How to Reset a Class That Has Lost its Way

Regain control of an out-of-control class

You’re looking to solve a problem. In fact, a pretty big problem at this point.

You’ve got an out-of-control class.

Not just some minor, infrequent calling out or some loud banter between friends.

This is much more serious. You’ve got….

·       Blatant loudness. Students can’t hear you and you might as well not be in the room.

·       Students out of their seat or out the classroom altogether. Without your permission of course.

·       Fighting, hitting, shouting and students not getting along.

·       Rudeness, disrespect, name calling, and personal attacks and jokes – at you and other students.

This is the class you dread coming to every Thursday afternoon in the last two periods of the day. It’s the one that challenges and tests you, the one that makes you ask yourself….

….why me?

The bad news about the reality of this situation is; it’s your responsibility to fix it.

The good news is that you can turn this around, and it’s actually easier than you think.

No One is Blaming You

Don’t feel bad for having a class you can’t control and are struggling with.

At some point, this is something every single teacher deals with. Unfortunately, it is a very necessary process to get you to level up, adapt and become a much stronger teacher.

There are times throughout your career when you have to face the music and wake up to the fact that you need some help.

It could be with a particular student or group of students, or an entire class that throws challenges your way you’ve never dealt with before.

Every experienced and proficient teacher has faced this and come out the other side.

What matters is your attitude, your ability to reflect and most importantly – your ability to persevere and keep trying.

You will get there. I’m going to show you how.

The Great Reset

The first thing to do with an out of control class is to slow down and go back to square one.

What’s that, you say?

Yes, I know you have tons of curriculum content to get through. I know your reports are due and they haven’t completed enough work as it is.

But there’s one thing that will sabotage you in this situation more than anything else; it’s persevering when the going gets tough.

You need a hard reset, which means going back to basics. We’ll start with a review of your expectations.

There are a multitude of reasons why you can begin to lose control of your class, and the very first thing you need to do is stop them in their tracks.

It might take you longer than expected, but this is absolutely necessary. You won’t get your students to do anything until they’re calm, settled, and ready to learn.

What you need to do are the following steps:

• Stop your class. Stop whatever activity, transition, or content you were delivering. Tell them to put pens down, laptop screens shut. Wait and be patient. Adding your two cents or showing your anger and frustration will re-direct back on you, because you are the leader, and this is your responsibility.

• Don’t begin until all sets of eyes are on you. No one is fidgeting, laughing, or talking. All four chair legs are on the ground, and everyone is in their seat. Not any seat – their original seat.

• Explain what the issue is, and what’s currently not working. Be detailed and give them examples without shaming anyone. It could be something like ‘I’m disappointed with how we’re currently working. The noise level is very loud and a lot of us can’t concentrate. I’d appreciate it if we lower this a few decibels.” Be neutral, clear and direct – no lecturing. It’s already happened.

• Defer back to your expectations. These will either be at the front of your classroom on some A3 paper, or displayed on your classroom screen. Detail the specific expectation that was broken, and what you’d like to see moving forward. Eg. “Today I’m not seeing much listening or following directions. For example, I’ve seen Example A and B these last 10 minutes. What I’d like to see until the end of the lesson is that we’re doing Example C and D so we’re more productive and wasting less time.”

• State why the expectation matters. Students need purpose and drive, and sometimes they need to be reminded of what their true purpose is. This is a chance to reset and wake them up, not to place blame. Focus on what needs to happen moving forward.

• Remind them of the consequences for not following instructions. This can be a good option, if you have already seen repeated behaviours from certain students. It is not used as a threat, but as a pre-emptive forewarning of what you are going to do. Eg. “Group at the back, I’m seeing a lot of chatter today and not a whole lot of work. I don’t mind you guys talking but we need to get work done as well. If we can’t focus for the next 20 minutes I might have to move some of you to help make that happen.”

• See them off and watch them closely. Don’t take your eyes off them for a long while. Observe, listen, and watch closely for problem areas you might need to address first with your words and presence. This reinforces your message that you’re serious and care enough about them that you won’t let this go.

Out of control classes usually occur from a few repeated behaviours you’ve likely let slide, ignored, or not fully addressed enough through your expectations and follow up.

Don’t take this personally. It’s not about you.

A mistake I would make in my first few years of teaching is assuming when a student, or group of students, were out of control, that this was intentional disrespect.

It can feel isolating, demeaning, and incredibly frustrating when you feel completely alone amongst your students. And if this makes you angry, upset, and completely put off your students at times - that’s understandable, too.

Misbehaviour is rarely ever personal.

You can always turn things around and get things back to working how you want them to.

Following this process is one highly effective way that reinforces some fundamental principals you’ll gradually remember to employ whenever it happens again.

These are….

• Ensuring you address misbehaviour when it happens. Don’t let anything go. If it breaks an expectation or rule you’ve set, it must be addressed quickly and consistently.

• Observe your students. You should always be watching your class and have a very clear picture of how everyone is working. This is your duty of care. If you must do one-on-one work, this cannot be at the expense of managing the rest of your class. Over time, you’ll know them like the back of your hand. Observing their behaviour tells you much more information than playing the role of Chief Investigator.

• Slow down. Rushing yourself, talking too quickly, and teaching from a state of nervousness or fear is something students will pick up on. This creates tension in any classroom and will make your students feel awkward and primed for disengagement. Watch them when you speak to them and make frequent eye contact.

• Should things get out of control, and you’re putting out spit-fires everywhere, that’s a signal it’s time to stop, pause, redefine the expectations, and watch closely moving forward.

Losing control of your class doesn’t mean they’ve suddenly lost respect for you.

It can happen to the very best of us.

It doesn’t mean that….

X you’re a failure as a teacher

X you don’t know how to manage a classroom

X your students don’t respect your authority

X you have an unsolvable class from hell

It does mean you’re human, you make mistakes, and you miss things sometimes. We’re all guilty of that.

When you realise you’ve lost control, don’t panic.

You can always turn it around. Be calm, don’t take it personally, and don’t show anger and displeasure.

It’s a brief lapse, and you’re going to fix it.

Do it enough times, and you’ll always know what to do.

Stop, pause, redefine the expectations, and observe like your life depends on it. Students need clarity and calm authority.

Not pushing through misbehaviour by slowing down and ensuring you’re doing what’s best for them won’t cost you your job.

When you’ve pulled or redirected your challenging class out of that spiral enough times, you’ll grow so much in confidence that this type of thing will never phase you again….

Leaving you to focus on the stuff that makes teaching really fun, letting the real, stress-free version of you shine through.

Remember,resetting a class doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It’s a proactive and opportunistic approach for you to demonstrate your leadership.

Do it calmly, without judgement, anger or animosity and watch your class change.