Class Management without the Power Struggle presented by Darren Barkett NCMSA Spring 2011

Before we begin… Is this session for you? Have you found the session website? HelpingTeachersGrow.com/NCMSA

By the end of this session… You will understand your role in creating, preventing, and solving the behavior problems in your classroom. You will have the groundwork for a behavior system that guides your students to better behavior without a power struggle.

What keeps you from teaching? Bathroom breaks? Talkative students? Tardy students? Students without pencils? Paper? Students not doing their homework? Disrespectful students?

Whatever it is, you need a system that is firm enough to handle these situations quickly yet flexible enough to cover a diverse range of situations.

Pay Now or Pay Later! Remember this key point. If you don’t work to guide your students’ behaviors now, you will have to do this later. Wouldn’t you rather straighten things out now before they are bigger issues?

Pay Now or Pay Later! Don’t avoid the issues! Face them head on! Address them before they even come up in the class! Let your students know that you’ve thought things out and are ready for whatever they might throw at you!

Basic Behaviorism Rewards vs. punishments Sample rewards Fun Fridays, free time (be careful!), lunch in the room watching TV, sitting with another class at lunch, five minutes to listen to music at the end of class Sample punishments Isolation, silent lunch, losing minutes from lunch, quiet book work instead of fun activities Some behaviors require specific responses

Classroom Management or Office Referral? What behaviors should be handled in the classroom? Tardies, mild disrespect, homework issues, dress code, not being prepared, not following directions

Office Referrals… What behaviors need immediate office referrals? Fights, harassment, threats, bullying… If the office referral is your only consequence, you’re not managing your classroom. There is no outsourcing of your discipline problems!

End of Part One Our next step will take a bit of time. Consider this an investment. Are you really ready for this? It won’t be easy to change your habits…

It’s time to get specific! Let’s create our class management system! It will be worth it!

Step by Step Divide your classroom behaviors into no more than five distinct categories. Common categories: tardy, not following directions, disrespect, homework, materials, bathroom… What keeps you from being effective and efficient in the classroom?

Step by Step, cont’d. Take some time to make your list. Remember, simpler is better. Don’t micromanage. Generalize!

Teach Your Standards Take a day for each standard. Define the behavior. Model the expected behavior. Ask questions about the behavior. Discuss why we should all follow the behavior.

Unveil Your System! I use a mark system to manage behaviors Spreadsheet with students’ names on left side Categories of expectations (tardy, NFD, disrespect, etc.) across the top Anytime a student fails to meet expectations, he or she receives a mark.

Your Mark System, cont’d. Reward time every week (not monthly or quarterly!) Vary rewards Set threshold for receiving rewards Around 90%-95% of your students should be receiving the rewards. If not, you need to troubleshoot what’s not working.

Your Mark System, cont’d. Students who don’t receive the reward aren’t also punished! Very important! Create a setting for these “frowners” who don’t receive the reward.

Tardies Ask your classes, “Why might it be important to be on time?” Use your visual aids! Discuss what it might mean to be on time. Clearly define what “Being on time” looks like Ask again, “Why is this important?”

Not Following Directions Blanket category for most of your classroom issues Refusal to do what you ask Don’t constantly remind or warn your students – give them a mark! “The next time I see you doing ______, it is a…”

NFD, cont’d. Give your instructions to an individual or the class, and then if they aren’t followed… Allows you flexibility in creating new rules within your existing system.

Disrespect Covers behaviors that are slightly more damaging to the classroom environment than simply not following directions. Cursing, arguing, sassing the teacher, insulting other students, picking on a student, taking a pencil from someone, kicking books or backpacks, speaking rudely to the teacher Give the mark and move on.

Bathrooms! (This one is gold!) How do you manage this in a way that allows students to use the bathroom when needed but doesn’t encourage time out of class? Ask the student who wants to go, “Is it worth a mark?” The student then makes their own decision about whether or not they will use the bathroom.

My Golden Bathroom Rule, cont’d. This removes you from the power struggle and encourages student self-control. It also prevents that nasty parent phone call…

Homework I don’t assign a lot of homework. That way, when I do assign it, it darn well better get done! Students get out their homework at the start of class, and I take three minutes to cruise through the room making sure it’s done. Not done = mark. I don’t accept any excuses. I do accept late work and will remove a mark when it is returned.

Materials What materials must students have every day to be successful in your class? I lend out pencils. It’s a mark until it comes back. I have books in my class. If a student doesn’t bring theirs, it’s a mark, and they borrow my book. My textbooks don’t leave the class. If a student needs one, they check it out by signing the board.

Pay Now or Pay Later Consistency will be the biggest factor in your success. Probably the reason why you are struggling right now is because you are not being consistent. Don’t remind.

Pay Now or Pay Later, cont’d. Don’t warn. Don’t plead or explain. Enforce. Provide consequences. If a student wants to argue, simply state, “Stay after class and I will gladly explain this to you.”

Stay with it! It will take time for this system to become your “way of doing things.” Keep at it until it becomes second nature. Won’t it be nice to have nothing to add to the conversation when the other teachers are complaining about how horrible the students are in their classes? Good luck!

Contact Info Darren Barkett Asheville, NC