EduTwitter chat and comment sections are full of classroom management issues. Sometimes the teacher's story sounds like it's coming from the front line rather than the 6th grade teacher.
Not surprisingly, these complaints were met with a surge of responses from experts offering advice on how to change the situation. Some ideas, like getting to know your students, have been around for a long time, while others, like restorative justice organizations, are new. The effectiveness of some of these practices is controversial, but they all seem to focus on teacher behavior.
But what if changing student behavior starts with leadership?
I would like to suggest a shift in focus where cultural work and behavior management must begin. It should start with the leadership team before the first teacher or student enters the building.
How teachers manage their classrooms by building relationships, creating engaging lessons, and listening to students is important, but secondary to a school-wide system built on high expectations, clarity, and consistency. Without a foundation of leadership, management at the classroom level cannot be achieved properly. All the best practices in the world become elusive, slippery ideas that only appear superficially. And for teachers who are able to form genuine bonds amidst chaos, the effort undoubtedly requires significant teaching time and emotional labor.
Imagine living in a town where each neighborhood chooses its own speed limit. Madness. However, too many schools conduct classroom management on a class-by-class basis. This means that a teacher's skills, character, and persistence determine the safety of the classroom. This is a dice rolling game, and there are many ways to lose at dice.
The foundations of well-supported schools are best built through top-down planning.
School leaders have an obligation to clearly express expectations for all students, establish a common language, establish common practices, and determine appropriate rewards and consequences. This is not authoritarian, anti-cooperative, or restrictive. This is quite the opposite. A common set of norms ensures space for relationships, participation, and student voices to flourish.
The key to an effective top-down cultural initiative is to keep it loose enough to allow for discretion and creativity, yet tight enough to prevent contradictory responses to predictable events. Some examples:
- How children behave in common spaces (hallways, cafeterias, playgrounds, etc.)
- Responding to behaviors proven to promote student success (assignment completion, teamwork, academic progress/achievement, etc.)
- Responding to behaviors that have been demonstrated to impede student success (missing assignments, tardiness, absences, etc.)
- Describing in detail non-negotiable matters (hitting, swearing, leaving the room without permission, etc.)
- Systems and resources to sustain practices (assemblies, cultural director or other similar personnel, designated support spaces, etc.)
When schools lack strong leadership, they suffer predictable dysfunction.
Too often, soft criticism begins. This is especially true for teachers who are new to the field and working in high-needs schools. It might sound something like this:
“Some students have different ways of expressing themselves.”
“Jane needs more opportunities to show her strengths.”
“Invite John to lunch and get to know him.”
This tip alone will save you 5 minutes or a few days, but not much more.
It's not that this feedback is wrong, it's that it is used as a first response to problems that are more systemic in nature. Without strong systems supporting the entire school, it is unethical to expect this responsibility from teachers, especially new teachers. The school is dropping the ball here and it is having a devastating impact on our students.
School leaders must do a better job of setting teachers up for success when it comes to behavior management. Teachers must rely on something bigger than themselves. We need the wisdom of those who have successfully run safe schools to guide them.