More to do before the first day of school – preventing troubles by getting kids to recognize that you are boss

                Your goal as a responsible teacher is to avoid trouble in your classroom. You keep from being a troubled teacher by following this tip: let the students know, before they ever walk into your classroom, that you are in control. Like it or not, you must be recognized as the authority in your classroom. If you don’t take on that role, you and your students will suffer and you’ll soon learn the meaning of troubled teacher. Sorry, but that is the truth of the matter. I know when you first come out of your training, you are convinced that the classroom is a democracy and everybody must have an equal say. Nonsense. Your classroom is a benevolent dictatorship. And you are the dictator.  It has to be that way in order for it to function.

                I’m sorry, but it makes no difference what a great person you are or how much the kids like you personally. It makes zero difference that you know your subject inside and out, and that you have wonderful lesson plans. If your students are out of control, no learning will take place. In my years in the classroom, both as a teacher and a substitute, I saw many teachers who failed because of this one factor. I have had many students talk to me about the problems they have trying to learn in an out-of-control class. These are indeed troubled classrooms.

                Note that your room is to be a benevolent dictatorship. I have seen, heard and had students tell me about teachers that forgot the benevolent part. They ruled with an iron hand, but engendered fear and hatred in their students. You do not have to go in that direction to keep your students under control, out of trouble and learning.

                It all starts out with a simple, subtle first step. You will make a seating chart before you ever meet your students. This is the method that I found worked the best for me, and, I assure you, I tried out many different ones through the years. I would tape a number to the desk top of each desk. If I had a room with tables instead of desks the table was given a letter and then each place at the table was numbered. I then wrote the number of the seat the student was assigned to next to his name on my roster and filled in that name on the seating chart for that class period.

                Yes, I have had to deal with years the rosters weren’t ready and I had to go back to school on Saturday or Sunday to get them. Some years there was no roster until the first day of school. Then I had cards filled in with the desk number, I handed each student one on her way in. The student put her name on the card and handed it back it so I could fill out the seating chart.

                Along with the seating assignment I had a half sheet that had a short assignment on it ready to give each student. Students were not allowed to write on these. They had to use their own paper. This started training them for the entire year, since I only made classroom copies of assignments. On the top of the paper was the exact form that I wanted them to use to enter their names, dates, class periods on every paper.

                Here’s how all this looked at my door. The first bell rings. I am standing at my door. I have a clipboard in my hand with the student roster on it and a pen. I also have the half sheet assignment under the clip board. Yes, this is a handful but it works. As a student comes up to the door I greet him and ask his name. I check off the name on my roster and tell him his seat number. I take his official schedule sheet from him and hand him the assignment, saying “Please start on this right away.” No student is allowed into my room without first interacting with me.

                Usually students cooperate with me, even when there is still a line at the door when the tardy bell rings. There are always those students who inform me I am wrong keeping them in the hall so long. My answer:  “Too bad.” Then almost every year there would be one student who pushed his way past all the students waiting in line, pushed his way past me to enter the classroom. At that point I had identified one on my problems. I firmly informed him he had to go back to the end of the line and talk with me before he entered. When he gave me his name I entered a star next to his name, reminding me that he would need some special attention from me in order to avoid troubles later in the year.

                Class had just started and I had already accomplished several things. I had my class list and knew who my no-shows were. I didn’t need to take role. It was already done. I had all the schedules to sign and the students were busy with their assignment, so I had time to initial each schedule. If a student had come to the wrong room, I had already sent them on to their correct room without any waste of time, so didn’t need to worry about misdirected students.

                This also let the students know that I was in control, this was my classroom, not theirs, and at no time did they ‘own’ the room. The first day of school was hectic for me, but it was worth the trouble. It went smoothly and set a good beginning for the rest of the school year.