order can decline and offers actionable strategies to reclaim it. Claire emphasizes the importance of teacher wellness, highlighting how mental health directly impacts classroom dynamics. With her international teaching experience, she introduces resources like her book 'It's Never Just About the Behavior' and the Behavior Club to empower educators in their journey.
Classroom management can deteriorate when expectations are not consistently reinforced, necessitating ongoing communication and routine adjustments throughout the year.
Effectively balancing credible and approachable teaching presences is crucial, as it influences authority and rapport, thereby impacting classroom control and student engagement.
Deep dives
Understanding Classroom Management Challenges
Classroom management often deteriorates over the course of the school year, even when initial routines and expectations are successfully established. As the year progresses, students may begin to push boundaries, which can lead to increased noise and distraction in the classroom. When teachers do not consistently reinforce expectations and boundaries, they may inadvertently send signals that certain behaviors are acceptable. It is crucial for educators to recognize that expectations should not be treated as a one-time conversation but rather as ongoing principles that need to be actively integrated into daily practice.
Balancing Teaching Presence
Teachers exhibit two primary types of teaching presence: credible and approachable, each serving its unique purpose in the classroom environment. Credible presence involves maintaining stillness, a slow pace, and clear non-verbal cues that communicate authority and focus, whereas approachable presence fosters rapport through a more casual and relaxed demeanor. Striking the right balance between these two styles is essential, as leaning too heavily into the approachable can lead to a lack of control in the classroom. Teachers should be mindful of their non-verbal cues and learn to shift between these presences according to the lesson's needs.
Maintaining Routine and Structure
As the school year draws to a close, maintaining structure and routine becomes essential, especially as students exhibit varying behaviors due to seasonal changes or approaching holidays. The predictability of routines helps create a sense of stability and can mitigate disruptions in the classroom. Teachers should continue implementing consistent entry routines and expectations throughout the year, regardless of exciting activities or changes in curriculum. Equipping oneself with strategies to manage energy levels and classroom dynamics can help ensure students remain engaged and on task even during potentially chaotic times.
Becoming the Model for Desired Behavior
A fundamental principle in effective classroom management is the idea of 'being what you want to see' in students. This approach encourages teachers to model the behaviors they desire, such as calmness and focus, even amidst chaos. By embodying the traits they want their students to adopt, educators can create a positive influence on classroom culture. Regular self-reflection and awareness of one's own behavior can reinforce this practice, allowing teachers to steer the classroom environment in a constructive direction.
It can happen to the best of us — classroom management deteriorating over time. Don't despair! By figuring out where the problems are, you can turn things back around. My guest is Claire English, who runs an incredible platform called The Unteachables, where she shows teachers how to manage their classrooms with confidence and calm. We talk about three reasons why classroom management can fall apart midway through a school year and what teachers can do to get things heading back in the right direction.