A few weeks back, my buddy Michael Parker West shared a 1947 McGraw Hill instructional video on maintaining classroom discipline in his Twitterstream.
Check it out here:
Pretty crazy, right?!
If you can get past the fact that there is absolutely no diversity in the model classroom — something that would have been common in the segregated classrooms of 1947 — there’s a ton of meaningful lessons about classroom management in this video.
Here’s what MPW spotted:
– Talk *to* students, not at them
– Strive for trust, not control
– Discipline ≠ punishment
Here’s my main takeaway: Teachers have to be ready to accept responsibility for student misbehavior and/or academic struggles.
All too often, we go full on “Mr. Grimes” — blaming poor marks or poor behavior on laziness or lack of interest. That flawed, y’all — built from the notion that the primary responsibility for student learning and engagement rests with the kids in our classrooms.
Professional educators recognize, however, that academic struggles and student misbehavior are often a function of crappy lesson design or uninspired school spaces.
When kids don’t master a concept, they work to identify common misconceptions and then address those misconceptions in new lessons. When kids under-perform compared to students in other classes, they study the instructional practices used by their peers in order to become better educators. When kids seem disengaged or disrespectful, they reflect on the steps they can take to build a classroom culture where respect is an expected norm.
Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that every student struggling with academics and/or behavior is “the fault” of the classroom teacher.
We’ve all taught kids who needed academic or behavioral help that goes far beyond what teachers are trained to provide — and we are all working within constructs that really do leave our hands tied sometimes. Need an example: Sometimes, I feel like direct instruction is the only way I can get through the huge curriculum I’m responsible for teaching. That bores my students — but I don’t know if I have any other choice given that getting through the curriculum is an expectation I’m held accountable for.
But I AM saying that the bulk of the behavior problems and academic struggles that I see in my own room are because my lessons are boring or I’ve forgotten to build strong relationships with each of my students.
Stated more simply: Check yourself when your kids are struggling in class. Maybe there’s something that YOU can do to create more successful learning experiences for your students. Bare minimum, blaming kids isn’t going to get you anywhere.
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Related Radical Reads:
Five Lessons for the Student Teachers in Your Lives
