Classroom Management: Keeping the Peace

If you can’t manage your classroom, how can you manage student learning? Classroom management is only one of many components in a successful classroom, but it is one of the most important. It creates structure and routine in your classroom, but it also eliminates or confronts conflict. Classroom management has many aspects and changes as your students change.

How you enforce classroom management relies a lot on your relationship with your students. It is important to know who your students are so that you can create expectations that are unique because each of your students is. Some students bring a lot of weight on their shoulders into the classroom and it is important to know their situation, especially if they begin to act out in class. Some students will act out in class because they are comfortable with you and feel that it is a safe environment. When that occurs, you need to assess the situation while remaining fair. Students can tell if you are letting someone get away with something, and they will test you for it.

 

It is also important to separate a student’s behavior from the student themselves. You may not like a student’s behavior, but don’t let that fog your judgment of the student. Let the student seek confidence in you; talk to them one-on-one and figure out what is going on that might be affecting the student. Teachers are like a second parent to students, so it is important to build a trusting relationship with them so that we can help them succeed and work through hardship.

Classroom management also involves setting up a routine and classroom expectations. If you want students to exhibit “good behavior,” you have to show them and tell them what behavior you think is acceptable. If you want students to raise their hands when answering a question as opposed to just calling it out, tell them and make sure that they follow that expectation. Creating a routine at the start of class helps, too, especially to get the students settled in and focused. If you want them to do a Do-Now right when they sit down, make that a part of the routine. Structure will help you manage your classroom without a lot of effort.

The biggest thing about classroom management is trying not to get frustrated. There can be a lot of things that can go wrong, but you can’t keep it all in. If you are struggling, then talk to people. You can talk to your colleagues because they might have some advice for you, maybe a trick you haven’t tried. Having a bag of tricks will help if you feel that one strategy isn’t working well in your classroom, or if you decide that you have to switch it up a bit. You can seek help and advice; you can even count on your students, sometimes, to keep each other in line. Things might get tough, but it is important to focus on the small wins and remember that tomorrow will be better. Everyone gets a clean slate and can try again.