I felt so much better when you described “nothing worse than to have a lesson you’re really excited about only to have kids talking, being disrespectful to each other, throwing pencils, etc”. Helps me know that these things are common. Seems like they’re even more exaggerated after the return from online school. What kills me is the desperate look from the one or two good students in the class as they become increasingly annoyed with the other kids and give me a look that says “You’re the teacher. Please DO something about them talking!” I’m searching for classroom management for the sake of those kids who are really trying. Thank you for your channel and content like this!
Yeah you're definitely not along. And yes, the look from the few kids who really want to learn just crushes and frustrates you to no end. Glad to be a part of your journey to solve the problem Joe 👍
I’ve worked in a tattoo shop all through college, I’ve seen most outrageous things, dealt with the most out of control people… but my first class of seventh graders are breaking me like they’re using Lord of the Flies as a handbook. Thank you for these tips, seriously.
Building positive relationships is excellent. My year 9 is known as the worst behaved in the school but with me they are friendly, initially they said they will force me out as they have previous teachers each year but now they love me. Just need to be careful they don't see you as their friend as they will push boundaries. I've fallen into that mistake sometimes with them but then explicitly reminded them I'm not their friend.
I know this is an older post but I'll chime in anyway. The attention signal has been the hardest thing for me. It worked for the first few weeks of school. I tried using a reverberating chime but the kids were all like "ow.. that hurts my ears" so I switched to an apple that I shook like a maraca. I also just froze and stopped talking when the kids were trying to talk over me. It was usually just a few attention seeking kids that stirred up the whole class. Eventually I stopped waiting for them to quiet themselves and just tried to talk louder. Incorporating collaborative practices where the kids talked to each other was tough because I had a hard time regaining their attention. In the past, I have had laryngitis from trying to be heard over my middle schoolers! I even got a microphone because I got feedback that my voice wasn't loud enough. Changing up seating to boy/girl only at tables was actually pretty helpful with curtailing conversation but I probably caused a lot of anxiety that was unintended. Then I found myself being the "seat nazi" - constantly barking at students who weren't sitting in their assigned seats because they preferred sitting with a friend. Trying to squelch conversation and control the room is the toughest part of teaching!
How do you establish a positive classroom culture and relationships with the students when they constantly talk over you? I am not usually loud and I consider myself to be a fairly patient individual, but I find it so hard to get them to listen to me without having to shout or threaten consequences. Even then, they often only listen for a few seconds before some student starts talking over me again. It's only my third day, but I still don't think I've had a single silent moment in my classroom yet.
Hey Elanor. That can be very challenging. I have a few strategies that I've used that I talk about in this video - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kdq7d4Vfjes.html&lc=Ugx1erhUD6TrwQWT1Hl4AaABAg
Just finished student teaching this spring at both an elementary and a middle school and am now going into subbing at the local schools in my area for this next coming school year. I definitely feel like classroom management was my biggest weakness during student teaching so I hope that subbing will help me learn by doing how to improve those skills. I'll look into those books you recommended too. Thanks for the content!
I graduated from college (the first time in 2004) my mom bought me Harry Wong's First Days of School book for graduation - I still use those methods today, and I am going into my 12th year of teaching elementary - great resource. I had no idea he has a new book, I will be buying it!!! Another great book I use is Tools For Teaching by Fred Jones - oldy but goody, highly recommend! Thanks for the tips!
In the beginning of the school year, I rely heavily on Harry Wong techniques to establish routines and procedures. As the focus shifts to academics, it changes to Teach Like a Champion. However, establishing relationships is the cornerstone. Great content, Thom.
Hi Thom and everyone....I am a new teacher...1st year teaching 3rd grade which is my favorite grade because usually they are sweet, funny, social and not yet having crushes or bf/gf but rather whi is my bff and some daily dose of drama. I subbed for awhile and had a great experience and developed good rapport with certain schools. However, it is much different when you have your own classroom and with the same kids the entire year. I maintained good classroom management but things started unraveling before spring break. After watching your video I realize I need to give more autonomy to them so they feel morivated and responsible for their learning. I have a few high flyers who act out - one day they think I am mean the next day thry love me and want to have lunch with me. I recognize their needs but cant always attend to rhem. A big part of why they act like they do is just to get attention ....hey will you notice me? I have one student who constantly says I have something to ask you in the middle of instruction or whenever, or I have a question. I used some humor recently and said I may have the answer but can I answer you in ...minutes because I was instructing.
Behavior challenges around spring break is very common but it sounds like you're reflecting and adjusting which is the way forward. Thanks for sharing Kelli.
