Transcription
Some teachers rarely have behavior problems. Now, the reason for this is because they do things differently than almost anyone else. In today's video, we're going to talk about one of the things that they do differently, which also happens to be perhaps their biggest secret.
Before we get there, however, please do me a favor and subscribe to this channel. Give this video a thumbs up. Leave a comment below. I would really appreciate it.
So, what is this thing that they do differently? Well, they put a far greater emphasis on routines than most teachers. And when I say a greater emphasis, I mean like 10 times the greater emphasis. In today's video, we're going to talk about why this is the is the case. And also how they how they conduct, the methods they use um with the routines, how they teach their routines, that is also different than um the teachers who are struggling, especially. Finally, we're going to talk about um a question that you'll probably have, a what if question that you'll probably have at the end.
But first, one of the big reasons why um these teachers don't struggle with behavior and really focus on routines is because routines fill students with purpose. Purpose. One of the um one of the core principles of smart classroom management is this idea of purpose. We want our students as they're entering the classroom to already have in their mind a purpose or something they need to do or achieve. The second they walk in, they're goal-oriented. There's a particular way they come in the classroom. There's a way, a method to which they put away their backpacks, have their homework in a specific spot, the way they sit down, the way they check their mailboxes, the way they even greet each other in the classroom, and then what happens next? What happens when they sit down? They have that in mind, too. So, they have these goals to accomplish this purpose. And what this does is it cuts way down on misbehavior and prepares their mind for learning.
The next thing uh related to this is that it transfers excellence. Routines transfer excellence to everything they do. So, if you require your students to achieve these goals during your transitions, there's a particular way that they do this during their transitions, the way they pick up science materials, or the way they gather into groups. All these things are uh routines, and when students are used to doing these things well, that transfers to their academic work. It also transfers to their behavior. And so, when we put this heavy emphasis on routines, it makes everything else work much better and far, far easier.
The next thing is that they become more independent. So, independence. Every student in their mind, they're not just following each other. Every student in their mind, they know what they have to do. And this raises their maturity level and also their independence. They feel more confident and more confident, their belief in themselves, their self-worth, and the belief that they can do the work that you're asking of them. This also transfers. If they're able to do the routines, which and we'll talk about how how we challenge them during routines. If they're able to do them, then they're more far more able to do the the work that you give them.
So, how do we teach routines or how do we expect How do we conduct routines that is different than most other teachers? Well, we make them highly specific. Highly specific, extremely detailed. The exact way we want them to enter the classroom. And we even it's it's a really wonderful strategy is to add things to make your routines more complex because they have more on their mind. They don't get kind of lost. It doesn't become so wrote that they shut their mind off. And so often I'll have a piece of tape on the floor that they'll go to the piece of tape, then do a little dance, or they'll go to a piece of tape and recite the vocabulary word from the night before. Um I also have um a poster that says work like a champion today and they hit that. And so we're really specific in what these look like, the routines. They can be fun, too, but they're highly detailed. So, this is really important.
Uh next thing is and also related is we make them lengthy. Lengthy. So, we want to extend the routines. Um there were years I was teaching fourth grade, fifth grade, and the opening routine would last about 10 minutes. They would have up to a dozen items that they would have to do independently. The students are sort of moving, doing their thing, sitting down, preparing, doing some work. All these things that were required of them, the longer and more complex we can push the envelope on their routine, the more purpose-driven they're going to be, the more excellence they're going to pursue, the more independent they become. And so, uh as the year goes on, we want to combine routines and make them longer and longer.
Next is that we want them done quickly. Quickly. I visit some classrooms and the routines are just lining up to and walking down the hallway takes forever, and the students are bored and they lose interest. We want our routines to get faster and faster, not to the extent that they're going to run, and this is why we we like to add things in our routines, so they're always focused. Now, when we add things, we don't add things to uh make them last longer in time, uh we're doing it to keep them focused. And so, we do um require those routines done quickly.
Um finally, they are done unassisted. They're done unassisted, so the teacher is not reminding, uh no, um no uh talking students through everything. In fact, the teacher doesn't say a word, the teacher just observes to make sure that it is um that it is done correctly. So, no narrating, that was the word I was looking for. No narrating whatsoever and no reminding, no scooting students into line or motioning or anything like that. These are routines that are taught well and then um done completely independently by students.
This is an absolute game-changer. If you really focus on this, you'll find that everything else will be so much easier, and you'll save so much time. Whenever I'm asked, "Well, what would I What would I do if I didn't have the ability to use consequences at all?" It would be this. It would be really, really focusing on those routines.
Now, in future videos, we're going to talk about how to teach um the those routines. And also, you may have the question, "Well, what if a student doesn't do the routine correctly? Or what if more than a few students are misbehaving at the same time?" This is also something we'll cover in a future video, but I want to let you know that over at smartclassroommanagement.com, there's a whole category on procedures and routines, and I've covered these topics extensively. So, if you want an answer to that question, you can go there. In fact, I'll leave the article below. Um what happens if a student doesn't do the routine, and how that kind of thing works, whether you should redo routines, and all that sort of thing, and how to teach them. I'll leave a link in the description below.
Okay, hope that helps. Hope you're having a great week, and I'll see you next time.