One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how to fix classroom management mistakes early in the school year. September can feel like a honeymoon phase, but loosening routines too soon almost always backfires. In this episode of the If Teachers Ruled the World podcast, I share common classroom management mistakes teachers make and practical strategies for maintaining structure while still building strong relationships with students.
Classroom Management Strategies for Teachers
Have you ever been so enthused by a classes behavior and drive during the first few weeks of school that you get too lenient too quickly. This is an easy trap to fall into. Today, I’ll the story of how letting advanced students choose their own seats turned into a disaster, why a relaxed phone policy quickly unraveled, and how I had to course correct when I gave students too much freedom too soon. What I learned is that maintaining classroom structure doesn’t weaken relationships, it actually strengthens them. Students feel safer and more focused when they know what to expect.
You’ll also hear the exact scripts I now use to course correct when I’ve already loosened the reins too much too soon, and my go-to response when students say, “But we’re being so good, can’t we just…?”
Key takeaway: It is much easier to loosen classroom rules than it is to tighten them back up. September and the early part of the school year are too soon to relax your systems.
Key Moments:
1:34 – Early in the school year classroom management tips for avoiding the “honeymoon phase” trap when routines start to feel unnecessary.
2:16 – Common classroom management mistakes: getting too comfortable and loosening structure with well-behaved students.
3:40 – How to fix classroom management mistakes when flexible seating charts backfire and create classroom chaos.
4:31 – New teacher classroom management advice on maintaining phone policies even when students promise responsibility.
5:24 – Classroom management strategies for teachers who want to balance relationship building with consistent routines and expectations.
7:16 – How to maintain classroom structure without creating resentment when course-correcting behavioral issues.
9:25 – Practical scripts from the If Teachers Ruled the World Podcast for responding to student requests to relax rules.
10:43 – Essential classroom management strategies for creating safe learning environments through consistent expectations.
Resources and Links
Teaching with Love and Logic: Recommended Reading
Smart Classroom Gamification: Course to Streamline Gamification and Build Classroom Community
Dealing with Difficult Students: What to Do When Nothing Works: For When All Else Fails
Prefer Reading? I’ve Got You…
Show Transcript
Hey, teachers. Welcome back to if teachers ruled the world. I’m Leah Cleary, and this is your September Practical Tips episode. Though, honestly, if you’re listening to this in October and thinking, oh no, I already made this mistake, don’t worry, we’re going to talk about that too.
Here we are about a month into the school year. We got through those first few weeks of getting to know each other and establishing expectations and routines, you’re starting to feel like you know your classes, and maybe you’re even thinking that some of your routines and structures aren’t necessary. Your kids are really good. It would be so nice to just relax a little bit. This is a dangerous time for teachers, loosening the reins too early. It usually feels right, especially if you have a really good class, but things will inevitably spiral out of control.
Today, I want to talk about one of the biggest mistakes I see new teachers make. And one I’ve definitely made myself multiple times, and that’s getting too comfortable too early in the year. I’ll tell you about one time this happened to me. This was many, many years ago. I’d been teaching all the more difficult classes. And when I say difficult, I mean classes with kids who had a lot of issues that made them a little more challenging to teach. You know, nice kids, but maybe they had some behavior issues or some motivation problems, a lot of times, issues that can accompany learning deficits.
A couple of years into teaching social studies, I got my first advanced class. I was stunned at how easy it was to teach these kids. Wow, they behaved. They did what I asked. They contributed to class conversations without me having to coax every single word out of them. They were really, really good kids, and I liked them a lot. So there I was, about a month in, thinking these kids are so mature, so responsible, and I made what felt like a reasonable decision at the time. I said, You know what, we’ve had a seating chart for the first month, but y’all have been so good. Go ahead and sit wherever you want.
Rookie mistake that changed the dynamic of the entire class. Because what happened? They started putting themselves next to people I’d never put them by. Overnight, we had way too much talking, way too much socializing and way too little learning happening. The problem was, once I loosened the reins without giving them any conditions, I had made it way more difficult for myself to tighten them back up. Now I had to go back and say, Okay, back to a seating chart.
But they had already heard me say, you can sit wherever you want. Now they felt like I owed them that. Suddenly, I was taking away something that I had given them. This created resentment and a very difficult September. And this wasn’t the only time I made this mistake.
