What Great Teachers Do Differently

by Todd Whitaker

  Great teachers never forget that it is people, not programs, that determine the quality of a school.

  3

  The Power of Expectations

  Every teacher has a classroom to manage. One may guide a class of five girls studying advanced Latin around a well-lit seminar table while another may teach sixteen biology students in a laboratory with sparse or obsolete equipment. A third may greet twenty bouncy kindergartners every morning. I’m convinced that these three teachers—and indeed, all teachers—do the best they can when it comes to classroom management. After all, a teacher’s classroom management sets the stage for student learning. We all want our students to behave well in class. If we could do anything to improve student behavior, surely we would.

  How do the best teachers approach classroom management? What do they do differently? Here’s the answer in a nutshell: Great teachers focus on expectations. Other teachers focus on rules. The least effective teachers focus on the consequences of breaking the rules.

  Expectations

  Great teachers are very clear about their approach to student behavior. They establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses. For example, a teacher might have three guidelines:

  ♦ Be respectful.

  ♦ Be prepared.

  ♦ Be on time.

  Or

  ♦ Respect yourself.

  ♦ Respect others.

  ♦ Respect your school.

  The teacher may have predetermined and stated consequences for misbehavior, but these are clearly secondary to the expectations. The key is to set expectations and then establish relationships so that students want to meet these expectations. Great teachers don’t focus on “What am I going to do if students misbehave?” They expect good behavior, and generally that’s what they get.

  Great teachers expect good behavior, and generally that’s what they get.

  Rules

  “School” and “rule” just seem to go together, and not only because they rhyme. Rules establish a necessary framework for the everyday life of schools. Which of us would want to teach in a school without rules? And yet rules have their drawbacks. For one thing, rules in schools often focus on undesirable behaviors with predictable results.

  Stop the Thumping!

  Visiting a middle school a few years ago, I was sitting in the back of a very effective teacher’s classroom. The class was quietly focused on important projects. Suddenly, a whole-school announcement came over the loudspeaker. Interrupting every class in the building, the principal issued the following proclamation:

  Students in this school must immediately stop thumping! There have been too many students in the school thumping other students. Thumping is when you pull back your middle finger with your thumb and then release it so that it strikes another person sharply in the chest. We will have no more thumping in this school. Anyone caught thumping should be sent to the office.

  Well, as I looked around the room, not one student was still focused on the project. Instead, twenty-nine students were practicing some form of “thumping” on themselves or on a partner. In fact, I soon realized that I too was sitting there thumping myself, just to see what it felt like.

  Our most challenging students tend to be contrary by nature. In fact, there’s a streak of the contrary in each of us. “I do not want to hear a single peep!” Who among us, hearing that, isn’t tempted to peep? Or waiting, even hoping, for someone else to peep? And yet, until we heard that command, we might not have been thinking of peeping at all.

  Consequences

  By their very nature, rules outline the boundary between the acceptable and the unacceptable, and they attach consequences to misbehavior. We’re all familiar with this from the world of competitive sports. Referees don’t just point out rule violations; they assign penalties. Those who break the rules must pay the price.

  The purpose of this system, of course, is to encourage players to observe the rules. Likewise, one purpose of the consequences attached to misbehavior in schools is to encourage other students to follow the school rules.

  On the other hand, there are disadvantages to spelling out cut-and-dried consequences. Students are experts at cost-benefit analysis: If I skip one hour of class, I’ll have to go to two hours of detention. Is it worth it? (How many of my buddies will be in detention?)

  During my years as a principal, I observed that ninety percent of the students in a school have never been sent to the office. I’m willing to bet they don’t have any idea what happens at the office, they don’t know what their parents would do if they were sent there, and they would just as soon not find out. This fear of the unknown can sometimes be a more powerful deterrent than a list of predetermined consequences.

  Set Expectations at the Start of the Year

  A school year is a journey that takes many different turns. One of the most exciting and challenging aspects of being a teacher is that each day is so different. I love the cycle of the school year, beginning with the anticipation, excitement, and energy of the first day. Standardized testing, preholiday events, the time before and after seasonal vacations, the dark days of winter, the first days of spring—each part has its own feel, its own dynamic ebb and flow, its own highlights and challenges. A school year has a personality all its own. There is a start, a middle, and an end. Few occupations are so cyclical.

  Even if we have been teaching the same grade or subject for several years, the opening of school is a new opportunity to move our teaching forward.

