With so many teachers struggling with inappropriate behavior it is hardly surprising that more people are coming online to find classroom management ideas.  Effective classroom control is hard, and coming up with classroom management  ideas is difficult when you are swamped by ever increasing piles of work.

One of the best sources of effective classroom management ideas, is also one of the most overlooked.  In every school, in every part of the world, there will be a few teachers who have superb classroom control.  No matter how much student behavior has deteriorated in the wider school, these teachers can control even the toughest students.

These teachers manage to demonstrate excellent classroom management skills, day in and day out. Each teacher will have a different range of effective classroom management techniques and strategies, but they will all be effective. 

I’m often amazed how few teachers actually commit the time to go and watch these teachers in action.  If you’re struggling with student behavior in your classroom, and if you’re desperate for some top quality classroom management ideas and tips, then go and watch these teachers tomorrow.

You will be surprised by how much you can pick up by watching them at work.  I frequently have other teachers, especially new ones, come and ask if they can observe one of my lessons. 

And each and every time, I’m delighted to say yes. Having your peers ask to observe your lessons is second only to seeing your excellent classroom management strategies start to yield results.

So if you’re desperately in search of effective classroom management ideas, then go and watch a fellow teacher tomorrow.  You never know, you might just pick up a life changing classroom management technique, and never look back.

One question that I get asked a lot, is what skills are needed for effective classroom management.  Now this is a hard question to answer for many reasons.  I’ve seen a lot of excellent teachers over the years, and they all seemed to be so different in their style.

Since good classroom managers all seem to have different skill sets, is it really possible to identify common skills needed to develop the effective effective classroom management  strategies that will reduce inappropriate behavior in your classroom?  Absolutely!

Teachers who have effective classroom management strategies might all appear to have different skills on the surface.  But scratch the surface a little, and you will discover that they all share some core attributes.

Below are some of the skills that all effective classroom managers seem to have.

1. Patience. 

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that patience is a virtue.  Well scrap that, because in the classroom patience is a necessity. In order to maintain good working relationships with the students that you teach, you need to be able to demonstrate patience.  Get stressed out and start snapping at your pupils, and you will find classroom management harder than ever.

2. Determination

Effective classroom management takes skill, but it also takes determination.  You need to be determined to establish your authority in the classroom at all costs, or you will see a deterioration in student behavior.  The teachers with the most effective classroom management skills are the teachers who are determined to follow through, and appl their rules consistently, whatever the situation.

3. Consistency

If you’re not consistent in your classroom, then you will find effective classroom management hard to achieve.  The teachers who have the least problems with student behavior are the teachers who deal with the pupils in a consistent fashion.  Treat identical situations differently, simply because of the child involved, and you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Teachers with effective classroom management skills all seem to have different attributes.  Even so, all have the three skills above in abundance.  If you want to reduce inappropriate student behavior in your classroom now then concentrate on developing the skills listed above.  Your effective classroom management skills are dependent upon it!

Well, the UK bank holiday is over, and today I returned to school.  Now, I love my job, and I genuinely enjoy teaching every single day, but I still find it hard to return to school after a lovely long bank holiday.  Especially when the weekend has been so much fun!

Once I’m actually back in school though, it’s a different story, and I enjoy every second.  Is the same true for other teachers out there?  I’m not so sure.  A quick straw poll at lunchtime highlighted just how much some of my peers disliked their jobs.

When I was chatting to them, it was clear that they were all passionate about education.  For most of them, teaching is all they’ve ever wanted to do. So why do they all dislike teaching so much, and why are so many of them wanting to leave the profession or switch schools?

Well, my highly un-scientific, stroll poll showed that poor student behavior was the reason so many teachers are unhappy in their jobs.  And my observations around school back this up too.  The teachers who enjoy their job the most and the ones who have the best Well, the UK bank holiday is over, and today I returned to school.  Now I love my job, and I genuinely enjoy teaching every single day, but I still find it hard to return to school after a lovely long bank holiday.  Especially when the weekend has been so much fun.

Once I’m actually back in school though, it’s a different story, and I enjoy every second.  Is the same true for other teachers out there?  I’m not so sure.  A quick straw poll at lunchtime highlighted just how much some of my peers disliked their jobs.

When I was chatting to them, it was clear that they were all passionate about  education.  For most of them, teaching is all they’ve ever wanted to do. So why do they all dislike teaching so much, and why are so many of them wanting to leave the profession or switch schools?

