Getting Control of Your Classroom

photo credit: www.futureofeducation.blogspot.com
Getting Control of Your Classroom
photo credit: www.futureofeducation.blogspot.com

Getting control of your classroom is essential to learning.  That’s why it is crucial to go back to the beginning the moment you feel that you’ve lost control of your students.

What if you can’t get your students’ attention?

Disrespect is exasperating for teachers, and can leave them feeling powerless, unimportant and completely insulted.  You may end up getting more upset while you wait, and possibly losing it by yelling or threatening.  And while this may get their attention, the hostility you’ve created is going to get in your way in everything you do.

However, there is a method to get command long enough to begin again without damaging your relationship with the students.  The instant you become aware that waiting isn’t doing any good, use the “reciprocation strategy.”

You need to put all your aggravation aside and appeal to the law of reciprocity, which simply says if you’re nice to someone, they’ll want to be nice back to you.  They’ll want to repay the help and respond by doing what you ask of them.  This is a very strong desire that is built into everyone.  It’s so persuasive that almost nobody is able to resist its charm.

The reciprocation strategy is simply a strategy to get a few moments from which you can start getting your class back in order.  However, it is not a method you can use every week or even every month.  This is a technique to gain control and engagement of your class without having to resort to yelling or making threats.

As you’re moving through the classroom, it’s important that you are welcoming and pleasant. It’s essential that you smile, make small talk, and even laugh with your class.  The more pleasant and easygoing you are, the faster this method will work. Eventually, as you feel yourself getting control, you simply work your way back to the front of the classroom.

You simply need to re-engage with students.  So as you thank your class for following the rules, you’ll be sure to get everyone’s attention.  And at that point it’s crucial that you get right into teaching your rules, expectations, and techniques like it’s day number one of the school year.

For more about how to get control of your classroom, read the original article here:

How To Gain Control Of An Out-Of-Control Class

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Articles written by SensoryEdge are a combined effort of the SensoryEdge publishing staff. At SensoryEdge our focus is to educate, inform, and inspire each person caring for children to be and do their very best. It is not always easy and sometimes we don't take action (or we take the wrong action) because of a lack of understanding the real issues. We hope that the conversations that occur here will help in some small way better the lives of children, their families, and the professionals who work with them.