Key Concepts Key Concepts♦ When the very best teachers say something, they mean it. They do not depend on a commanding presence or a booming voice to manage their classrooms; rather, students respect their authority because they communicate expectations clearly and follow through consistently.
♦ Great teachers focus on the behavior they expect of their students, not on consequences for misbehavior.
♦ Threatening students is ineffective in creating enduring change. Like shouting or sarcasm, threats may work for a while, but in the long run, the situation gets worse. Effective teachers understand the trade-off between short-term and long-term gains.
♦ All teachers get upset at times. When teachers who are upset blurt out something, it is not likely to be what they would have said had they taken the time to reflect. Therefore, great teachers consciously stop themselves from blurting things out “in the heat of the moment.”
♦ Whenever possible, effective teachers wait to deal with misbehavior until they are ready to do so, giving themselves time to calm down and think about the best approach to take.
♦ Maintaining self-control is a critical attribute of great teachers. Great teachers make sure that the expectations and procedures they establish for their class make sense and that they will be able to adhere to them consistently throughout the year.
♦ Classroom management has a lot more to do with class than with management. One way great teachers exhibit such class is by thinking carefully about—and adhering to—the things they say to students.
Discussion Questions1. Why does Whitaker share the story about the football coach? What does it have to do with classroom teachers?
2. Instead of following the adage “Don’t smile until Thanksgiving,” what does Whitaker suggest?
3. In the section “When You Are Ready,” Whitaker shares two anecdotes from his days as a young student with two different teachers. Describe the situations in both classrooms and what they suggest about how effective teachers deal with misbehaving students.
4. Describe three suggestions Whitaker offers regarding calling parents of students who misbehave.
Journal PromptIn this chapter, Whitaker emphasizes the importance of “saying what you mean and meaning what you say.” As an example, he tells a story about a football coach who did not follow through on threats he made to his players. Think about a time when a supervisor you worked for (or currently work for) verbally stressed the importance of some rule, procedure, policy, or expectation regarding employee performance but never really followed through or held underperforming employees accountable. Was this supervisor respected? Did all employees consistently adhere to the verbal admonishments over time? Did employee performance and morale improve or decline as a result of these idle threats? How would you have handled that particular situation differently? In what ways does it apply to your classroom and what you say to your students?
Group ActivitiesAsk participants to move to an open area of the room. Share the following statement with the group: “Students will perform better both academically and behaviorally if they trust their teacher.” Ask participants to consider the statement for a minute and then find a partner nearby. Once in pairs, identify one participant as the listener and the other as the speaker. Allow two minutes for participants to speak about the topic of trust and how it impacts relationships in the classroom. Then find a different partner and repeat the process, varying who speaks and who listens. Repeat the process a third time, but this time ask partners to discuss the following seven trust actions:
♦ Be there.
♦ Show you care.
♦ Communicate regularly.
♦ Celebrate success.
♦ Value diversity and dissent.
♦ Address underperformance.
♦ Demonstrate personal integrity.
Ask each pair to pick the two they think are most important to establishing trust in their classrooms, explaining why they picked those two and what each looks like in practice. In addition, ask each duo to come up with three more things that teachers can do to establish trust with students (and parents) so that their list of seven becomes ten. Have each pair share their top two actions from their Top 10 list.
In the section “From Four to Three” in this chapter, Whitaker offers advice on calling parents. Arrange the group into five teams and have participants discuss this section, noting whether they agree with the advice herein and why. Continue the discussion on calling parents by sharing these five possible guidelines:
1. Call early.
2. Call often.
3. Be honest.
4. Find the good.
5. Listen.
Ask each group to discuss these five guidelines, answering the following questions for each: (1) What exactly does this guideline mean to you or look like in practice? (2) Why would someone suggest this as a guideline for calling parents? (3) To what extent do you agree with the guideline? Next, have each group rank the guidelines in order of importance to them, from most to least important. Finally, call on each group to report their answers by assigning one of the five guidelines to each of the five groups. Have groups first report their ranking of importance for all five guidelines and then share their answers relating to their assigned calling-home guideline.
ApplicationIn this chapter, the author contrasts the way two different teachers—“The Hammer” and “Mrs. Pro”—reacted to his own misbehavior in their classrooms. Mrs. Pro achieved her desired outcome of improved student behavior by depriving students of the attention they were seeking, focusing on preventing future misbehavior rather than consequences for previous misbehavior, and dealing with individual student misbehavior when she was ready, only after giving herself time to think, calm down, and figure out the best approach. Mrs. Hammer, on the other hand, tried and failed to discipline students through impassioned outbursts and threats.
Upon your return to school, take some time to carefully examine the names of every student on your class roster. Assign students to one of three different categories according to how often they exhibit disruptive behavior in your class: (1) never (2) rarely (3) often. How many students did you put in each category? What have you tried that has worked—and has not—with those students you assigned to Category 3?
Focus on a few students you placed into the third category and try again to reach them in a way that results in improved student performance. The next time these students misbehave, find some time after class or during lunch to speak with them individually. Let them know in a calm, caring, yet firm way that certain behaviors they are exhibiting are negatively impacting themselves, their classmates, and their teacher. Focus on the problematic behaviors rather than the students themselves, explaining why these behaviors are detrimental and cannot be tolerated. Enlist their support in devising a plan for future behavior and ask if they would like you to call their parents so that they, too, can be aware of and support the plan. If they choose not to have their parents notified, say that you will honor that request for now but you will call home if their behavior does not improve, and make sure to follow through on this warning. After meeting with those students who are causing the most disruptions in your class, reflect on whether these private meetings and/or parent phone calls impacted their subsequent behavior. Did it make a difference? Why or why not, in your opinion?