a living nightmare for the other teachers on their schedule, but present me with very little difficulty. How is this possible? It certainly isn’t that I am more knowledgeable in my subject matter. It rarely has to do with me having a higher level of compassion or being more caring than my colleagues. Nor do I believe those students’ inconsistent behavior has anything to do with me having greater skill in behavior management.
So what compels these “trouble makers” to behave in my class? First and foremost, I believe it’s because they are engaged. It is my opinion and experience that an engaged student is rarely a behavior problem. Misbehavior usually indicates boredom, overwhelm, or lack of connection to the material being covered. The entire second half of this book offers an in-depth study on transforming your lessons into highly engaging presentations that draw in and hold your students’ interest like a magnet. But engagement is only one piece of the behavior puzzle. Equally important to your success in avoiding battles with students is your ability to develop deep levels of rapport.
You can’t effectively develop engaging presentations unless you spend the necessary time and effort to find out what they already find engaging. Many of the strategies I will describe later are universal in nature and designed to work for all audiences. They play off of basic human nature and can be safely and effectively used across the board. However, one of the big secrets and shortcuts to engagement is to spend less time trying to get students interested in what you are presenting and more time making connections between what you are presenting and what they are already interested in.
I start building rapport on the very first day of school with my Play-Doh lesson. I continue to try to learn as much as I can about my students as the year goes on. What are their hobbies? What sports do they play? What types of music do they listen to? What movies do they like? Which TV shows do they love to watch? If you’re paying attention to what excites them, you can connect with them almost instantly. Some of my killer hooks for lessons have come directly from picking up on conversations I overhear between students.
You can also ask students to try to find connections between your content and pop culture. Many times, students bring to my attention the relationship a currently popular song or movie has to what we are studying. You should do everything you can to encourage your students to draw these types of connections.
Similarly, try reading the paper and watching the news with your class in mind. Develop the habit of combing current events from the perspective of searching for hooks and connections to your material. You will be astonished at the gold mine that surrounds you. This habit offers the added benefit of consistently keeping your lessons fresh and more interesting for you, as well.
An additional key to developing rapport is spending informal time with your students. Use the minutes between classes, before and after school, and occasionally at lunch and break to connect with them. For example, several clubs use my room at lunchtime. I believe being available to kids says a lot to them about whether or not you are interested in them beyond your particular class. Try to interact with them during passing periods and stop and chat or say “hi” as you pass on campus during the day. As often as you can, attend extra-curricular activities your students are involved in. Building rapport is all about interacting with your students as fellow human beings, not just as subordinates. Kids can tell the difference between teachers who only seem to care about them when they are sitting in the classroom, and those who see past the “student” to the unique person who resides inside.
Rapport is also incredibly important because it helps create buy-in. When I discuss some of the things my students do, I know many teachers think to themselves, “There’s no way my kids would do that.” They might be right! My kids probably wouldn’t do it on the first day of school. They don’t know or trust me yet. But by working to create a safe and supportive environment where students feel valued, I earn their trust. You can, too.
I actively encourage teachers to develop a classroom climate where students feel like doing the outrageous; where the out of the ordinary and sometimes silly are the norm. How do I foster this environment? First, I model the behavior I want from my student. I am perfectly comfortable in my own skin and am willing to “let my hair down” in the classroom. An uptight and stiff teacher leads to an uptight and stiff class. Get playful! Allow for friendly banter. Put a premium on making your class fun and entertaining right from the start.
I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about and designing my first three days of school. You probably have your routine, and that’s fine. My goal in describing my first three days isn’t to get you to implement them instead of what you already do. I’m more concerned with demonstrating the thinking behind what I do so you can evaluate which if any of these ideas will work for you. As with the rest of this book, this is not an all or nothing situation; you may want to incorporate only a few of these ideas into what you already do. On the other hand, maybe you’ll decide you want to completely revamp your opening days. Either way, I hope these thoughts are helpful.
Nothing is more important to me than creating the proper atmosphere right from the start. No content standard matters to me until I have established the safe, supportive, and positive classroom environment I need to successfully teach my students. Any time I spend on the front end of the year to establish this environment is not time wasted. In fact, I know it will pay dividends a hundred times over before the end of the year.
DAY ONE
The first thing students see when they approach my door is a sign like you might see outside of a theme park ride, a haunted house, or some extreme sport activity. On it is my name and room number and the words:
“YOU’VE HEARD THE STORIES… ARE YOU READY FOR THE EXPERIENCE?!!”
Before my new students even enter my room, they are hit with a rather unusual and intriguing message that plays off the fact that many legendary, often exaggerated, stories circulate around the campus community about what happens in my room. Even if a student has never heard one of these stories, the sign’s message creates an interesting sense of anticipation. They immediately wonder, What in the world is this class all about?
As they enter the room, the first thing students notice is the positive, upbeat energy created by the music playing. I always use music during my passing periods to create an immediate break from the hustle, bustle, and drama of the hallways. It is an audible reminder that they are entering a different world…my world.
Next, their eyes will focus on the desks. Every desk has a paper plate with a can of Play-Doh on it. Across the board, written in giant letters, are the words, “Do NOT Open the Play-Doh!” Already, I am trying to break their pre-conceived notions about what to expect in a typical classroom. My goal is to stand out, to be different from their other classes. High school kids are not used to playing with Play-Doh, and it is certainly a pattern interrupt that breaks the monotony of the typical first day spent reading the class syllabus and reciting classroom rules and procedures. In my opinion, it is far more important to create a unique experience for them on the first day than it is to be sure they know how many bathroom passes they will have each semester and when it is OK to use the pencil sharpener!
I take care of all necessary first day administrative tasks such as taking attendance and checking their schedules to be sure they are in the right place before I “officially” greet them. Once I start, I don’t want there to be any transitions that will slow me down and impede the flow of the lesson. Eliminating and smoothing out transitions is a key element to maintaining
