I have been an educator for nearly 17 years now. During that time I have observed and worked with some wonderful teachers and others that struggled to find their way. As an administrator, part of my job is to help every staff member improve. This can prove difficult at times. How do you take the A+ teacher and help them improve? Especially when you find yourself learning from them so often. These are the teachers that are always finding ways to hone their craft and seldom need your assistance doing so. It is also difficult to help the teacher that thinks they have it all together, yet consistently fall short of the mark. Until they get past the denial stage it won't happen.
One area where we can all improve is in the area of classroom discipline. The great teachers excel here, but they are always open to new ideas or want help reaching a particular student. Then there are teachers that have the vast majority of your discipline issues. In an elementary setting, the largest percentage of discipline referrals will come from the same few classrooms.
In order to become more successful with discipline, you first need to address other issues. What are the most successful teachers doing that greatly decreases the number of discipline incidents they deal with? It all boils down to two main areas: Classroom Management & Relationships.
Classroom Management
In order to be successful in the classroom, you need to look carefully at what the successful teachers are doing. Here are some of the things that the most successful teachers are doing.
Relationships
The best teachers build relationships with their students. This can be accomplished much easier than you may think.
When you have great classroom management and strong relationships with your students, there is very little need for disciplinary action in your classroom. When you do need to discipline be sure it doesn't include these relationship killers:
Maintain your composure. It is okay to let students know you are disappointed in their actions. Focus on the actions, not the student. If you focus on the student you risk losing that relationship with the student.
One area where we can all improve is in the area of classroom discipline. The great teachers excel here, but they are always open to new ideas or want help reaching a particular student. Then there are teachers that have the vast majority of your discipline issues. In an elementary setting, the largest percentage of discipline referrals will come from the same few classrooms.
In order to become more successful with discipline, you first need to address other issues. What are the most successful teachers doing that greatly decreases the number of discipline incidents they deal with? It all boils down to two main areas: Classroom Management & Relationships.
Classroom Management
In order to be successful in the classroom, you need to look carefully at what the successful teachers are doing. Here are some of the things that the most successful teachers are doing.
- Clearly define your procedures. If your students know what you expectations, they are more likely to follow. If you have never taught them what to do, you cannot expect them to know what to do.
- Minimize your rules. The more rules you have, the more rules you have to enforce. You will spend more time enforcing your rules than teaching.
- Maximize your time. If you waste the first five and last five minutes of every class period, over the course of a school year you will have wasted 30 hours of instruction.
- Be mobile. Don't stay in the same spot all the time, move around the room as much as possible. If you have students that tend to be a distraction, your position in the room can greatly impact their behavior. Stand near your students that tend to distract others as often as you can.
- Engage the students. If you are lecturing the entire time, you are going to lose them. Don't give them worksheets thinking that will engage them either. That is not engagement, that is simply busy work and students don't see it as work, they see it as a waste of time.
Relationships
The best teachers build relationships with their students. This can be accomplished much easier than you may think.
- Pay attention to them. Notice when they are having a bad day and ask them about it.
- Care about what they care about. If they are involved in activities, attend if you can. Just seeing you there will deeply impact them. Many students don't have a large number of people that are able to support them in those areas. They may not have relatives nearby or their family may have to work while they are playing ball, etc. Seeing you their will go a long way to establishing that relationship.
- Praise them for their efforts. I don't mean for you to tell them how smart they are. Here is a resource for better options for student praise.
- Let them know why. When you do correct a behavior, give them a reason for it.
- Control your tone. Sometimes what you say has less impact than how you say it.
When you have great classroom management and strong relationships with your students, there is very little need for disciplinary action in your classroom. When you do need to discipline be sure it doesn't include these relationship killers:
- Sarcasm
- Yelling
- Put Downs
Maintain your composure. It is okay to let students know you are disappointed in their actions. Focus on the actions, not the student. If you focus on the student you risk losing that relationship with the student.
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