One of the reasons that so many classroom management decisions can be difficult is that classroom management is really about priorities.
More than one thing is important.
Classroom management is often about choosing between competing priorities and taking a stand about which one is more important in the moment.
As an example, take something as simple as lining up elementary aged students to go to the cafeteria.
You want this done quickly so it doesn’t take up class time and you aren’t late to lunch.
You also don’t want students to forget anything they need to bring to the cafeteria.
You also don’t want your class to be the loudest class in the hallway.
All of these are important, and there are several possible ways that you could improve on any of these things. But each solution has at least the potential to cause another problem.
Lining up students quickly might cause them to forget things. Lining up students quietly might cause them to go slower.
Making sure that they bring everything they’re supposed to might make them go slower and be louder.
Then there’s the issue of: do you use a line monitor?
If you use a line monitor, what is the relationship between that kid and all the other kids that they’re monitoring?
Are you turning someone into a scapegoat?
Are you giving someone too much power? What do you do with the line monitor’s feedback?
Deciding your priorities in advance can help you be more decisive in the moment.
Even if you don’t know the exact solution, you have some sense of the important thing you’re going for. That’s actually why it’s important to be able to say: This is the order of my priorities.
This is also why it’s important to stay away from anything that sounds like “Well, my priority is ‘children'” or “My priority is giving kids the education they deserve.”
This isn’t wrong, exactly; if you back up far enough, these things should be every educator’s priority.
But that’s not going to get you from your classroom to the lunchroom without one kid leaning against another kid’s back until that kid starts screaming.
And that’s not going to get you from your classroom to the lunchroom without your principal noting that your students are louder than they should be.
There are so many pieces that you have to fit together. And every time you move one puzzle piece, it changes the puzzle.
What you really need is the ability to say, “There are many important things in teaching, but in this moment I have decided that this is not the most-important important thing. Right now, there is an important-er important thing, and I’m keeping my sights on that.”
Being able to say that lets you focus on what needs to happen during this 15-minute period.
It gives you some sense of what you’d like to do with the exact puzzle piece in front of you so that you’re not taking a hundred-piece puzzle, dumping it out on the table, and then just going, “the whole puzzle’s important!”
What are your corner puzzle pieces of this puzzle? These are your top priorities.
If you absolutely need to get your class to the cafeteria without drawing the attention of your principal because the class is too loud, maybe that does need to be your number one priority.
Or if your line monitor situation is causing more drama than it solves, you might have to become your own line monitor until you think of another solution.
Sometimes it can just help to say: What are all of the different important things that need to be addressed with this particular routine or this particular aspect of my classroom?
Write them all down and then do your best to put them in order of priority.
Then, look at that very top item and say, “Okay, let’s start with this.”