Well, my highly un-scientific, stroll poll showed that poor student behavior was the reason so many teachers are unhappy in their jobs.  And my observations around school back this up too.  The teachers who enjoy their job the most and the ones who have the best classroom management skills.

It’s such a shame that so many dedicated, and talented teachers leave the profession each year, simply because of deteriorating student behavior.  In fact, it makes me really angry. 

So what can be done about it?  Well, that’s a question for a another post or 20, but one thing’s for sure.  In the vast majority of cases, it simply isn’t the teachers fault that the behavior of the students they teach is so poor.  But it’s such a shame that so many talented professionals want to leave the job because of it. 

If there is one thing likely to frustrate hard working, dedicated teachers its students talking out of turn.  You’ve worked hard preparing a lesson, but you just can’t develop a flow as students interrupt your lesson with inappropriate comment after comment.

Being able to prevent students talking out of turn is a fundamental classroom management strategy. So how exactly do you stop students interrupting the flow of your lessons to the detriment of teaching and learning in your classroom?

One effective classroom management  strategy which I use to prevent students talking out of turn is to proactively manage the behavior that I expect.  For example, before I ask a whole class question, I will briefly explain my expectations during this phase of the lesson. I will explain that I am about to ask a question, and that I want to hear their answers, BUT they must raise their hand and wait to be called.

This might just be a small, subtle change to your teaching, but by explaining your expectations in advance there is an increased prospect of improved student behavior.  I do this daily and rarely have problems with students speaking out of line.  Follow this simple tip and you could do the same. 

In the majority of cases, students want to behave well.  Sure, it might not seem that way sometimes, but it is the case for the majority of the students that most people teach.  Proactively explaining what is good behavior in advance is just common sense.  If you explain what you expect of the class, before you begin a task, you really will reduce the frequency of students talking out of turn.

After I posted my first post it occured to me that I didn’t really explain why I’m so incredibly passionate about promoting effective classroom management in the classroom.  Let me explain why.

When I started to train to be a teacher I was placed in a very rough, low achieving school.  Student behaviour was poor to say the least.  And the class that I had to teach my subject to 4 times a week were no better.  In fact, I’d go as far as to say they were probably the worst class in the whole school.  If not the whole world.  Okay, I’m exagerating, but it’s my story!

They were pretty bad.  Before I had to teach my first lesson I was up all night worrying about how I was going to control this rabble. Sorry to call them a rabble, but if you could see the class you would think I was being generous!

When the lesson came I was literally shaking with fear. My hands really were trembling.

 And so how did the lesson go?

This is the point where you will be expecting me to say that it went great, and that my amazing classroom management plan promoted excellent student behaviour.

Erm, well it didn’t! 

In fact, if I’m honest the lesson was a disaster.  I’d imagined some pretty horrible outcomes before teaching the lesson, but what actually happened was far worse.

So you may be wondering how did I go from a classroom management nightmare, to wanting to write a blog about classroom management tips and strategies.

And here’s why.  Not long after the lesson I sat down with my training course leader and explained the whole story.  He listened, nodded, and was understanding.  And he gave me some great advice.  Really, truly great, classroom management advice.

He believed strongly in positive and proactive classroom management, and he explained in detail how to use this model to promote good student behevior. 

What he told me that day inspired me.  It truly did.

There was no miracle.  My lessons didn’t certainly become amazing, and I didn’t become a classroom management ‘guru’ overnight.  But when I implemented what he told me my classroom management skills improved hugely. 

And more importantly he sowed a seed soemwhere deep inside that made me want to learn more about this stuff.  And I did.  Fast!  On my next teacher trainee placement my skills were unrecognizable from the months before. 

I had literally turned my greatest failing into my greatest strength.

And I owed it all to my very generous, and very clever course leader. 

You see, we are all passionate about something.  I just happen to be very passionate about sharing classroom management tips and strategies. 

So much so that it provoked me to write a book AND to write a blog.

To this day I am as passionate about effective classroom maangement as I was after that conversation.  I’ve left my course leader’s name out of this blog for privacy reasons.  But he know who he is.  To you sir, I say thanks!

Classroom management isn’t really that hard.  It just seems hard when you’re struggling.  But it doesn’t have to be.

I just hope that I can help share what I learned with someone out there and make it all a bit easier for you…

Wishing you a peaceful classroom!