Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers

#1: What Kind of Classroom Management Does God Call Us To?

from SERIES: Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers

You know, as Christian teachers it would be really helpful if there were a verse in the Bible about how classroom management should look…right?!

Ok, God might not have given us a specific chapter and verse about modern classroom management, but in His word He’s shared a ton of wisdom about how He wants us to serve Him in our classrooms.

1) Our Father’s desire is that our classrooms would be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

As a spirit-filled teacher, those fruits of the spirit should play a crucial (and increasing) role in how you manage your classroom… and when you pray for and rely on the Spirit’s strength, they will!

Think for a moment about which one or two of those areas God is seeking to grow you in, and pause to pray and ask for His strength.

2) Our students need to be more than their behaviors (or their brains, for that matter) to us. We are called to love all of God’s children and see them as He sees them.

God placed you in your students’ lives so that you can be a light that points to Him.

If your students think you only want them to be good because it makes your job easier, not only will your classroom management suffer, but more importantly, the eternal impact you have will be stifled.

To allow Christ’s light to shine in your classroom, you need to show that you desire to know your students as the precious children of God they are, and that you care for them as individuals.

3) As teachers, we are called to help shape our students’ brains AND their characters. Teaching students right and wrong, and holding them accountable for wrong, is part of our calling, and it ISN’T something you should shy away from in your classroom.

In our culture, this idea can be quite controversial, but it is so important for our students to know there is a standard of right and wrong and that there are consequences for their actions.

There’s so much more to this discussion, so be sure to listen to the full episode here.

You’ll also want to dive into some practical aspects of classroom management by signing up for Teach 4 the Heart’s FREE training: How to Reduce Disruptions without Yelling, Begging, or Bribing!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Free Webinar: How to Reduce Disruptions without Yelling, Begging, or Bribing

Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers
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#2: 3 Common Mistakes in Classroom Management

from SERIES: Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers

Have you ever been told you're "too nice" of a teacher? Or have you worried that you have to be mean in order to get students to behave?

Sometimes we get caught in this conundrum, thinking we have to choose between being kind or being strict. But that's not true at all.

In reality, we need to be both kind AND strict.

We should be nice, personable, understanding, and fun to be around. But at the exact same time, we need to have high expectations, deal with issues, and not be pushovers.

When we hold students accountable - but do it with empathy and kindness - our students start to respect us and respond to our leadership.

And our classes become much more calm and focused.

Another way to look at this mindset shift is switching from the goal of getting your students to like you to responding in ways that will cause your students to respect you.

Respected teachers will not need to be mean, simply clear
about their expectations and firm about upholding them.

This is just the first of the three most common mistakes in Classroom Management. Do you want to learn about the other two mistakes so you can stop making them and starting moving towards a calmer & more focused classroom?

Listen to episode 2 of our podcast series called Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Free Webinar: How to Reduce Disruptions without Yelling, Begging, or Bribing

Classroom Management 101: Get Step-by-Step Help to Create Your Classroom Management Plan

#3: 4 Steps to a Well-Managed Classroom

from SERIES: Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers

If you are tempted to skip over classroom management this time of year, DON'T!

In episode 3 of our podcast series Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers, Linda walks you through 4 steps to create a smooth-running class.

It can be human nature to want to brush classroom management off until next year. After all, here are common thoughts teachers have:

1. My class is already settled in to their ways. They will not deal with these changes well.

2. I have a year-end review, testing, and reports to do that deserve my attention. I don't have time for this.

3. It's so much better to start next year with a clean slate and a fresh group of kids.

Here's the thing---all three of these ideas are true. But, none of these ideas are serving you or your classroom.

Here are 3 key reasons you MUST WORK ON CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT NOW, even if it feels like the timing is off.

1. Your current students deserve a well run classroom just as much as the ones who are coming next school year. You may not be able to solve all the issues in your class, but if you pick a few key ones to focus on, your students will have a classroom that will be running better than when they arrived!

2. You know all those things you have going on at the end of the year? The testing, reports, room closing, and more? If you have your students on board with some key procedures, they can actually HELP you instead of working against you! You don't have the time to skip over this!

3. This last point is my favorite---Even if you don't master classroom management by the end of this year, you will have improved!

Improvement leads to confidence.

That confidence is the secret sauce that makes everything run more smoothly - the intangible that students can sense and that makes them take you more seriously.

The first step? Listen to episode episode 3 where you'll discover the 4 steps you need to take to reduce disruption and create a classroom you actually enjoy teaching in!

NEED HELP CREATING A CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN?

In Classroom Management 101, you'll implement a classroom management plan that works so you can stop being frustrated by student misbehavior & actually enjoy teaching again!

Find out more about Classroom Management 101.

Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers
CHECK OUT THE FULL SERIES:

#4: True Teaching Tales: How a Classroom Management Plan Built Laura’s Confidence

from SERIES: Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a classroom management plan that reduces your stress and boosts your confidence? What if other teachers were coming to YOU because your students were talking about how effective your methods were? That’s right, your STUDENTS were talking about your classroom management to other teachers!

Believe it or not, that’s what happened to science teacher Laura Lucas after she created a classroom management plan!

Laura teaches science to multiple grade levels and is a traveling teacher, so instead of having her own classroom, she travels to different teachers’ rooms. At first, Laura tried to run her class according to the classroom teachers’ rules, but it was difficult for Laura to keep track of how different teachers did things.

When Laura joined the All-New Classroom Management 101, she went through the process of creating a classroom management plan. Here is the advice she would give to other teachers:

1. Start right where you are- You don’t have to create a perfect plan right away. Your plan will be a living document and you can improve it as you go along. Creating a plan just gives you a place to start.

2. Evaluate what’s going RIGHT- What is currently working well? When you begin with this question in writing your classroom management plan, it will boost your confidence to see that you’re already doing a lot of things right.

3. Evaluate what you’re already doing- Start by defining what you’re already doing and ask yourself these questions:

• Is it effective?
• Is it sometimes effective? If so, when does it work and when does it not?
• Do you need to change things up? Is there someone you need advice from?

4. It’s worth the time- Having a concrete manual to go back to each year reduces stress and gives you less to remember since it’s written down. It’s as important as your long-range teaching plan or your curriculum map. If things get off track, you can come back to it to see what’s working, what needs to be tweaked, and what areas you need to tighten up.

After Laura created her plan, she was able to collaborate with other teachers to help their classrooms run more efficiently. The noise level chart she created was so successful the students mentioned it to other teachers and the art teacher asked for a copy to use herself! To hear what else has changed for Laura since she implemented a classroom management plan, listen to the full episode above.

NEED HELP CREATING A CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN?

In Classroom Management 101, you'll implement a classroom management plan that works so you can stop being frustrated by student misbehavior & actually enjoy teaching again!

Find out more about Classroom Management 101.

Effective Classroom Management for Christian Teachers
CHECK OUT THE FULL SERIES: