Dear New Teacher,
When I started teaching at the turn of the century, classroom management was my greatest professional weakness. Over time, I realized the power in being friendly but not trying to be friends with my students. I wanted them all to like me when I should have wanted them all to trust me. It seems so obvious now, but when I was 22-years-old with a classroom full of students, I couldn’t see the difference.
If you talk with K-12 administrators or college faculty who oversee teacher interns, you’ll quickly realize that my story is all too common, so I want to give you the advice I probably received but didn’t remember.
Give Clear Expectations
Take nothing for granted. Students need to know exactly what you expect from them. For example, don’t say, “Now talk about chapter 8 in your small groups.” Instead, provide them step-by-step expectations. “In your small groups, everyone needs to share and explain their favorite part of chapter 8. Start with the person closest to the window and go around clockwise. Be curious and respond to what your group members offer. Once all have contributed, decide what your group will share about your discussion with our whole class and then appoint a spokesperson. You have five minutes. I’ll start the timer now.”
Inspect What You Expect
It’s difficult to be sure students are learning and completing a task you’ve given them if you are at your desk checking email or correcting work. Instead, be 100% physically and mentally present with your students. Walk around, ask questions, and provide support. Some students will need extra support in staying focused. Move in and out of close proximity to them, and stay close to them as your first step in redirection when needed. You will have a lot on your to-do list. You will be tempted to slide into your desk to cross off one more item on that list. That multi-tasking, though, will drain you, making you feel like a computer screen with 16 tabs open. Close 15 tabs and be present because students are more likely to do what you expect when they know that you will inspect – not just at the end but through the entire learning process.
Show You Care
Imagine that every student is holding a sign that says, “Do I matter?” This question is in my heart, in your heart, and certainly in theirs. You don’t have to be fun or funny for students to enjoy your class. You do have to care about each of them as individuals – not a whole class. Make it your goal to find at least one way you can connect with every single one of your students. Do you like the same sport, singer, store, weather, pet, or food? The opportunities to connect are endless. You just have to notice. Notice what’s on the cover of their notebook. Notice what they wear. Notice what they do at recess or for extracurriculars. This effort will build trust and rapport. Students will feel like you’ve done right by them, and they in turn will do right by you, which ends in meaningful, rich relationships that bring joy to teaching and learning.
New Teacher, for most people, classroom management is the most difficult professional skill to acquire because it’s about reading body language, understanding needs, and establishing expectations for a whole classroom of students with a whole lot of different personalities and needs. Classroom management is constantly reading the room and constantly making decisions. It’s tiring, but it also gets easier with time and experience both over the course of a school year and a career.