I am not necessarily a new teacher per-se, depending on which way you look at things. I went to college during late 90s and graduated in 2003. At the time, I was an adult student living on my own. I knew I wanted to teach, BUT the traditional education program at my college was out of the question. 1. All education classes were held during the day only, so I couldn't quit my job in order to take classes. 2. I definitely could not do student teaching for the same reason. I couldn't quit my job to work for free. Who would pay my bills? So I decided to go the alternative education route, so I majored in English, and figured I could get hired and take professional development, ect on the side while I teach. The one course I needed more than anything else was a course on classroom management. Believe it or not, that course was NOT offered at my college. I immediately got hired to teach middle school Language Arts. I knew the subject but I didn't have the slightest clue on how to manage student behavior. I lasted one semester. It was so bad I found myself getting sick on Sundays, just because Monday was coming. I ended up hospitalized three times during that short stint. I got a job as an adjunct at a community college, teaching developmental writing. I loved it. Most of my students were well behaved, though some were irresponsible. So I really didn't have to worry about behavior problems because I was dealing with adults. If anyone repeatedly disturbed my class, and I kicked them out, the dean would suspend them for the entire semester. I did that for ten years with very few problems. And I was a good teacher. All of my students had their high school diploma, but they lacked the necessary reading and writing skills necessary to survive a college level writing class. Academically speaking, they wrote like they were in the fourth grade. It is a difficult feat to bring them up to college level in one or two semesters. But I did. My students often commented that they learned more from me in one semester than they did in all four years of high school combined. Then the state stepped in and eliminated the very courses I was teaching. I was screwed. With no certification, I couldn't teach high school. With only a BA, I couldn't teach the college level writing courses either. So here I am with ten years experience teaching but no certification. I moved to West Virginia and worked customer service for a while. Then I started subbing. The state does not consider my time in the classroom as teaching experience because I'm not certified and because I was an adjunct, not a full-timer. So I am still basically clueless on classroom management, especially for middle school or say first grade, kindergarten. For the lowest grades, I am a fish out of water. I want to get certified, but I cannot afford to go back to college and take on additional student loans. But I admit, after all these years out of college, and not having taught literature, I find myself rusty on the literature. I have a degree I can do very little with.
Effective teaching strategy I've tried? 1. Writing expectations on the board before the first lass began. 2. "Let me get everyone's attention..." 2-3x until I did, then making those next 30-90 seconds *really* count. 3. Having something for them to do (an assignment, reflection or drawing a concept) as soon as they walk in through the door. 4. Consistently enforcing the expectations. It's like wack-a-mole at first, but the latter majority of the year is *completely* different. 5. Determine the consequence for disrespect, then don't be afraid to implement it. Constant implementation of the enforcement of your expectations is key to success in the classroom. Without this, the kids will make *you* meet *their* expectations; and that's not what we want in the classroom. 6. Positives: explain why the rules are there at some point (it is for their success, for them to be safe, and for them to LEARN LOTS!); show genuine excitement for their achievements, giving appropriate and genuine compliments when they are allowed to respond to you, wishing them a good day at the end of class. [You can do these without being "chummy," for those of you who are concerned about that.] Ineffective teaching strategy: Waiting too late to implement these things. =) lol
My classroom is divided in 7 groups of four students each. When I need their attention, I’ll put my hand up and say “PAUSE”. They’ll start putting their hands up, or just pause the conversations. I may announce “ I want to see which is the first group to pause”, it makes it like a game. Sometimes I’ll write the group names on the board(1-7) and put a tally point for the groups that are exhibiting the “PAUSE” or are on task . I haven’t started to give extrinsic rewards. Want to save that for later in the year.
I am an interventionist and only have my students for 30 minutes. I am going to school to get my degree to become a classroom teacher. I have a difficult time with classroom management, any tips since I have my students for such a short period. sometimes I feel that they us the intervention time as a down time. They seem to want to mess around and just chat and tell jokes. I get the "this is boring" from a lot of them. I try to make the lessons engaging but sometimes feel all I do is repeat myself and try to keep them under control. Thank you, Shannon
Some of these tips are good. But there is one tip that I want to comment on that I think would be actually harmful to implement. I’m against the seating chart. In school, I did have a diagnosed disability. But I met a couple of students who had the same disability, just weren’t diagnosed with it. I had a visual impairment, so it was imperative that I sat in the front. I’m really happy for those teachers who respected that, as it was not always the case. But some thing that makes me just against the seating chart in general, is the students weren’t diagnosed. Often times, I see them try to advocate for themselves saying that they have a visual impairment, they would be brushed off because they didn’t have the paperwork that I did. Sometimes, even though I did have the paperwork saying that I had a visual impairment, it would be thrown out anyways because that seating charts more important. The seating chart is way too reliant on chance to accommodate those students who may have an undiagnosed disability. Mind you, having no seating chart isn’t the best either as if you also have a physical disability that makes it so that you can’t come as quick as the other students, you essentially lose your seat. but at least it allows the students the chance to sit in the seats that best suits their needs.
