The Teacher Burnout Podcast

Classroom Management Strategies with Mike Geraghty
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Welcome everyone to the teacher burnout podcast. I'm so excited today. We are going to have a conversation with Mike Garrity, a high school principal.
Who's going to help talk about. Classroom management strategies. If you're a teacher and you want just a refresher on classroom management strategies or you're new to classroom management, this episode will be helpful for you as you prepare for back to school.
Welcome to the Teacher Burnout Podcast, where we explore the challenges of burnout for teachers and share practical strategies to support teacher well being. I'm your host Barb Flowers. If you're a teacher looking for ways to prevent burnout or an educational leader searching for strategies to support your team, this podcast is for you.
Let's dive in.
I'm excited. We have Mike Garrity, who is a principal and I'm going to let him introduce himself and talk about his experiences in education, but I had the opportunity to work with Mike when I was a principal.
We worked [00:01:00] in the same district and worked about the same amount of time. He's got a lot of knowledge and experience that I thought he could share with us today on the podcast. So welcome, Mike. Hey, Barb. Thanks for having me. Yeah. You and I were, we were actually, we were both board approved at the same meeting.
Yes. I think it was about nine years ago, actually. 2016. It doesn't say so eight years ago, I'm going into my ninth year.
I didn't go into education traditionally when I was in college. I graduated from Bowling Green and I was looking to go into, possibly law school. However, I did something very unique, I suppose, that I joined the Navy and I went to officer candidate school in Pensacola, Florida, right out of, college.
And I spent six years as an officer in the Navy. My final rank was a Lieutenant. And, I knew I didn't want to do that for the rest of my life. You know, I deployed several times and I was looking to make a change. , I'd always had great experiences with many of my teachers and coaches. [00:02:00] And being a teacher is something that I thought about early on, but didn't pursue when I was in college.
So when I got out, I started taking some classes working towards education and, I became a science teacher and we moved back home and I went to Ken state and I got my master's of arts and teaching to teach science. I taught chemistry, biology, physical science, environmental science, just about every science.
And I was a teacher for six years. And from there, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to become a principal. And since then, I've been an administrator since just like you, 2016, and it's been a great experience.
What are some key classroom management strategies that you really advocate your teachers use in their own classrooms?
Well, it's simple is have a plan. Lesson plans were something that I had to turn in when I was a teacher, but those practices seem to have to have gone by the [00:03:00] wayside. And I certainly wouldn't expect to collect lesson plans from the teachers, cause I don't have time to read them all, but.
You want to have an effective lesson plan that keeps the kids engaged for every second between bells. When the kids come in the room, they should have something to do, some type of bell ringer, some type of bell work. So as soon as they walk in at the beginning of the year, it's important to set up your expectations that we work from bell to bell.
And have them working at the very beginning. And in a high school setting. I would plan for two to four to maybe even five transitions, between different activities, throughout the class period. So the best advice is over plan, have plenty to do, keep the kids engaged. And then from there you want to build relationships and you want to get to know your kids.
Yeah, I, see the same thing in elementary. The more we see that kids attention spans, right. And even as adults, we [00:04:00] don't have the same attention span because of technology. And so you're right. , having those transitions where we can go from one activity , to another. So even if it's independent work to group work or whatever that is, just engaging them in different things so they're not just sitting and listening to lecture for 45 minutes, I think is important.
Yes. And set the expectations right away. You, you want to go over your rules, but then you also want to include the students in on how, how do we want our classroom run? What's the proper procedure for asking you to use the restroom or asking a question? It might sound. Maybe for younger kids, but high school kids, they need that just as much.
And if you lay those expectations down the very first day of school that, Hey, we're engaged. There's no downtime all throughout the lesson. , and you follow through with that, and they see that you're serious that we're not just going to be sitting here for 25 minutes, taking notes that we are going to be engaged, we're going to go from [00:05:00] independent work, like you said, to sort of a whole class.
Collaborative question and answer to small group to partner work, things like that. Just keep them moving, keep them engaged. And they'll tend to be much more interested. And throughout all that, talk to them, get to know them. And , you will have a good lesson. And I can even think back to being in high school, right?
The teachers who had the best classroom management were planning good lessons and engaging us where the ones who were like open book tests, just kind of do what you want. Like we weren't really engaged in learning. We were talking to each other and, you know, it was more like stay out of my hair.
