Teaching should not be the running of the bulls.

Too often teachers let students into the ring (classroom) anyway they want to enter, and then try to get control of these raging bulls after the bell rings.

So in they come–energetic, wild, frenzied, talkative, distracted.

It is better to head them off at the pass.  This means, you stand at your doorway, and monitor every student as they approach the door.  Let’s make this a step by step process.

1. Watch the student as they approach:  Do they have their materials?  Do they look calm and focused?  Do they look serious about starting some academic business?  Does any of their non-verbal communication look like they may be disruptive?  If everything looks okay, proceed to Step 2:

2.   Briefly stop each student and explain exactly what you expect of them as they enter–to enter the classroom quietly, politely, and in an orderly manner,  to go directly to their assigned seat without talking, to take out their materials and begin working immediately on the assignment on the board. 

3.  Step 3 here is what separates the pros from the amateurs.  The amateur settles for having explained this to the student. The pro adds the following to step 2: Make sure they make eye contact with you when you are explaining.  If they become disrespectful tell them to stand aside while you let the other students enter.   Ask them if they understand–have them look at you when they say ‘Yes’. Do not settle for a quick nod when all of the non-verbal communication says ‘I’m going back to full speed as soon as I enter the room.’  Slow them down emotionally if they are hyped up by having them take a deep breath and wait at the door until they are ready to enter.

If students start to pile up at the door, let the ones in who look the most ready to enter calmly.  All will observe your attitude if you are talking to one student about what you expect, and realize you are serious about classroom management.

A concept that I constantly try to get across to teachers when it comes to classroom discipline is the importance of non-verbal communication.  As teachers we can often think it’s the words that count–so if the student says they are ready for class we let them in.  I wait until everything about the student’s body language, breathing, and non-verbal communication is respectful and indicates that they are ready to enter class in an orderly manner.

Otherwise I tell them to stand aside, breathe deeply, and get their act together before entering. 

When each individual student has been instructed to go quietly to their seat in an orderly manner, your whole class will start out with the correct atmosphere and anyone not complying will ‘stick out’, making it easier to pinpoint your next discipline step.

If, by chance, someone slips by and begins talking or disrupting, call them back to the door.  Have them try again.  And again, if necessary.  This sends a tremendously strong message to the student and the class–your standards for behavior are high and must be complied with.

In fact, sometimes I have on the first day of school called the whole class out again to practice going to their seats properly.

If you want to be a pro at this you will ignore complaints and have them practice as many times as it takes until they enter as you would like.  That’s a strong message about your standards right from the get-go.

As teachers we want to spend all of our time teaching, not disciplining.  This kind of technique is what will get you there.

When you give an assignment from the front of the room, take a walk through the room to make sure everyone is on task.

If you just sit in the front, and you have students who are discipline problems, then you are going to end up putting out the fire afterwards or telling a student afterwards to get on task. Over and over.

You can prevent this by first going around the room to insure everyone is committed to the assignment. This means not just that their book is open and paper out, but that they have already begun to concentrate–look for non-verbal cues that a student is not going to stay on task. Stand by that student until they have begun and their non-verbal cues tell you they are committed to the work.

If you know ahead of time which student(s) these are likely to be, all the better. Stand by them until they are seriously on task. There is a BIG difference between just walking by to go through the motions and making sure there is commitment to the work on the part of every student.

There is active and passive classroom discipline. Make it a rule that students have to be on task–it is not good enough that they are not disruptive (passive). They must be actively engaged in what the class is doing or they are subject to a consequence.

Careful how you handle ‘I don’t know how to do it’ comments.

I always recommend teachers read not just words but overall communication–does the student really not know how to do it, or are they just procrastinating? If the latter, I will either just stand there silently or repeat the direction to get on task.

If the student really needs help, and has been paying attention, then obviously give it to them.

The advent of social promotion has multiplied discipline troubles for teachers because so many students are often in class bored with work far beyond their grasp. This creates a ‘Flow’ problem (see the book ‘Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience’ by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), which is beyond the scope of the discussion here.

In my book Classroom Discipline 101 I discuss how Flow affects your classroom management in detail. The gist of it is that if students find work doable and meaningful they will almost always do it.

Make sure you circulate the room until everyone is on task (not just quiet, but committed to the assignment) to set yourself up for success.

Here’s to happy teaching,

Craig Seganti

Today my class was quietly reading.  One student, in the front, was reading, but he was leaned over and had his foot out to the side.

I walked by, monitoring, and said quietly “Brent, turn around to a 90 degree angle to your desk and sit up.”

No big deal, right?

Worth mentioning?  Yes.  When students see that you monitor the small actions that aren’t truly conducive to overall classroom learning, they psychologically don’t attempt any grand misbehavior.  The students hear me say the comment, probably don’t even notice the effect themselves, but understand intuitively I will be on top of all situations great and small.

So paying attention to every small thing that doesn’t contribute positively to your classroom environment will keep the big picture going nicely as well.

Wait for the big events to happen, and you will get more ‘big stuff’ happening.  You don’t want that.

If you think, ‘That’s no big deal, I’ll let it go’ you are right about the first part.  But when you let it go, things escalate quickly.  Keep the small stuff big to keep from getting to the big stuff.

Here’s to happy teaching,

Craig Seganti

Here’s to happy teaching–