Do You Mean What You Say?

 The first day of school, you meet and greet your students. You go over your expectations.  Fresh from their summer vacation, your new students seem eager and interested. They  follow your instructions readily. You practice how you want them to enter the class, where  and how to sit at their desks, how to handle their books and papers. They “get it” and you  are feeling pretty good about this class!

The bell marking the end of class is about to ring. The class has practiced how to exit the  room earlier. Then you make a giant mistake. Can you figure out what this teacher does  wrong?

 “The end of the day nears. You review the evening’s homework assignment and  model how you want your students to gather backpacks, push in chairs, and line  up quietly for dismissal. They nod their heads, all smiles. I love my new class!

A minute or so before the bell rings, you give your students the signal to begin  the end-of-day procedure. In their exuberance, several students rush the door to  line up. A few happily approach you like puppy dogs, wanting to share a story or  two. And a few more linger a moment at their desks, chatting with their  tablemates.

You remind the runners to walk, tell the lingerers to get a move on, and banter a  moment with the students who approached you. And as the bell rings you shoo  them all out the door with a wave. What an awesome day. What a great class!

The door closes and you fall into your chair with a happy sigh, never realizing that  you just made a colossal mistake, one that will cause your students to begin  ignoring your directions, breaking your rules, and engaging in misbehavior.” ⁶

 What was the mistake? This teacher failed to insist that the students follow the correct end-  of-the-day procedure.

“But because they weren’t technically “misbehaving,” she let it go. And this is  where so many teachers who struggle with classroom management go wrong.⁷”

It may seem like such a small thing but it calls your integrity as a teacher and a person into  question. If you have given a specific procedure for students to follow, you need to back it  up, especially in the first days. If you ‘let things go’ on small things early on, then students  will expect that you will be “soft” on more serious misbehaviors later on. This can lead to  painful conflicts and resistance in the coming months.

 You might protest that on Day One, especially, you do not want to seem to be “a bad guy!”  Overly authoritarian teachers can seem too stern and scary for the students to want to  return to the classroom the next day. Ideally, they would look forward to coming to class!

Here is one possible way that this situation could have been handled without unnecessary  anger or scolding.

“As soon as the teacher notices that her students are not doing what was asked,  she stops talking and stands in one place. She ignores the students approaching.  She ignores the running. She ignores the students taking their sweet time to line-  up. She just waits.

One by one, as the students begin to notice, they get quiet. They shuffle their  feet. It dawns on them that they didn’t do what was asked. The teacher then calls  for attention. She waits until every student is looking at her. Then she tells them  to go back to their seats.

  After quickly reviewing her expectations (30 seconds), and without lecturing or  raising her voice, she gives her signal for the class to do it again. This time they do  it right. She pauses for effect, thanks them for the good day, and sends them on  their way.”⁸

Part of the lesson here is to establish routines and continue to insist on them. Be clear and  consistent. This will help establish limits but more importantly, you will build trust. Students  will trust that you will mean what you say.

Never go back on your word.