I have been working in education for 15 years.
Since starting as a teaching assistant, running my own inclusion units and then becoming an author, I have seen a lot of the classroom challenges that plague classroom teaching.
According to a recent National Education Union survey:
“16% of teachers plan to leave in two years, and 41% plan to be gone within five.”
Another poll stated that:
“62% of the teachers we polled said that they are currently, or have previously, considered leaving the profession because of poor pupil behaviour.”
Whilst I believe many parts of the system are broken, classroom behaviour shouldn’t be one of them.
In fact, classroom behaviour is a lot easier to solve than most people think. We just need to change how we train and support our teachers.
Here’s what we need to do.
Problem #1: Teachers are not trained on the meaning of different classroom behaviours
Traditional teacher training will:
- Complex educational theories
- Give extremely basic knowledge about SEN/SEMH
Then…
- Throw teachers into the wilderness of the classroom and expect them to 'smash it.'
Then, when a child swears at them and is immune to threats of punishment, they are dumbfounded.
Teachers need to be trained on the different types of classroom behaviour and what these behaviours mean.
Poor behaviour shouldn’t be seen as just disruption. For skilled practitioners, poor behaviour is communication.
Once you can crack the 'behaviour code,' your classrooms improve.
Trainee teachers must be given practical communication tools to:
- Build rapport
- Frame their messages
- Soothe dysregulated learners
- Recognise symptoms of childhood trauma
- Assert their boundaries without destroying classroom relationships
Doing this alone will solve 80% of challenging behaviour.
Problem #2: Teachers don't know their classroom management style
Trainee teachers are taught that classroom management starts with the systems and routines.
Wrong. Classroom management starts with you.
Classroom management is dead. It’s all about classroom leadership.
Old school classroom management is about asserting control of the class or else.
It worked in the 70s but not with the social media generation.
Teachers need to understand that they are the emotional bellwethers of their classrooms.
Teachers need training in:
- Positive body language
- Tone regulation
- Movement
- Charm
The better teachers balance their authority and warmth, the better their students become.
Do you know all the Hollywood actors/actresses you love? Do you think the only thing they learn is acting?
They have the top PR companies teaching them to:
- Pose
- Smile
- Answer questions
Our politicians get that too. (But it's a lot less effective...🤢🤮)
Why should George Clooney and Scarlett Johansson have all the fun? That stuff is just as useful to you.
To be an effective teacher, everything has to work together.
Body, mind and soul.
Problem #3 Teachers are not taught how to leverage positive relationships to avoid disruption
There’s a persistent myth in teaching: some people have a natural gift for building rapport with students, and some don’t.
I’m sorry, that’s nonsense.
Pastoral skills are learnable. While some teachers are better than others, I believe most can develop the skills for great classroom relationships.
Trainee teachers need to be taught ‘The Student Triangle’ – The three areas that will have the greatest impact on student behaviour are:
- Personality
- Environment
- School life
If you don’t know anything about these areas in your student’s life, you’re dead in the water.
Great teachers work with all areas of the student's life to get the best outcome for them and their families.
Problem #4: They don't know how to build an effective leadership network
It’s absolutely shocking new teachers aren’t taught how to network.
Building strong connections with other teachers isn’t just useful—it’s essential.
A solid support network helps teachers
- Engage challenging students
- Gain valuable insights into their teaching practice
- Helps them relieve stress, anxiety and negative mind states
- Gives them a sense of purpose and better job satisfaction
Social media offers rich CPD resources to help teachers become great classroom leaders and look damn good doing it.
I’m sure that most of you found me on the ‘socials – and there are buckets of brilliant practitioners you can learn from.
If you are reading this and thinking:
‘Blimey, that’s a lot to learn – where do I start?’
Don’t worry about it! That’s what Teach Outside the Robot is all about. 😎
On actionheroteacher.com, I’ve got tons of blogs, videos, and free resources that you can have a gander at.
I have written almost 100 blog posts on actionheroteacher.com, giving you all the information you need.
But still, that’s a lot to process.
Don't worry, I have your back. 😎
So, I have written a special blog post that acts as a classroom leadership “roadmap.”
The post is separated into sections tackling a specific classroom leadership area. Pick the area you want to focus on and find the post that helps. Click the link below to have a look 😎👇🏾
https://www.actionheroteacher.com/post/5-things-you-need-to-become-the-drake-of-behaviour-management
Simplez!
That’s it for this week’s edition of TOTR.
The next edition comes out on Thursday 12th December 2024
See you then!
Karl
