How to Establish Authority in the Classroom
‘How do some teachers manage to assert authority in the classroom without yelling and having a calm presence?’
I remember seeing this on a reddit post with over 200 comments. How to establish authority in the classroom is one of the biggest questions on new teachers’ minds. Every teacher wants to feel confident in managing their classroom.
You want students to respect you, listen to you and comply with your instructions.
You want to be a teacher who is personable but boundaried.
You want to be a teacher who is firm but fair- and yes you can be both.
There is a way and this post will give you 5 keys to establish authority in the classroom with confidence.
In This Post You’ll Learn
- Why the most authoritative teachers work on themselves first
- How to set expectations that stick
- Why predictability builds respect (not resentment)
- How to stop making empty threats for good
- Why getting to know your students changes everything
⭐ QUICK WIN-Try this tomorrow⭐
Pick your most challenging class. At the start of your next lesson, ask one student what they did at the weekend. Remember their answer for the following lesson.
Before we die in, are you struggling with a tricky class right now?
I’ve put together a free guide packed with practical strategies you can implement tomorrow-5 Quick Ways to Impact a Tricky Class
Master your Mindset First
Whether you think you can or you think you can’t you’re right.
This quote sums up self belief in just 12 words. Classroom authority starts with you. If you think you are timid, inadequate, bad at behaviour control then that’s exactly what you will see in your classroom.
If you think teenagers just don’t like me, I can’t get through to them- then that’s exactly what you will see in your classroom.
You have to believe that you are not only good enough but more than able to manage your classroom.
Teenagers, like dogs, smell fear.
Think back to your time at school.
Personally I loved the lessons where we had substitute teachers. Why? Because it meant a free for all. We could essentially do what we wanted. As a class, we would particularly love the subs who were timid and afraid of us. Like a pack of wild animals, we sensed their fear and took advantage of them.
The same is true in your own classes. Your students can sense when you are intimidated, uneasy or second guessing yourself. Once they sense it they will play on it and make things much harder for you.
My number one tip is this. Every single day say to yourself I am an amazing teacher who manages my class with confidence. I am capable and the authority in my classroom.
The more you say it the more you will start to believe it. Once you believe it you will act like its true.
Now you may not feel that way yet- and this is why I am writing this blog post to give you some keys to move in that direction.
But authority starts in the mirror.
You have to know that you are in control. And you are more than capable of managing your classroom with confidence.
Be Crystal Clear on What you Expect
One of the essential keys to establishing authority in the classroom is clear expectations.
But to enforce clear expectations you need to know what you expect.
What standards do you have of students? How do you want them to behave? How should they treat you and their peers?
If you are not clear on what you expect of students they will dictate these expectations.
Now every school will have their own behaviour policy. It is vital that you are familiar with this in your own setting. Students will always push boundaries and attempt to redefine standards so it is very important you set your expectations before they do.
Start here.
Think about what values you want students to uphold in your classroom. Kindness, patience, determination? Set that as one of your expectations.
Think about what attitude you want students to have towards their work. Maximum effort? Try their best? Set that as one of your expectations.
I could go on but the key thing here is to sit and think about exactly what you want of your students. Write these down. You’re likely to have several. Pick 5 and own them.
Knowing your expectations is only half the job- communicating them is the other. Let’s look at that.
Every class you teach should know what you expect of them at every point in the lesson.
Here’s a quick script you can use when students are about to start working.
‘Year 7, in a minute I’m going to ask you to start working on Page 13. I expect everyone to work in silence. You have 5 minutes. Everyone working in 3, 2, 1, off you go.’
Before we get into the 3rd key to establish authority in the classroom, if you have a challenging class right now download my free PDF – 5 Quick Was to Impact a Tricky Class
Be Predictable (In the Best Way)
Consistency is the most important key to establishing authority in the classroom. What does this mean- it’s behaving the same way, every time, every lesson.
Put yourself in your students’ shoes for a minute.
If you had a teacher who gave sanctions to some students but not others. What would you think of them?
If they told you to enter the classroom in silence on Monday but on Tuesday they didn’t care how you entered. What would you think?
If students on the front row were given a merit for being the first to finish a task but you didn’t? How would you feel?
Lessons should be extremely predictable for students.
They should know exactly what to do at every single point of the lesson. They should know what sanction or reward they will receive when they take a particular action. Why should they know this? Because they do the same thing every single lesson.
I remember a student saying to me ‘ Miss you said it differently this time’
She was referring to my call to attention. I use the SLANT Technique from Teach like a Champion. I had changed the order of my instructions and she picked up on it.
Why did she pick up on it? Because I say the same thing every single lesson at every single transition.
Students respect teachers who are consistent.
They may not like it, but they find safety in predictability.
If they know that Miss will always give me a demerit if I don’t bring my equipment, they will think more carefully about their behaviour.
Now let me caveat this. There are times when we need to be flexible in our expectations or compassionate in our sanctions. This is important. This is what makes us personable and adults that students can come to for help.
However, establishing authority always encompasses being consistent.
Say What you Mean and Mean What you Say
After setting clear expectations, communicating them and being consistent in enforcement, another essential key is follow through.
It is vital that you say what you mean and mean what you say.
We’ve all been there. Students are chatting constantly, you say that anyone who speaks next will stay behind at break. Two students speak and get a chance, they speak again – another chance. Break time comes and the lesson is ruined but everyone is going to break on time anyway.
Don’t make empty threats.
It slowly erodes any respect that students have for you. Students learn that your words mean nothing and that is a very difficult situation to come back from.
If you tell students that anyone who speaks will receive a demerit that means everyone. Even the most well behaved student in the class who was just asking their neighbour for a pencil.
It includes the shy student who rarely speaks but briefly spoke to their friend behind them. Now the way you follow through may need sensitivity and discretion. For example a quiet word by their desk.
But anyone means anyone.
It can be difficult at times. But in order to establish authority in the classroom you must follow through with what you said you would do. And that goes for the positive and the negative.
Relationships Are Your Greatest Leverage
The final key in establishing authority in the classroom may come as a surprise – it’s relationships.
Getting to know your students is powerful. As a teacher you naturally get to know which students are the chatterboxes, who are the shy ones, the ones who need extra support etc.
But the focus here is getting to know your students outside of their academic ability. What are their likes and dislikes, what extracurricular activities do they take part in?What are they doing at the weekend?
All children want to feel seen. When they see that you care about them as human beings their behaviour slowly but surely starts to change.
They begin to trust you.
And when they trust you, they respect you.
Think about it. We are more likely to act favourably to people we trust.
Now how do you go about getting to know all your students?
It’s not possible to know something about all of them. At one point I was teaching 150 different kids a week. Learning something about each one would have been impossible.
Start with one class. I’d say your most challenging class. Pick one row of students and endeavour to learn one thing about each of them. It doesn’t matter how small.
Even a simple ‘what did you do at the weekend?’ is powerful.
The key is to try your very best to remember it and mention it again.
Then move onto the next row and so on.
Yes it could take some time but it is so worth it.
Final Thoughts
This post has given you 5 powerful keys to establish authority in the classroom. None of these involved shouting or being overly strict – but warm, personable and consistent.
Remember that it starts with you- you are the authority in the classroom- believe it.
Set your expectations, communicate them clearly, be consistent in your approach and follow through each and every time.
And don’t forget you are a human being before you are a teacher- get to know the little human beings in your care. It’s a gamechanger.
Ready to go further?
If you want a complete behaviour management toolkit to take into your classroom with confidence, check out Chaos to Calm- my step by step guide designed specifically for new teachers.
Related Post: 5 Powerful Ways to Control a Class Without Yelling