Classroom Management

Over the next few days I will be exploring different reasons for why teachers leave the profession.  I have already posted on low pay and the first two posts on attrition are here and here.

The current issue of Time has a cover story on teaching.  In the magazine, but not online, there is a statistical breakdown of why teachers leave the profession.  Something like 45% (I don't have the magazine in front of me) identified dealing with classroom management as a factor.  I disagree.  I think the number of teachers who leave the teaching profession because of struggles with classroom management is much higher.

If you have classroom management down, routines and procedures in place, and your classroom is a safe, respectful, productive environment to be in, teaching is a great job.  One of our alumni, Joe Sweeney, had the ultimate teacher moment when he was called away from his classroom for a meeting.  The administration assured him that a sub was on the way.  The meeting lasted about an 90 minutes and when Joe returned to his room students had changed classes and the new group of students was working quietly on the "Do Now."  One student had Joe's role-book and was calmly taking attendance.  There was no sub.  That is the ultimate example of classroom management: the class manages itself when the teacher is not present.  If, as a teacher, you reach the point where your class can essentially manage itself than teaching will still has ups and downs but you will ultimately feel satisfied and fulfilled by your work.

If your classroom is chaotic and barely under control (or not in control at all) and you have to constantly deal with disrespectful students who threaten you and others, than teaching is a miserable job.  You will go home stressed and dreading the next day.  If you don't address the problems in your classroom you will leave teaching within a year or two.

In my opinion, classroom management is the main reason teachers leave the profession.  Many teachers don't want to admit that the students got the best of them and so they chalk up their reasons to something else: difficult administration, dissatisfaction with the job, etc.  In my time as Program Manager of the Teacher Corps it seems that every year we have people who are clearly struggling with classroom management and yet can't bring themselves to admit it.  Admitting you need help is the first step in improving your classroom management.

Why do teachers struggle so much with classroom management?  Because they don't want to confront their students.  Because they are tired and let things slide.  Because their administration doesn't back them.  So, a teacher leaving the profession might say that teaching was too tiring, or that the administration was not supportive.  But, often, these things are related to struggles with classroom management.

I've posted quite a bit on classroom management so I won't rehash all that here.  Suffice to say, the keys to classroom management come down to three questions:

1)  Do you have rules/procedures/consequences?
2)  Are you enforcing them?
3)  Are you enforcing them consistently

For Teacher Corps, our training includes a lot of role-playing during the summer training.  During the first summer each teacher creates a classroom management plan.  In the second summer each second-year revisits that plan.  In the fall, each first-year has a second-year mentor.  Throughout the program we continue to reinforce the importance of consistency.  Yet, I still feel we can do more.  What else needs to be added?

Further Reading:

The First Days Of School: How To Be An Effective Teacher

Harry K. Wong