As regular Radical readers know, I’ve been thinking a lot about classroom management lately — specifically strategies that teachers can use when working with kids who frustrate them. Much of that thinking was expressed in last week’s post: Three Classroom Management Tips for New Teachers.
But I’ve also shared out thinking through Twitter, too.
Here are some of the ideas that have resonated in that space:
Pro tip: You don’t manage behaviors with rules and consequences. You manage behaviors with relationships.
— Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) February 18, 2018
Pro tip: Once a kid becomes convinced that he/she can’t ever be successful in your room behaviorally or academically, they quit trying. So celebrate successes early and often — especially with the kids who struggle the most.
— Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) February 21, 2018
Here’s a challenge for teachers: Think about the most frustrating kid on your team or in your class. Can you name something positive they did last week? If not, why not?
— Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) February 19, 2018
Simple truth: If a kid doesn’t think you like them, you aren’t going to get their best effort behaviorally or academically — and that’s on you.
— Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) February 18, 2018
For me, this boils down to a few simple truths: First, relationships matter. Particularly with frustrating kids. We forget that sometimes, convinced somehow that the REAL trick to fixing frustrating kids is finding the right consequence.
That’s lunacy, y’all. Quit trying to punish frustrating kids and start trying to understand and appreciate them.
Second, frustrating kids have spent years being punished by schools and by teachers. The moment they walk through your door, they are EXPECTING you to dislike them and to fuss at them. That’s what our schools do to struggling students — and the result is kids who have quit trying to behave or to learn long before they ever walk through your classroom door.
That shouldn’t surprise any of us. Would YOU keep investing in spaces where you fail over and over again?
The solution is to do EVERYTHING you can — over and over again — to show frustrating kids that they CAN be successful in your room. Until they are convinced that they have a fighting chance of being accepted and acknowledged and appreciated, you aren’t ever going to get their best effort.
And as I mentioned above, that’s on YOU.
#trudatchat
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Related Radical Reads:
Three Classroom Management Tips for New Teachers.
Is Your School a “Rules First” or a “Relationships First” Community?
Writing Positive Notes to My Students is the BEST Way to Start My Day.
