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VISIBILITY IS EVERYTHING

Increase Your Classroom Presence to Seem Like You’re Everywhere at Once

Every teacher with classroom experience knows that simply managing your classroom can be an everyday challenge that often overshadows instruction and learning. One of the keys to ensure your classroom stays on track is to create the impression that you are always visible and aware of what goes on within its walls.

When I was a new teacher, I really struggled. All the typical new-teacher clichés applied: my students were constantly off task, I shouted more “be quiet or else” warnings than I had time to enforce, and I left school each day feeling disrespected. Too often, I didn’t feel my students learned anything that day. I found this frustrating because, in my credential program, I’d excelled in all of my teaching-theory classes and had been a pretty decent student teacher. But all of a sudden, on my own in a real classroom, I was sinking.

Then, my dad gave me a book that had seemingly nothing to do with teaching, yet it changed my teaching forever. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (2002) outlines the work of two sociologists, James Wilson and George Kelling, and their broken-windows theory. In this chapter, I explain the thinking behind this theory and how it applies to education. I then present five strategies you can use to ensure there are no broken windows in your own classroom.

The Broken-Windows Theory

The broken-windows theory is quite simple. It’s based on the contested belief that crime is the inevitable result of disorder (Kelling & Coles, 1996). Thus, if you walk by a building with a broken window (or several), you make the connection in your mind that nobody cares for that building and that, if you choose, you are free to go into the building and commit more (and more severe) crimes, with very little potential for punishment.

Gladwell (2002) paints the picture of New York City in 1990, when crime was at an all-time high, and twenty thousand felonies per year were being committed on the subway system alone (Kelling & Coles, 1996). Believing that the city’s history of letting seemingly small, insignificant crimes go unpunished had created in peoples’ minds the perception that they were free to commit more serious crimes, the mayor and police chief decided to implement the broken-windows theory. They ordered the police to crack down on two of the city’s most visible crimes: graffiti and subway turnstile jumping.

Although they received much criticism for putting so much energy and so many resources into these smaller infractions, by 1996, felonies on the New York subway system had fallen by 75 percent, and murders dropped by 66 percent. To be fair, there were many factors at work, and there is justifiable debate regarding the correlation or causation regarding this policy and crime reduction; however, there is no question public perception changed from one of chaos to orderliness, and the health and productivity of the city improved (Gladwell, 2002).

So, as I read this book, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “If application of the broken-windows theory could contribute to turning around one of the world’s largest cities, how might it apply to my classroom?”

I adapted the theory to my role as an educator—not thinking of myself as a police officer, but more as a wise guide (think Yoda from Star Wars), and not thinking of students as criminals but as young people who, regardless of what past experience they bring to my classroom, can thrive with clear, firm guidance (think Luke Skywalker).

The next morning, I walked into my classroom, determined to change my students’ perception of it. No longer would they view my class as an out-of-control environment where they were free to roam; rather, I needed to transform my class into a safe place they recognized as well-organized and effectively managed. I decided to focus hard on two smaller, but much more visible infractions (undesirable behaviors): chewing gum and arriving late to class. I announced to my classes that when we respect our classroom and its expectations, we respect ourselves and our learning. So, starting at that moment, chewing gum or walking in late to class would result in an automatic detention. Then I held firm.

I devoted all my energy that day to noticing and acting on these admittedly two minor offenses. It was exhausting. The next day, I devoted about 50 percent of my time toward this, and the next, just a little. By the end of the week, my students were on task, following directions and, dare I say, learning. The following week, when I announced that I would be gone one day and that a substitute teacher would be taking my place, I overheard a student say, “I’m not misbehaving when the sub is here. Mr. Kajitani will bust you for gum—just imagine what he’ll do if you act out for a sub!”

It was at that point that I realized a crucial truth: visibility is everything. Although assigning consequences and holding students accountable are necessary components of any classroom, intentional, well-thought-out expectations and clear, consistent rules are what truly set the tone and foster a positive classroom culture. Award-winning educator Tom Hierck (2017) writes in Seven Keys to a Positive Learning Environment in Your Classroom:

Expectations serve as guidelines that are important not only in the classroom but, more often than not, also in life beyond the classroom’s four walls. Expectations guide student responses academically and behaviorally. Expectations have an emphasis on lifelong learning and an eye toward growth. Rules, on the other hand, tend to be specific and are often responses to previous negative outcomes. Rules are attempts to guide student responses, but tend to be reactionary and often do not bring about the desired change. (p. 20)

There are all sorts of reasons that students act out, and I write about many of them in part 2 (page 59), but when it comes to general classroom management, our students’ perception of what is happening in our classrooms determines how they act while in our classrooms. Like with the Force, the true power lies in students’ minds.

