Every teacher preparation program, professional development, and blog post about classroom management comes with an underlying assumption: if your class doesn’t listen to you, it’s your fault.
If they aren’t learning, it’s your fault. If they don’t do their work, it’s your fault. If they don’t want to learn, it’s your fault. If they don’t follow directions…you guessed it.
It’s your fault.
Now, before you jump all over me, Internet, yes, I know there are bad teachers out there. But there are also a lot of really good teachers out there feeling beaten down and wanting to give up because of the assumption that everything wrong in their classroom is their fault.
I’m one of them.
Classroom management is a key skill to have as a teacher. It’s an art and a science. It can also be really hard to learn. Professors in your credential program will have lots of theory to teach you, but none of it prepares you for the reality of your classroom. And then it’s sink or swim.
And if you sink, it’s your fault.
And it’s not just true about new teachers. Seasoned teachers will also experience this. Some years you just get a hard class. You may know it’s coming. You’ll hear about “that” group of students and know soon it’ll be your turn.
And yet, when it is, and “that” group doesn’t behave, it’s still because of something you did or didn’t do.
This is why teachers burnout, give up, and leave. It isn’t because of the workload. It isn’t because of the pay. It’s because of this very damaging assumption.
All your children come to you with varying levels of background knowledge, different emotional needs, and at varying stages of physical, mental, social, and emotional development. Oh, and, by the way, during the day, you are expected to meet all your students’ needs, socially, emotionally, mentally, and to keep them physically safe. You must keep all of them engaged in well-planned, developmentally appropriate, and sufficiently challenging lessons. All. Day.
If, at any time, any of your darling children is less than engaged in your lesson, it’s because you were not sufficiently prepared. Or your lesson was not sufficiently relevant to your students’ lives. Or your expectations weren’t clear. Or you haven’t consistently enforced your expectations. Or you didn’t allow enough time for students to burn off their energy, or talk with their peers. Or [insert line from your latest professional development].
But all these expectations for teachers leaves out a very important part of the equation:
The students.
Classroom management isn’t mind control. No matter how excited you are about your lesson, how much time and effort you put into it, how much you have practiced expectations with your students, how much you incentivize good behavior, you can not control your students.
They have to choose to learn. They have to choose to listen, and do their work. You can not make them do these things.
Assuming everything is up to the teacher minimizes the students’ responsibility. It gives the message that students are passive automatons waiting for their teacher’s wisdom, rather than human beings with free will. It is a disservice to teachers and students.
Education is a partnership. Teachers are important, but if everything is up to the teacher, students won’t be educated. Students have to want an education.
So, if you are a teacher having a rough year, just remember: it is NOT your fault. I’ve struggled to learn that this year, so I want to pass it on to other teachers who are struggling. This is what I’m telling myself: Do your best, knowing that you are doing your best, and let that be enough.
TL;DR: When you have done all you can as a teacher, and your class is still really, really hard, don’t be so hard on yourself, because it’s not your fault.
selfeducatedconservative 