I hear the teacher next door shouting:

“Why are we not in our seats?”

Sometimes it pays to think of the end before the beginning–what result do you want?  Are your actions leading to that result?  How can you change them so that they do?

Asking a question to students like that sets you up for failure.  The true answer would be ‘Because we want to goof off!’

But you are not really looking for the truth, you are looking to get your classroom under control.  So the solution is not to ask a question, but to make a statement:

“Get in your seats!”  (In my classroom, this situation is not likely to arise, procedures are in place way before this as prevention).

Nonetheless, asking questions in regards to classroom discipline sound weak because they are weak.  Make statements about what you want, don’t open yourself up to silly answers or manipulation.

Practice changing all of these kinds of questions you ask into statements.

Best of skill,

Craig Seganti

Teachers often approach me to ask how I would handle a specific classroom discipline situation:

“What about if a student is rolling his skateboard wheels?”

“What if a student ignores you?”

“What if a student’s hair is on fire and they use it to light up everyone’s homework?”

There are specific things you can do, of course (in the last example you would pull your fireman’s hose out of the top drawer and turn it on the class), but the point is to get the principles behind the techniques you will use to apply in all situations.

These principles are rooted in classroom management philosophy, but let’s talk here about leverage and accountability.

The idea is that you must have a consequence for every unwanted action, or action that does not contribute positively to your classroom environment, to give you leverage over controlling the unwanted behavior. And that consequence must be something that matters to the student.

So the problem is not the rolling skateboard or the student ignoring you, but the idea that they are not complying with your rules–therefore, these two come up under the category of classroom disruption, and if there is a ready consequence for this that matters to the student, and he or she knows in advance what it is, they will not engage in the behavior to begin with.

I have written an ebook, Classroom Discipline 101, which covers these principles in more detail and every other aspect necessary to control any classroom. You can download it at ClassroomDiscipline101.com.

Until then, whenever you have a problem in class, solve it with these principles rather than some ‘anti-skateboard-rolling’ technique.

Here’s to enjoying your teaching–

Craig Seganti