  The excitement of starting a new school year provides opportunities to reestablish expectations and introduce changes. We’re all on our best behavior, full of positive energy about the coming year. For effective teachers, the start of the year is a chance to set the tone for the school year and, more importantly, for the students. Even if we have been teaching the same grade or subject for several years, the opening of school is a new opportunity to move our teaching forward.

  We Are Still Undefeated

  Every school should have its Back-to-School Night before the year starts, or at the latest, on the evening of the first or second day of school. The reason is very simple—we are still undefeated. Students have not been “in trouble” (whatever that means). None of us are behind in our work. Nobody has any grades in the grade book. We have the chance to build new relationships. Like every major league baseball team in spring training, we can dream of making it to the World Series.

  Can you see why it’s so essential for teachers to establish expectations at the very beginning of the year? If we wait until the second week of school, it’s much more likely that we’ll be setting rules—No Thumping!—and handing out penalties for past misbehavior. If we make it clear ahead of time that we expect students to be prepared, responsible, and on time, then we can start out on the right foot and keep moving forward.

  What is the variable? Not the specifics of the expectations, but that they are clearly established, focus on the future, and are consistently reinforced. All teachers can do this. The great ones do. They establish expectations for their students and for themselves.

  Great teachers establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses.

  4

  If You Say Something, Mean It

  I’ve always enjoyed working with people. Early on, it was the students in my classroom and their parents, and then the teachers I served with as a principal. Nowadays I interact with a wide variety of groups and individuals—not just teachers and principals, but people in business, health care, banking—even coaches of professional sports teams. I notice differences in the size of their organizations, budgets, and salaries (!)—but all the groups I work with are made up of people who want to be good at what they do.

  It has been fascinating to discover how principles that apply to teaching also hold true in other professions. Conversely, once in a while I arrive at an insight in the “real world” and real
ize that it carries over into the classroom. Here’s one lesson I learned on the football field.

  The Football Coach

  The professional coaches I work with would never look to me for advice on how to run the dribble-drive motion offense in basketball or the best way for a second baseman to pivot on a double play. They know much more than I do, and they want to win! What they do ask is this: How can we motivate our players to work the way we need them to during practice?

  In one case, the coaching staff of a football team asked me to observe each coach and give specific feedback on how the players responded to them. One in particular stood out.

  An offensive line coach, Mike was a man-mountain. He was at least six feet, five inches tall and over 300 pounds, much of that weight muscle. He had obviously been a player himself, and a good one, I later found out. Though a nice guy off the field, he was pretty intimidating on it, with a commanding presence and booming voice.

  As I arrived one afternoon, Mike was verbally ripping into his players. I’m not sure what triggered the outburst, but he was making the linemen run half-field sprints as a consequence. It was a hot day, and these men were not built for speed. Mike’s frustration mounted as they jogged from the end line to midfield and back. Finally, he yelled, “I’m going to run you guys into the ground! We are going to do nothing but sprints the rest of practice.”

  As you can imagine, the linemen picked up their effort a smidgen. After one more sprint, the coach calmed down and they returned to the previous drill.

  After practice, I met with Mike. He expressed frustration that the players didn’t seem to take him seriously. He admitted that at least half of his practices go the same way. We talked a while about praise and reinforcing positive behaviors, but then I realized something: Those linemen really didn’t take the mandatory sprints seriously. They had heard “nothing but sprints” from Mike before, and it hadn’t ever happened. Why should they wear themselves out on a hot day?

  A teacher who bellows at students, “I have told you at least a dozen times!” may think the students are slow to learn. But who keeps saying the same thing over and over without learning that it hasn’t worked? It’s the teacher, of course.

  When the very best teachers—like the very best coaches—say something, they mean it. They don’t depend on a commanding presence and a booming voice to manage their classrooms. Rather, students respect their authority because they express expectations clearly and then follow through.

  This Time, I Really Mean It

  Following through is important. A parent who announces “You’re grounded for a month!” but then makes exceptions for a birthday party or the prom has lost credibility. So has a business owner who threatens “Do that again and you’re fired!” but never actually fires anyone. Ironically, actually firing an incompetent employee would then seem unfair, like changing the rules in the middle of the game. Great teachers focus on the behavior they expect of their students, not on the consequences for misbehavior. It is so much stronger to say in a quiet tone “When you’re not listening, you take away from your learning,” than to snap, “If you keep talking and fooling around, you’ll have twice as many problems for homework tonight!”

  Great teachers focus on the behavior they expect of their students, not on the consequences for misbehavior.

  Like shouting or sarcasm, threats may work for a while. But in the long run, the situation gets worse. Effective teachers understand the tradeoff between short-term and long-term gain.

