At the end of my rope!

[mickey31]

I am a third year teacher, but this is only my second year at this school. I teach math 7-12. I am becoming very discouraged and feel like I am making no progress in getting better at classroom management. My students are quite noisy. It is a fight to get them to do work in class. And, when I speak to them about misbehavior, it always blows up into something bigger than it needs to be. My mentor and I have talked about this a lot. I don't always get the greatest advice, though. I have done a lot of reading and asking colleagues. I will be honest and admit that I know I need to work on follow through. It has always been my weakness, I can't seem to show them I "mean business." How can I get myself to improve on this! I have tried many things, from "reciting" mantras to myself about being tough, posting "reminders" about what I need to improve at my desk. I even keep a small notebook to jot down when I speak to students to keep track of what I said I would do. I have gotten better, but I feel like I should be making more progress!

[David]

At least you've identified the area you need to improve in. Children soon work out which teachers mean business and which ones don't. You need to have consequences in place which you wil enforce if the children break your classroom rules. You must be very strong on this otherwise the children will continue to misbehave. Make sure that the consequences are enforceable because some teachers make threats that could not possibly be carried out. If one type of consequence doesn't work try another, but never give up trying. I hope things turn out well for you.

[mdp8879]

I'm a 8th year teacher, second year in this school. I can give you a few thoughts, but take them with a grain of salt, as I am certainly not perfect!

You need to appear strong. Make sure that the students realize that you say what you mean and you mean what you say. On the other hand you also need to develop relationships with the students... this will be the best way to get them to respect you.

What type of teacher are you? Are you bubbly and excitable? Are you strict? What type of teacher do you want to be? What type of students do you have? What type of school do you work at? Is it private or public? Are the students well off or poor?

I think that you need to look into these types of questions first, and come up with a firm idea of what you want your class to look and act like. You also have to come up with some sort of a belief system with regards to discipline and education.

I've worked at a couple of different types of schools. I started at 22 years old at an all boys catholic school. I am a white female math teacher and they were, for the most part, very well off. I learned quickly that they would eat me up if I wasn't consistent and if they saw that pranks would affect me. I became very strict and held them to very high expectations. To counter that (somewhat) I would praise them when they did well, put fuzzy stickers on papers with good grades, and attend extra-curricular events to show my support. After (a lot) of time I became known as someone who was firm but fair, and someone that most kids didn't hate (I would say like, but you know...).

I then moved to a Charter school and then a public school. Both with high poverty and high minority percentages. These kids ate me alive. The same things did not work! I tried the strict and high expectations thing. They didn't give a hoot! I was amazed. So, I am still working on it, but have found that relationship building does wonders. If the kids think that you care about them and will be there for them consistently, then they start to respect you. I also learned to pick my battles. I no longer freak out if they don't have a pencil, I have a cup of pencils from which they can choose. I no longer write kids up for swearing, I just correct the behavior. And I try not to ever yell, especially when a kid gets in my face... staying calm does wonders. I am still a strong personality but I try to show the kids more that I am understanding too.

I think in any situation consistency is the key. Think about what you want, then develop strategies to see if they will work. Then give it time! You can't try something one day and expect it to work. Give it a week or two and re-assess... are things better - even just a little bit? Soon things will work out.

Sorry for the long, rambling post... this is still recent for me and I truly identify with your pain!

[Clix]

First of all, simplify. I have three 'classroom expectations' that cover just about anything you can think of.

1. Work hard
2. Be kind
3. Follow directions

I made a BIG poster with them on it and put it up at the front of the room, beside the clock (which I've covered over - I put one at the BACK of the room where *I* can see it). Now I can just say, "So-and-so, what is my #1 expectation?" while pointing at the poster.

Also, through my VAST experience (yeah, right - this is my fourth year ;) I've developed some stock phrases.


"So-and-so, (behavior change) as you work, please." (Sit up, stay focused, etc.) This is nice because you're reminding/encouraging them to get to work but NOT accusing them of not working ;D
"No airborne objects!" (I try to say this as I see the windup, but I pass out detention slips like candy if the object leaves the hand.)
"I'm sorry to hear that," "I'm sorry you feel that way," or "I'm sorry you think so," mildly, when there's negativity but it's not unkind. You know, 'I hate this class' or 'you give us too much work' or something.
"So-and-so, what are you SUPPOSED to be doing?" (raised eyebrow and wry smile; sometimes I throw this one at them when they're on task, just so that when they say 'I'm doing it!' I can say, 'Okay. Good!')
One I don't have to use very often any more: "So-and-so, right now we're discussing YOU, not Otherstudent."
And possibly my all-time favorite: "Appropriate behavior at all times!"


The reason it's important to simplify is so that you can BE CONSISTENT, which is really what'll get results. Check with your administration about what consequences should be matched with what offenses.

Also? CALL PARENTS. This is lots of work but it's definitely worth it. Staying in touch with all of your parents on a semi-regular basis will help them remember how nice you are when you have to make a Bad Call. Then they're on your side.

