Two things happen the third week of school that conspire to increase misbehavior.
Some teachers never recover from it.
The first is that the honeymoon ends. Students become more comfortable. Initial enthusiasm wanes. Self-motivation dissipates.
They fall back into their old ways.
The second is that teachers let their guard down. They assume that the class they’ve had the first two weeks is the same one they’ll have all year.
So they relax their standards. They cut corners. They think they don’t have to be such a stickler anymore.
Eventually, a month or so later perhaps, the teacher begins to grasp that they’re losing control. They realize to their chagrin that this year is looking more and more like last year.
They start asking . . .
- How did this happen?
- Where did I go wrong?
- Why do I keep getting stuck with difficult students?
The class they “loved” not a month before they no longer even like. They think back to the first week of school, conclude they did everything right, and decide it must be the students yet again.
- It’s like teaching hyenas.
- The Covid generation strikes again.
- Social Media has ruined them.
They seek out colleagues to lament the bad hand they’ve been dealt. They sigh and resign to their fate of stress and martyrdom. They long for retirement.
This exact scenario will be repeated in thousands of classrooms over the next several weeks. And it’s all avoidable.
They key is just three things:
1. Awareness
The honeymoon period is real. It happens every year in every classroom unless you stick to the same precise standards, rule definitions, expectations, routines, policies, and consequences.
You can never let your guard down, ever, ever, ever—from the first minute of the first day of school until the last student leaves campus on the last day of school.
2. Shrewdness
If you let up in any area—give in, ease up, slack off—you’ll pay for it in spades. If you give students an inch, they’ll take a mile. Even if you recognize it a month later, it’s tough to reverse.
You must be as shrewd as a viper, sharp and on your game every day. Accept only excellence in fulfilling whatever you ask of your students.
3. Progress
There is no stasis. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. You must push for more, higher, and greater progress each day. You must force the envelope continually.
This is how to make a leap in improvement with even the most challenging class. This is how you turn a disparate, ragtag, undisciplined group of students into your dream class.
Stop the Slide
You must stop the slide before it begins. You must draw your line in the sand on the first day of school and then hold it as if you’re Leonidas at Thermopylae.
The best part is that your students will rise to the challenge.
It’s in their DNA to seek more. The same DNA that drove Boone through the Cumberland gap and Hilary to the summit of Everest. Yes, it’s dormant in a lot of our students. But it’s there.
The key is your own expectations of excellence.
It’s in your own desire to seek out, overcome, and stand victorious in the end. It’s in your own belief in young people and what they’re capable of. It’s in the quiet moments of truth tugging at your heart as the sun rises on another school day.
PS – Check out this week’s YouTube videos:
1. Why Your Class Gets Harder to Control as the Year Goes On
2. How to Stop Students Breaking the Same Rule Again and Again
3. How to Calm a Class That Won’t Settle Down
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