  Smile When You Say That

  Of course, setting clear expectations and following through does not require a stern demeanor or a harsh tone. The old adage, “Don’t smile until Thanksgiving” is misguided. We do want to establish a businesslike and professional tone from the first day of class, but if we don’t smile until Thanksgiving, there’s a chance our students never will.

  When You Are Ready

  So often, what teachers blurt out when they are upset is not what they would have said if they had taken the time to reflect on their response. I’d like to share an example from my schooldays.

  I’ll admit I was a cut-up. Because of this, I was often assigned “deluxe seating” right up by the teacher’s desk. A favorite prank was to grab the teacher’s glass of water while her back was turned, empty it out the window, scoot back to my seat, and watch for her reaction. In the best-case scenario, I could entertain the class for days.

  The hot-tempered teacher we called “The Hammer” delivered that scenario. The first time she picked up an empty glass, she turned beet red. In a voice that echoed throughout the room, she demanded, “All right, who took the water? I want to know what happened to my water!” No one told on me. Day after day, she upped the ante. “If this happens again, there’ll be no recess for anyone!” But as a prankster, I was relentless. As a class, we held firm. Eventually, she just stopped filling her water glass.

  Now, our favorite teacher that year also gave me the seat by her desk, and she too had a glass of water at the ready. And though my classmates didn’t think my prank was so cool in Mrs. Pro’s room, I pulled it anyway and waited for the show to start. And waited, and waited. Mrs. Pro obviously knew what I had done, but she ignored my behavior. However, she did not fail to address it. At the end of class, she stood by the door as usual, telling everyone to have a nice day. I kept slinking farther back in line, hoping she would leave before I made my exit. But alas, she held her spot. As I tried to escape unnoticed, Mrs. Pro quietly said, “Todd, do you have a second?”

  I had to say yes. Mrs. Pro then asked me if I could do her a favor. She mentioned that something mysterious had happened to her water that day. Since I sat right by her desk, would I mind keeping an eye on her glass? That way, if something ever happened to her water, she and I could figure it out together. I nodded silently and hurried out the door. And guess what? I was an excellent “water guard.” Mrs. Pro’s water was never disturbed again.

  What did Mrs. Pro do differently? First of all, she ignored my prank when it happened, depriving me of the attention I wanted. Second, she focused on preventing future misbehavior, letting bygones be bygones. But the third and most effective part of her response was waiting to deal with me when she was ready—after class, with no audience.

  Giving herself time to think before saying something let her figure out the best approach. She didn’t have to accuse me of bad behavior or describe what would happen if I pulled another prank. And her calm but serious demeanor assured me that I did not want to find out.

  From Four to Three...

  One tactic teachers often use in an attempt to influence student behavior is to threaten a phone call home. Though questions such as “Do you want me to call your parents?” or “What would your parents say if I call them?” may have an immediate and short-term impact, they quickly lose their power.

  A more effective strategy is to go ahead and call the parents and ask for their help without informing the student. For one thing, it gives us a chance to tell our side of the story first. In my experience, letting the student give a “heads up” potentially taints the story, tilting the parent against the teacher.

  Another approach the best teachers rely on is to deal with misbehaving students individually. Disciplining the class as a group affirms their relationships with each other and lines them up against the teacher.

  A challenging class often includes a core group of students who are the most difficult to deal with. Our frustration might lead us to think “This is a bad class,” but on further analysis we can often identify a smaller number of students who are the problem. Most of the time, our classes have plenty of students who behave pretty well and want to learn.

  A teacher faced with four troublemakers who regularly feed off of each other may be tempted to call all four sets of parents. In most cases, I would caution against this approach. It is difficult to go from four disruptive students to zero. A much more doable target is to lower the number to three, then work on going from three to two
, and so on.

  In this gradual approach, it makes sense to avoid starting with the most challenging student. Instead, contact the parent or parents of the student who is most likely to be affected by that phone call. If that student tells the others that you called, they may get the message that you are taking steps to address misbehavior—and that might have a positive ripple effect. Furthermore, turning that one student around reduces the influence of the ringleader. One student at a time, you can tip the balance toward a classroom where distractions are minimal.

  Class Rules the Day

  Maintaining self-control is a critical skill of great teachers. As we set expectations and establish procedures for our students, we must be sure that they make sense and that we will be able to reinforce them consistently. If we present guidelines to students and eventually ignore them, students will most likely choose to ignore them as well. When inappropriate behavior occurs, we should give ourselves time to think before we react. When we say something, we must actually mean it! Classroom management has a lot more to do with class than with management.

  Great teachers manage their classrooms thoughtfully. When they say something, they mean it.