You can do it! I promise! I darn near FLUNKED OUT OF SCHOOL because I struggled so much with management during my student teaching. It was awful. But each term I've looked at what worked and what didn't and made some changes, and it's gotten steadily better. Slowly - but steadily. :)

Of course, it IS possible that I'm just getting a group of students each term that's slightly more motivated & better behaved than the term before. But I'd like to think that's not the only reason for the improvement! ;D

Uy. This was LONG. Sorry. ;)

[AtoZ]

Classroom management styles vary as much as teaching styles, so hopefully you'll get many different suggestions and will be able to pick out those that work for you...

Though I think that it will be very tough for you to see a change of behavior at this point in the year, there's hope :))

You've indicated that you already know this, but I'm mentioning it because every single teacher has told me that this is the most important thing in classroom managment: follow-through.

I was lucky: before I stepped into my first classroom, my mom (a teacher for 28 years at that time) told me about the importance of setting appropriate consequences, informing students of them, and following through. (Yay for having in-house mentors!)

I believe David has already mentioned it... the key to follow through is setting realistic/appropriate consequences. More than once I've heard teachers threaten with expulsion from class (yeah right) or even from school (an even bigger yeah right).

You've mentioned that you know this, but have a problem actually doing it--my suggestion would be to start small. What's your consequence for not doing homework, for example? Start there. Also, if you post disciplinary steps in the classroom somewhere, you have something that you can refer students to, and maybe it will make you more apt to take those steps when students misbehave.

This is an idea for next year: I've gotten a lot of criticism for this, but it's worked for me. I have a "Handbook for Success in Ms. Z's Classroom," which students can have as hard copy or read it online... I test them on it, using my questions to highlight the most important things in my classroom :) :) :) Also, I give myself 2 weeks at the beginning of a year/semester (whenever I get a new class) to practice expected behaviors and show students I mean business!

[Ebeth]

Set up a class contract with each group. Ask them: How do they want to be treated by you? By other students? And establish how you want to be treated by them. List them on chart paper and once it is agreed upon each student signs it. Whenever they are not following contract, point to it and remind them that they agreed to follow the contract. Then give positive or negative (as the case may be) consequences and FOLLOW THROUGH immediately.

[proacted]

I am a third year teacher, but this is only my second year at this school. I teach math 7-12. I am becoming very discouraged and feel like I am making no progress in getting better at classroom management. My students are quite noisy. It is a fight to get them to do work in class. And, when I speak to them about misbehavior, it always blows up into something bigger than it needs to be. My mentor and I have talked about this a lot. I don't always get the greatest advice, though. I have done a lot of reading and asking colleagues. I will be honest and admit that I know I need to work on follow through. It has always been my weakness, I can't seem to show them I "mean business." How can I get myself to improve on this! I have tried many things, from "reciting" mantras to myself about being tough, posting "reminders" about what I need to improve at my desk. I even keep a small notebook to jot down when I speak to students to keep track of what I said I would do. I have gotten better, but I feel like I should be making more progress!

I am a long time teacher and administrator. I have dealt with this type of behavior and have two tips that have always worked for me.

1. Use what I call the Instruction, Warning, and Correctioin process. Tell students what you want them to do, offer one warning, and then impose the consequence. One Warning You will be surprised when your students understand that you mean what you say and say what you mean.

2. Practice using Rules and Regulations and Compassion and Understanding. In that order. Often teachers believe that a good talking to will stop unacceptable behaviors. Nothing could be further from the truth. Impose consequences then have a conversation with your students about what your expectations are. Debrief them after you impose the consequence.

A great book that describes this is The New 3Rs in Education: Respect, Responsibility, and Relationships. You can get it on amazon

[Maoman1]

My school has some great consequences for some of the things my classmates (and sometimes but rarely me ;)) do. One of them is called a Tardy Sting. These are given to people who are late to class and the kid has to go to lunch detention. When kids act up, our teachers give us between 1-3 warnings before they call out the first student who catches their ear and either sends them into the hall or writes them up. Lets say that a student decides to bring out a cell phone (or some other device they aren't supposed to have). The school policy is that the cell is taken away until the end of the day or if it is the second time, it is held in the office for two weeks. Most teachers here give us a break and let it slide unless it becomes a problem. I must agree about the poster thing. All of my classes have their rules posted in the classroom. Also, I agree on the follow through. The worst thing a teacher can do to us students is tell us that the next time is the last and the teacher procrastinates. That gives students the idea that they can walk all over their teachers without any trouble. I recommend using the relationship aspect as well as one that wasn't mentioned yet. Guilt is a powerful tool. My teacher rarely uses it and when she does, I feel so bad that, not only do I do the assignment, I also do anything that hasn't been turned in.

Great... I'm a student giving a teacher ideas on how to punish the rest of us...:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Boxcar]

I don't know if this will help anyone since I'm with the little ones, but something I'm really getting down is The Voice. Being able to change from my everyday voice into one that is very firm and direct seems to help with discipline. Even if my ESL learners and children with special language issues can't understand my words, they know that the behaviour isn't acceptable. This is also good with the children who just love to "torture" the adults. If they can't get a rise out of you, they stop. Being stern without excessive emotion work great with some of my kids who like to push buttons.