The SCM approach is built on simplicity. Although it takes commitment, and there is a fair amount to learn, anyone can do it. Short or tall, new hire or veteran, follow SCM like a paint-by-numbers Hokusai and you can create a thing of beauty. ... Read more The post 9 Ways To Never Lose Control Of Your Class appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

It’s a common question here at SCM. Should you teach your classroom management plan immediately on the first day of school or wait and ease into it? Intuitively, it makes sense to wait. Perhaps a bonding activity or getting-t0-know-you game is a better choice. ... Read more The post When And How To Teach Your Classroom Management Plan appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

The lie isn’t that childhood trauma doesn’t exist. Of course it does. Some of our students have been abused and neglected. Others have witnessed violence, criminality, drug use, and indescribable family strife. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Adverse childhood experiences can have ... Read more The post The Big Lie Of Childhood Trauma appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

I’ve spoken to thousands of teachers about their classroom management struggles. They all have much in common. I repeat myself a lot. My advice is “do this and don’t do that.” This is one reason SCM has been successful. Our strategies are straightforward. I ... Read more The post How And Why Not To Take Misbehavior Personally appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

Now that your school year is over, it’s time to make a commitment. By commitment, I mean never going back. Never giving in. Never allowing yourself any other possibility. Iron-clad locked, guaranteed, and assured. What’s done is done. The commitment I want you to ... Read more The post Why You Need To Make One Classroom Management Commitment Right Now appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

Your personal 2023-24 Smart Classroom Management report card is here! To review, the SCM report card is a rating system that revels the extent to which you followed SCM during the past school year. It evaluates your strength and weaknesses so you can use ... Read more The post Your 2023-24 Smart Classroom Management Report Card appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

Here’s the scenario: You witness a student break a rule, so you enforce a consequence. But then, out of nowhere, a student nearby denies the misbehavior. In other words, they jump in and say . . . “It wasn’t him!” “He didn’t do it.” ... Read more The post How To Handle A Student Who Argues For A Misbehaving Friend appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

A common scenario: A student disrupts your class and you deliver a consequence. All good. But the moment you finish, another student laughs at the disruptor. Laughter in this situation is infuriating because it makes light of the sacredness of uninterrupted learning. It also ... Read more The post How To Handle A Student Who Laughs When You Give Another Student A Consequence appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

For students who are motivated and determined to do well, group work is an exercise in frustration and unfairness. They do all or most of the work. Yet the grade is shared. And although they would love to say, “No, I’m not doing it ... Read more The post Why You Should Limit Group Work appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more

I’ve been writing here at SCM for 15 years. 748 articles. 12 books and e-guides. Above all else, this takes focus. Which, in this day and age, I have to protect like a rare orchid. Otherwise, I’ll lose the ability to shut out distraction ... Read more The post How To Handle Students Who Do Nothing appeared first on Smart Classroom Management ..read more