Students with bad behavior can be so difficult to deal with. There are so many different strategies! You may cycle through a bunch of them to figure out exactly how to deal with a particular kid. I find that the best classroom management strategy is loving your students. When kids know that they are loved and cared for, they repay that back in a lot of different ways. One of them, usually being good behavior.
I do a lot of things to make sure that my students feel loved, especially when they are in my classroom. You can read about how I write Valentines for each of my students in this blog post. Outside of that I promote a growth mindset in my classroom. I truly believe that a growth mindset promotes a positive relationship between teachers and students which is more academic than my typical protocols. I actually shout out to my students, “bye, have a good day, I love you!” This isn’t every teacher’s cup of tea, but I think a growth mindset classroom gets the same message across without being mushy.
My classroom management strategies
- There is no such thing as a “bad kid”
- Private meeting with the student in the hallway
- Phone call home
- Talk to other teachers
- Reach out to guidance department
- Have student call home
- Real discipline that *actually* teaches something
Most importantly, remember there is no “one size fits all” solution. Students with bad behavior act out for a variety of reasons. I do everything I can to make sure that it’s not lack of love from me. Especially since I can’t control so many outside factors. Kids with bad behavior in the classroom aren’t bad kids. And students acting out in your classroom doesn’t make you a bad teacher. It just means, something isn’t clicking. You or them. Don’t be hard on yourself! This job is tough enough as it is.
You can learn more about my All Star Planning Method here, in this masterclass. My lesson plans are super quick to write, so I find myself with a lot of time for parent phone calls.
