When I first started teaching there was a lot of attention placed on your classroom management style. There is still a great deal of professional literature and advice out there on how to best manage your classroom, and to be fair, it is often a big concern for teachers. This approach, however, assumes that the students there are there to be managed when they are really there to learn. On the surface it seems obvious that they first need to be managed in order to learn, though I would put forward that if you are spending all your time managing, then when do you find time to teach? Also, classroom management implies that the classroom itself is simply a construct of the adult(s) in the room, in that they drive the entirety of it and their will is simply imposed on the students who are in the room. An approach dedicated entirely to management is problematic for a few reasons, the least of which is what happens when that teacher leaves the room, or if they are absent that day and those students have a substitute teacher. It also often can lead to a situation where respect gets confused for fear which can compromise the psychological safety needed for learning to happen. 


A focus on creating a classroom culture is a more nuanced version of classroom management. In this version, there are expectations and norms that a classroom buys into as a group, rather than simply having them imposed on them; a Power With rather than Power Over as you will. This phrase tends to rub some people the wrong way, because there is a fear that if your power is given away, then you lose control of your classroom. This assumption, however, fails to recognize that this approach works because you as the teacher aren’t trying to control the class, you are setting up an environment where students control their own behaviour. It gives each student personal responsibility to create and maintain the learning environment for themselves because they are members of the classroom community. It also leaves room for learning, which is why they are all in the classroom together in the first place.


A true classroom, or even school culture, I think can be defined as such:


Culture: The interconnected relationships amongst a group and the norms by which they buy into and agree to live by.


In this version, there is an agreement by all involved that they participate in the common norms rather than simply being subservient to rules. 


Some factors that make this work:



This has long been a struggle for some because they are equating the idea of everyone deserves respect with everyone's the same. But it is important to remember that the adults have a very different legal and professional responsibility than our students and this division of roles and responsibilities is a part of how things should work. It is very similar to the division of roles between administrators and teachers, each having different responsibilities needed to make school work. 


The hard part is when we confuse these responsibilities and take advantage of privilege. As an example, if you tell students they cannot eat or drink in class, and you are drinking your morning coffee when saying this, students will sense the hypocrisy. If we tell students to treat others with respect, but they embarrass them in front of their peers or make frequent use of sarcasm, then students will likely lose respect for you as well. One of the roles that adults need to set is to be a good role model for our students and this means modelling the expectations you seek. 


Of course, even when we are setting a good example and modelling expectations, there are times when norms will not be followed and there need to be procedures in place for this as well. The strongest norms are the ones in which the group itself can point out when they aren’t being followed. However, given that we are dealing with youth, there are times when they will need help in maintaining those norms and expectations which may take the form of office referrals, home contact and or even programming that is specific to teaching those behaviors. 


Coupled with the idea of addressing issues, there are those that say 'what you permit, you promote' and while there is some merit to that, I also think that learning to pick your battles is an important skill as well. Sometimes we pick the wrong ones and fail to pick the right ones. Generally, my rule of thumb is that unless it is a safety issue, an active disruption to the learning process, or a clear violation of expectations then it is worth addressing. If it is not, then it is something that can probably slide for the time being to address later. As an example, a student who is talking loudly when you are teaching needs to be addressed since it impacts the learning of others. A student who has their head down and is clearly disengaged but the teaching process can continue, is probably not worth stopping class for to address (to be clear, I'm not saying we never address it, but not in that time or space). Unfortunately the metric that we sometimes use is how that student will react so we don't always intervene when we need to if we anticipate an explosion. In this case, it may be best to get them out of the room to address it instead of in front of their peers since often the issue quickly becomes less about whatever the initial problem was, and more about both sides trying to save face.


Relationship building and getting to know your students is a huge component of any successful classroom culture. However, alone this is not enough. It needs to be coupled with the establishment of engaging and meaningful learning activities coupled with support and psychological safety. Part of this is addressing when norms and expectations are violated. Every interaction we have either strengthens or fractures a relationship, so it is important when events happen and relationships are fractured, to be sure to have some strengthening interactions as well so it does not break entirely. Restorative work following events can serve this purpose to help support your classroom culture.