Strategies for Success

There are a variety of ways you can model for your students to set a tone of positive expectation. The tips in the following five sections can help you increase your powerful presence in the classroom, while keeping your students focused on the learning at hand.

Make Phone Calls Home

Before the first day of school starts, I call the home of every one of my students. (It takes a while, but the time I save not dealing with discipline issues throughout the year comes back tenfold.) I ask to speak with the students themselves, and I tell them that I will be their mathematics teacher that year, that I need them to be in their seat in Room 12 before the bell rings, that they need to have a pencil and paper each day, and that chewing gum is absolutely prohibited. Of course, the specifics that apply best to your school culture and classroom environment may vary from what I list here. Perhaps your students all use tablets or laptops rather than pen and paper. The point is, before they even set foot on campus, you have created the perception you are firm, organized, and paying attention. Keep the conversation short and sweet, and save lengthier discussions about class policies for when your students are all in class together.

Honk and Wave While Driving to School

Each morning, as I drive through my school’s neighborhood, I often see my students walking along the sidewalks. I always honk and wave to them as I drive past. Not too excitedly, but just enough to send them the message that my classroom extends far beyond its walls, and I’m looking out for them at all times. Would-be ditchers always have to reconsider, as they know I’ve already seen them and will expect them in my class. As I walk onto campus, I always say a pleasant “good morning” to every student I walk by, just to remind them that I see them, wherever they are, and that I’m excited to have them in class.

One of my best friends is a successful real estate developer. He makes it a point to attend every networking event in the area. He says, “The reason I go is not just to meet new people, but I want everyone in the business to know that if they cheat me on a commission, they’re going to have to see me everywhere they go.” Needless to say, very few people have ever tried to take advantage of him. Although our intent is for their benefit and not our own, we send the same message to our students every time we greet them outside of our classrooms.

Greet Your Students at the Door

Nothing says, “I’m paying attention” more than your initial contact with your students as they enter your classroom. As you greet them, insist on eye contact. Take the time to speak with your students about the importance of eye contact in our culture. Practice it, insist on it, and enjoy its benefits by using that connection to get to know your students as individuals while letting them also get to know you. Visibility works both ways, a theme you will see return in several of the strategies in part 2.

Utilize the Eyes in the Back of Your Head

No teacher has eyes in the back of his or her head, but there are ways you can give your students the impression that you do. One of my absolute favorite classroom-management tricks often works in something resembling the following three steps.

1. You see that two of your students (we’ll call them David and Ben) are off task. Instead of immediately correcting them, remain silent.

2. Walk to the opposite side of the room and begin helping another student. With your back completely turned, say loudly, “David and Ben, please stop talking and finish your work.” Never look up or make eye contact with David or Ben. Continue helping the original student.

3. David and Ben will be shocked and will wonder how you knew they were talking. (That’s some Yoda magic right there.) While elementary school students will marvel at your seemingly magical skills, even secondary school students won’t be able to deny your innate ability to know what’s happening at all times.

This trick is effective while you are working at the board or sitting at your desk. Each time, continue about your business as if it’s a regular part of your teaching. Again, you’ve created the perception that you are everywhere all at once, and affirmed that as teachers, visibility is everything. Of course, use your best judgment when dealing with more severe cases of discipline, but the more you can put a stop to disruptive behavior without having to engage in threats or consequences, the better.

Insist on a Clean Floor

One minute before class ends, I announce to my students, “This floor was spotless when you walked in; it needs to be spotless as you walk out.” Because the point of this exercise is about having respect for the learning environment, I train the students to pick up any trash around the vicinity of their desks, regardless of whether they are responsible for it being there. This reinforces the impression that everything that is happening in my classroom is visible and that everyone in the classroom is accountable. It also sets up the next class for success as students enter.

Summary

Just as the broken-windows theory contributed to cleaning up New York City, it can also restore and promote a positive learning space for your students to do their best work. You just have to identify those core and most visible behaviors that tend to lead to increased disruption and then be willing to be firm and consistent in addressing those behaviors. What are they? Name them, eliminate them, and get back to teaching those young Jedi who need us.

Reflection Questions

Now that you have completed the chapter, consider and reflect on the following questions.

1. What are the two most visible offenses that occur in your classroom? How do they impact you, your instruction, and other students? What could you start doing tomorrow that would decrease these behaviors?

2. Which of the strategies listed in this chapter could you start using right now, and what effect do you hope it will have?

3. Consider the methods you use to address classroom disruptions. Do the strategies you use promote positive student behavior without resorting to arbitrary consequences? How might you alter your approach to incentivize positive behavior in a more productive way?

4. Which teachers at your school are known for having the best classroom-management skills? Consider setting up a time to go and watch them in action! Then, try a few of their techniques in your classroom and see what happens.

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