Classroom Management Strategies that Waste Time

Greetings Fellow Teachers–

Today I want to discuss some theories and techniques I see out there on classroom management.  The thing I see the most that I concur with is to have something for the students always to do (be on task) combined with smooth transitions from activity to activity.  Agreed, there should  be something on the board for students to engage in immediately when the bell rings.  A silent class at the bell goes a long way towards creating the right atmosphere all period.

Those are very important ideas.  I categorize them as ‘The best defense is a good offense’.

So bell to bell structured activitiy is immensely helpful for minimizing discipline troubles.

But then I see things like ‘Wait until all eyes are on you and all ears before beginning instruction.’

That’s okay for teachers’ meetings or where you  have a mature, respectful audience already.  And it’s better than plowing through with the lesson with a bit of buzz going on.  But what if students don’t quiet down?  Or what if they begin talking again once you’ve started the lesson?  Wait again?  And again?

This leaves out the accountability side of classroom discipline which I talk about with my accountability and leverage approach.  You can end up waiting several times a day, period, year, lifetime.  It is also reactive–you are basically saying the students are in control and you are waiting on them.

My paradigm is that as soon as you are ready to speak, students are listening–why are they talking in the first place?  Was there no lesson?  ’Down’ time?  Don’t have any.

Perhaps they were doing group work and discussion was necessary.  Okay, of course you will then call their attention and wait for them to focus.  But that is not a classroom discipline issue.  Classroom discipline comes in when there is a problem with classroom disruption.

So, there must be a consequence in this case if their is any disruption or serious delay when ‘quieting down.’

In other words, you should never really have to quiet a class down (with the exception, as I said, of group work after a signal that it has ended.)  Otherwise, the class is on task.  

So this idea that you will spend a lot of class time waiting on students, putting them in control, is to me the wrong paradigm, another way you will lose a lot of valuable class time and ebb away your energy.  Have the class be quiet at all times (unless of course you are involved in an activity that requires some noise or group work) and you won’t lose this time.

Here’s to enjoying your teaching day–

Craig Seganti

www.classroomdiscipline101.com