Five Common Classroom Management Myths
Myths About Classroom Discipline for First Year Teachers
Aug 4, 2009
Classroom management can be one of the more difficult aspects of teaching, especially for a new teacher. These five myths make it even more difficult for teachers to stay encouraged and on top of inappropriate behaviors throughout the year.
Preventative Classroom Management Will Make All Students Obey
While prevention is the best classroom management strategy, it will not cause all students to obey. New teachers in particular need to be aware of the fact that they will have disruptive, disobedient and out of control students. While prevention is essential to a solid classroom management strategy, knowing precisely what to do when a student acts up is vital as well.
Ignoring Student Misbehavior Will Make it Go Away
While many teachers and administrative staff will counsel new teachers to ignore inappropriate behavior to some degree in order for it to go away, this is not a fail-safe strategy. In fact, more times than not it may actually fail altogether. Some students know how to push all the right buttons to annoy a teacher. When ignored, they will continue to misbehave when they know the teacher is still being annoyed by their behavior. Teachers need to decide on a discipline plan that will help them to control these student behaviors.
Students Will Obey the Class Rules if They Understand Their Importance
Many teachers will attempt to explain the rationale behind a rule when the student is breaking it. Students who have chosen to break a rule or be otherwise disruptive often do not care that they are being childish and no amount of convincing will get them to understand why following the rule was important in the first place. Teachers need to reinforce rule following with consistent consequences.
I have to Understand What Happened Before I Can Impose a Punishment
When two students begin fighting, asking them what is going on will not likely provide much useful information for a teacher. In fact it does not matter what happened to start the argument or what the argument is about. Unless it is obvious that one child was victimized by the other, then both children can easily be disciplined for fighting. Teaching students to allow the teacher to be the mediator will help prevent future fights.
Within a Few Days, Students Will Follow Rules with Good Classroom Management Plan in Place
While a solid classroom management plan, consistently implemented, will help manage student behavior quickly for the entire year, it does not guarantee that students will obey within a few days and never act up again. In fact, even the best teachers with the most well behaved class will have repeat rule breakers and have to follow through with their discipline plan again and again.
It is important for new teachers to have a thought through classroom management plan that they can consistently implement each day. The key to a good classroom management plan is that it is simple to implement and easy to remain consistent.
Teachers, find out more about classroom management strategies that can make the year go smoothly. Read about 1-2-3 Magic, a simple classroom management strategy that many teachers have found to be very successful in their classrooms.
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