I attended a small private university in downtown Indianapolis, and I loved every second of it, but I also received some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard from a member of the faculty there right before I was set to begin my first teaching job. And I bet it is a piece of advice almost every new teacher has been subjected to.
“Don’t smile until Christmas.”
The message behind this particular chestnut is that you have to establish your authority early as a young teacher, and you can’t let your students “walk all over you.” You have to present a tough exterior. You have to have DISCIPLINE. You have to enforce the RULES. Fun isn’t important. Being yourself isn’t important. What’s important is CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.
Listen. Pardon my french, but that’s bullshit.
I clearly remember my first day as a brand new teacher. I was 23 years old. I wore a suit to school so that I “looked like an adult.” I created a “classroom management plan” and posted it all over my room. My very first class was a beginning choir made up entirely of freshmen, and I immediately launched into a discussion of my expectations, all of my classroom consequences, etc. I clearly remember publicly chastising one boy, who eventually became one of my highest achieving students, for talking while I was talking. On the first day!
It seems ridiculous now. I felt the need to make myself into a completely different person in pursuit of the goal of “classroom management,” the thing that I had been taught was the MOST IMPORTANT PART of being a teacher. When I would talk to veteran teachers, parents, and faculty, the advice “Don’t smile until Christmas!” was cheerfully offered, offhand, as a rule to live by. Not “prioritize student learning!” or “make sure to build rapport and relationships!” or “take care of yourself to avoid early burnout!” Nope. That was not ever part of the conversation. Make sure the kids stay in line. Teach them to be little choir robots. Keep your classes orderly and quiet.
Over the course of my first few years of teaching, I did what everyone does. I made a lot of mistakes. I cried during my lunch breaks. I found joys in building relationships with my students and engaging them in awesome content. I spent a lot of time teaching reactively instead of proactively. And I slowly figured out what kind of teacher I am. And here’s some truths, at least for me: I teach best with a little chaos in the room. My students are loud and boisterous and sometimes I have to ask them multiple times to be quiet and focus. I would rather have excited chatter and bouncy energy than discipline and control. I would rather have to spend time asking the kids to be quiet than trying to generate excitement from well-trained and silent musicians. It’s just what works for my and my personality. I’m not saying that’s right for everyone. Everyone has to find their own voice as a teacher, and my voice is weird and loud and colorful and covered with sequins.
I also believe that having a “classroom management plan” is a weird concept. My classroom management plan is good teaching. If they are engaged, if you are giving them quality instruction and executing well-planned lessons, that is all the classroom management you need. Sure, every once in a while something happens and I have to send someone to the office or whatever, but mostly I earn respect in the classroom by showing the students respect. Respect is more powerful than any “consequences chart” could ever be when working with high school students.
Listen, students aren’t stupid. They are much more perceptive, intuitive, and insightful than we ever give them credit for. They will forgive a lot of things, but one thing that I think they just can’t bring themselves to swallow is when their teacher is faking it. They can absolutely tell when you aren’t being authentic. When I walked into class in a suit and unsmilingly told them to sit in their assigned seat and remain quiet until they were called on, I wasn’t being myself, and they could tell, and they resented it and didn’t trust me.
So, young teachers, here is my advice to you: be yourself. Smile if you want to. And care about the kids. That’s really all you need to be successful.
What’s the worst advice you ever received? Let me know in the comments.
