How To Be More Consistent Next School Year Smart Classroom Management
There is a simple, ten-minute exercise you can do this summer that will all but guarantee better consistency next school year.
All it takes is a piece of paper and something to write with.
I’ve described this particular exercise before. However, it begs repeating because it’s so effective.
Here’s how it works:
First, draw a rectangle in the center of your paper.
Next, list your classroom rules inside the rectangle.
Third, outside of the rectangle write down every unwanted behavior you witnessed during the past year.
Finally, draw a line from each misbehavior to the rule it breaks.
There will be instances where the misbehavior breaks more than one rule. This is fine and perfectly normal. In this case, just pick one rule.
The reason why the exercise is so effective is twofold.
First, it ensures that your classroom rules are able to cover every misbehavior you’re likely to encounter. If you can’t clearly and immediately draw a line from a misbehavior to a rule, then you have to add a new rule.
Second, by reviewing your drawing this summer—and thus knowing exactly what misbehavior breaks which rule—you’ll be able to enforce consequences without hesitation, uncertainty, or fear.
The result is better consistency.
Now, it’s important to mention that the rules we recommend here at SCM for elementary and lower middle school are proven to cover every possible misbehavior.
However, it’s still critical that you’re 100 percent clear which rule or rules each misbehavior breaks.
If you’re a high school teacher, the only difference is that you’re likely to have considerably more rules—as explained in the SCM high school plan.—as well as a different system of consequences.
PS – I’m taking next week off for the July 4th holiday but will be back with a new article on July 12th.
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