Let me tell you about the phone situation with another class. They were really good kids too, and they said to me, we’ll show you that we can handle it. We won’t have our phones out during class. And I thought, You know what? They’ve been great. Okay, you don’t have to check your phones at the door anymore, but don’t have them out during class. I think you can probably guess what happened. They didn’t technically have their phones out. They were hiding them in their laps. So see, they weren’t out. They were constantly texting, though, constantly on social media during my lessons. And then I had to tighten the reins again and make a lot of kids really, really mad when life would have been a lot easier if I had just said that’s a classroom rule, so we’re just going to keep on doing it.
Here’s what I learned the hard way. It’s much easier to loosen the reins than it is to tighten them, and September is way too soon to do that to yourself. Now I want to be clear about something. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a good rapport with your classes and maintain your routines and structures. You can absolutely do both. In fact, you should, but there’s a difference between building relationships and letting things slide because you think they’ve earned more freedom.
Let me give you a perfect example with the seating charts. A lot of people think they’re in high school, they should be able to pick where they want to sit, and I say no to that, regardless of how good the class is, regardless of if they’re freshmen or if they’re seniors. Here’s why. They need to practice working with different people. They need to practice working with people they maybe wouldn’t choose to work with, because that’s practice for life.
You also need to have control. If you notice, there’s a group of students who shouldn’t sit together, certain students might talk too much, or they might distract each other with other things. You know, certain students might not get along. You don’t want to put them in a situation where they are constantly fighting with each other because they think they want to sit near each other, but it just doesn’t work out.
Giving up control over where your students sit can be problematic for a lot of reasons. Once you start caving on some of your non negotiables, checking phone seating charts. Those are a couple of mine. Whatever your structures are, it’s really hard to go back. It’s much easier to just maintain the structure than to have to re establish it. Now, can you course correct? Yes, absolutely you can course correct, but it’s much better to not have to.
However, go ahead and course correct now if you’ve loosened up too much, because you don’t want to just let things spiral out of control. It’s just harder on you. If you give somebody something, a gift, a privilege, and then you take it away, that leads to resentment, especially among the students who were still doing the right thing, which will probably honestly be the majority of the class. It’s an unnecessary position to put yourself in, so I would just absolutely recommend against it.
I did have to go back to the seating chart with that advanced class. I tried to share the responsibility with them. I didn’t want to create a me against them scenario, which that is the danger when you give somebody a privilege and then take it away. If I said I tried, but you couldn’t handle it, that would probably especially alienate the students who could, in fact, handle it and did. Instead I decided to have a conversation with them. How do you think this is working out? See that’s not confrontational, and the students who are doing what they’re supposed to do might even say, Well, I’m doing fine, but there are other people who are really distracting. And some did say that things were fine. Most of them were pretty honest about all of the talking and distractions.
So we discussed the situation. I admitted that I shouldn’t have let it happen. I took responsibility. They accepted their new seating chart for the most part. When you’re handling the pushback, and there will be pushback if you loosen the reins and then have to tighten them again. I think it’s very important not to lecture the students about how they messed up, because they already know, even if they deny it, that they messed up. Or they know that their peers messed up. But also, you should take your share of the responsibility. I’m the grown up in the room. I shouldn’t have let this happen. We’re all in this together. Then move on to your lesson.
I now have a script that I use for maintaining structures with good classes when they say, but we’re so good, we’re being so responsible. Can’t we just (insert dangerous requests here)? I say, yeah, you are great, and I appreciate that your behavior shows me that this structure is working for you, so we’re going to keep doing it, and then I just move on. No big discussion, no negotiation. Let’s just get on with that lesson. The structures are working, so we’re keeping them now.
If you’re listening to this in October and thinking, oh no, I already made this mistake, just know that it is never too late to course correct. It will be harder, but you can do it. It’s manageable, and in the long run, it is worth it to course correct. Worth it for your sanity, but it’s also worth it for the students and the learning that needs to take place in your room. The kids know when you’re being a pushover. They know when they’re walking all over you and they don’t respect you for letting them do it. They might think it’s fun in the moment, but deep down, they know you’re not doing your job if you’re not maintaining the learning environment that they need, even if they would never admit that.
So remember, you can have a fantastic relationship with your students and maintain your classroom structures. In fact, maintaining those structures often makes the relationships better, not worse. Your students feel safer when they know what to expect, when they know you’re in control of the learning environment. Don’t let this honeymoon phase in September fool you, those first few weeks when everything feels easy, that’s usually because your structures are working, not because you don’t need them anymore.
All right, teachers, keep those reins steady, keep building those relationships, and remember good classroom management is not about being mean or controlling. It’s about creating the environment where real learning can happen. A big part of that is structure and routine. Thanks so much for listening to If Teachers Ruled the World. I’m Leah Cleary, and I’ll see you next time.