Thanks for the such an informative video and sharing such great advice, Thom! This year I'll be a first year teacher high school English teacher, so the resources you've provided through your channel really is a fantastic help!
Good luck Katrina! If you don't already follow CJ Reynolds (the other teacher I referenced in the video), follow him as he also teaches high school English and shares a ton of content related to that too :)
Your classroom-management style reminds me a lot of Smart Classroom Management by Michael Linsin. He's written books summarizing it but also has a website by the same name with free categorized articles that cover most of the content of the books. I first learned classroom management from him as a new teacher and saw it transform classrooms, then found you on RU-vid recently and realized you're very similar. But with your videos, you're able to convey tones and body language that are much harder to share through just the written word. Good work!
Hi thom, brand new teacher here. Working as a 9th grade English teacher at a charter school on a sub license, without any classes on education. Two weeks in and im struggling, so I've been mainlining all of your content. I will let you know how it turns up at the quarter.
Keep at it Ralph. Reflect on the day and what is working and what is not. Talk to you experienced colleagues in your school. It will take time and it will be hard, but worth it in the end. I appreciate you checking in here.
In my first year I started out teaching at a more college-level/individual responsibility level which gave me a run for my money by week 3. So, I changed things up over Christmas break (assigned seats, regular more confined classroom desks stuck in storage instead of the more alternative comfortable desks I started with, and I installed a new book shelve to house their text that they too often left at home...things like that). They didn't like the new rules, but the break in the year was the time to start them, and it helped a lot! If the problems are drastic, after a big break is the time to fix. If they're too drastic, you'll have to wait until the start of the next school year (more than likely). If they're minor (we let too much talking happen yesterday), the next day is the time to fix ("I had a lot going on and let too much talking happen [let it sink in]; today I want [lay out expectations]; [enforce expectations]").
I just started substitute teaching with an app. I've had four gigs and have already been cancelled twice unable to control the class. Comically bad. I just joined a second app that will fire me after four cancellations. Since I'm NOT really a teacher, honestly trying it because opportunities for me, a reporter, are incredibly thin, I just want to know how to get them to stay quiet. That seems the most important thing, a make-or-break thing among teachers. Teachers seem to have a magic. Their personalities descend on the room, and the kids are quiet.
Another strategy is to give them as much opportunity to actually talk about the content as you can so you're not always fighting them to stay quiet. Discuss something and have students turn and talk to one another about a question or idea.
I went into teaching at an enrichment centre after having had experience tutoring one-to-one and finding it fairly easy and smooth-sailing and I was not prepared for the way the dynamics between even two or three children change completely. Even more surprising is how students who were totally lovely in one class for the previous year can suddenly change and become the worst headache when paired with newcomers, while others I was initially wary of become students who, even in the noisy classes and in their frequent disobedience, show signs of fondness for me and warm my heart. Is it all down to my initial expectations of that particular person, and thus purely an ego issue on my end (as in me trying to find personal reward in my job)? Or perhaps personal circumstances or changes in their environment which may lead them to feel they need to suddenly put on a tough exterior (which projects as rude) or conversely, begin to understand that I am not their enemy trying to lord it over them? Am I just thinking way too much of individual personalities rather than simply addressing the basic reality that kids need to be controlled firmly and they need that constant reminder of authority?
Yeah those dynamics can change for sure when other kids are involved for a wide variety of reasons as you're observing. I think creating clear expectations and maintaining a firm, confident, yet caring demeanor goes a long way. Easier said than done. While I do think it's important to establish clear boundaries and authority, the harder a teacher tries to assert their authority, the more likely it will backfire and result in a lot of power struggles. It's really a game of psychology; how can you move students to want to do the thing you want them to do. Again, easier said than done. The classroom management books I mentioned in the video though are really helpful in breaking down how to actually do all this.
I spent this Summer reading the First Days of School. I am looking forward to implementing classroom procedures. I am trying to figure out strategies for assessing and reteaching content as well?
Hey Christina. I know this reply is late but my best advice is to find a teacher in your school who is really good at classroom management and ask them if they could offer you some advice. They'll know your context a lot better as they teach in the same school and may even know some of the students and what works / doesn't work with them.
