The Worst Classroom Management Advice Ever

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When you’re having difficulty with behavior in your classroom, there is one piece of advice that often gets shared as the solution. Unfortunately, this advice on its own is not actually helpful. In fact, I consider it some of the worst classroom management advice ever. 

The worst classroom management advice ever

The Worst Classroom Management Advice

So what is this terrible advice for classroom management? It’s two words that are often shared by well-meaning people who are genuinely trying to help people improve behavior in the classroom. Those two words are: Build relationships.

While it’s true that building relationships is one of the prerequisites for effective classroom management, there are a few specific issues with this advice. 

  • Lack of Concrete Ideas: It’s one thing to tell someone to build relationships with their students. It’s another to tell them HOW to do that. It’s really not helpful for people to tell educators that they need to build relationships with their students. It’s much more helpful to give them concrete ideas instead of generic advice.
  • Every Class is Different: Another drawback to this advice is that every class will be different. What works for one might not work for another. Some classes are full of students who are ready and willing to build relationships with you. Other classes present more of a challenge. This is why it’s so important that this advice is presented with actual tips.
  • It’s More Than a Checkbox: Building relationships with your students should be treated like an ongoing journey through the whole school year. Yes, there needs to be a foundational relationship on which to build your classroom management, but the decisions you make throughout the year will continue to nurture that relationship. This advice shouldn’t be presented as a simple box to check off.

How to ACTUALLY Build Relationships

In order for classroom management to be effective, you DO need to have relationships with your students. However, that’s not where the classroom management advice should end. I’m going to share five actionable ideas that you can use to build relationships with your students. 

1. Send Home an Introduction Letter

If you’re reading this post before the beginning of a new school year, this is a small thing you can do to set the tone for your relationship with your students. You can send home an introduction letter during the last couple of weeks of summer, after class lists have been finalized and you have the green light. This can help students get to know you as a person before they ever set foot into your classroom! Knowing even a couple of simple facts about you can really help students begin to connect with you.

2. Use Glow and Grow Notes

If your school year has already started, don’t worry! There’s another very simple thing you can do to transform your classroom management and build relationships with your students: Use glow and grow notes.

Animal themed glow and grow notes

These simple notes are a great way to recognize students for their positive choices while also holding students accountable for misbehavior in the classroom. Both are important in establishing relationships with your students. It just takes a minute or two at the end of the day to fill out a glow note and explain to the class what choices the student made in order to earn that positive recognition.

3. Provide Positive Feedback

Positive feedback is essential for building relationships with your students. Glow notes are just one way that you can recognize your students for the positive choices they make. When you look for the good things that are happening in your classroom, students will realize that you’re a safe person who is invested in their success. You’re not just watching them to find things they need to fix.

Smiling teacher gives student a high five

4. Embrace Students’ Interests

This is another thing that might seem simple, but it can go a long way in developing relationships with your students. Show them that you are paying attention to the things that are important to them! You can incorporate their interests throughout your daily learning routine.

I did this when I taught kindergarten. Sometimes the daily routine in morning kindergarten looked a lot different from what I did in the afternoon because the two classes had different interests. I would try to incorporate those interests into morning meetings, brain breaks, and more. This meant that the sessions of kindergarten weren’t carbon copies of each other. 

5. Build a Positive Classroom Community

This is another piece of advice that can seem a little bit generic, but I’m going to give you a specific example of how you can build a positive classroom community.

Crayon box build a reward system

I have found that it’s a very powerful experience when students are working toward a common goal and getting rewarded for their efforts. A whole class incentive is a wonderful way to build a sense of community and teamwork in your classroom. The more they go through this process, they more they will trust that you will recognize them for their positive choices and follow through on promised rewards. This goes a long way in developing relationships with your students!

Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint

If you‘re interested in even more support to help you build relationships with your students, I have an entire module devoted to this topic in the Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint course. In addition to those video lessons, you’ll also receive access to an entire teacher toolkit of printable classroom management resources like the ones mentioned in this post. 

You’ll find everything you need to build relationships and improve your classroom management so that you can actually teach your students! Just click below to take a closer look at everything included in this self-paced course for kindergarten behavior management.

Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint

More Classroom Management Tips

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel with helpful ideas for kindergarten teachers? Check out this video for even more tips to help you build relationships with your students.

Save This Classroom Management Advice

Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite classroom management board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these tips and ideas when you’re looking for actionable classroom management advice.

The worst classroom management advice...ever!

Amy