I think that those are great suggestions. And I've even as a sub, when I had graduated, I was a part time title tutor, and then I subbed in the high school on Fridays and I remember people leaving movies for me to share. Yeah. And it was like, I had no classroom management because they weren't engaged in the movie.
I had nothing else to [00:06:00] give them, you know, I'm trying to come up with stuff for them to do. And I was like 22. So I think that is the best advice to always have enough work. And if you do have a sub or somebody else, they're making sure that you have engaging things that they can be working on as well.
Yeah. I know newer teachers, their greatest fear is that they're going to somehow lose control of their class. And, they're nervous about what will happen if, you know, they get into an argument , with the student and they're nervous about looking bad in front of the class.
It sounds simple to say, but really being prepared and planning for a lesson is the best advice for classroom management because kids will act out if, you know, when they're bored I mean, there are other strategies and I'll hear stories about. This one kid talks all the time or he's always on his cell phone and he acts out in these three classes yet these other three or four classes, there's no complaints.
It's obvious to me that, [00:07:00] that , those teachers are keeping that student more engaged. Another thing I, is , they tell you this when in your teaching programs about, Oh, this, this class is horrible, or I can't stand this class. Well, you have to adjust depending on the time of day.
If it's the afternoon classes, especially after lunch can be, a little more, , chatty or active and it's because, you know, now they're wide awake. So you just have to plan for that. And really when a teacher says. My sixth period class is awful. I'll sit down with them and we'll look at the roster and we'll break it down.
Like, okay, so this whole class is giving you fits. Well, no, it's these three or four kids. Okay. Where are they seated? Well, they sit right next to each other. Okay. Because they're friends. So we should probably address that. We should probably move some seats around and really it boils down to maybe one, maybe two kids that are just, acting out, they want [00:08:00] attention or they're social.
Once again, having a good lesson,, is the, is the best medicine for that. And then there, there will be a point where you probably will have to pull a kid aside and talk to them before or after class and just get to know them better and understand why are you doing this? Why are you acting out?
And you're you're going to need to stop this. And then, unfortunately, if it keeps going, then, you know, , they do have the option to possibly, like, refer, you know, insubordination, or disrespect, or, you know, disruptions, because at the end of the day, if they've, if the teacher has addressed it, and they've made several attempts , and then the administration would have to step in and talk to them, find out what's going on and then just move from there.
Yeah. And what you're talking about, pulling them to the side and having a conversation. You know, we find that obviously students listen better when they have a better relationship with their teacher. We see that all the time. You probably get to see it with a student [00:09:00] with how they behave in different classrooms.
Sure. But what advice do you have for teachers to really build those strong relationships with their students so that they do see less behaviors? Well, you have to, you have to find some common ground. You got into education, you work , in a public school setting. You have to take an interest and you get all, you get all kinds of, of students and personalities.
, I heard someone tell me one time, long time ago that the parents send us their best kids. Because those are the kids that they have to send to us. Some are tougher than others. I'm not trying to simplify it and make it sound easy. It's not. , but you, you have to make some attempt. Find common ground.
What are they interested in? If it's sports, that's easier. And especially if they're a student athlete, why don't you go to their games and watch their games and then tell them, Hey, I saw that you made that play. The other night, or, , I heard that you scored 12 [00:10:00] points, something like that. And if it's, a kid that's not interested in sports, everyone's interested in something, whether it's, the books that they read, the movies that they watch.
Some kids like, like NASCAR, some kids like video games, find some common ground and if you keep chipping away and you keep attempting to talk to and get to know this kid on their terms, they're going to be more likely to listen to you and they're probably not going to act out as much.
Yeah. I mean, we use these same techniques, right? In the office as principals is you have to have those relationships with kids for discipline to even mean anything, because, you know, they, if they don't care about you or have that relationship with you and you give them a consequence, they don't care where, if you actually have that relationship that you can, you know, talk to them about, I can't believe you did this.
This is not like you and you're coming from it. looking at them in a positive lens that that's typically how you see [00:11:00] them, then they're going to have a different reaction than if everything is from a deficit mindset about them. You'll have your quote unquote, frequent flyers, kids that they're not bad kids, but they, they tend to act out a lot.
And if you get to know them , as a principal. And you're not just assigning them discipline, but if you sit down and you, and you talk to them, which is easier for principals sometimes, because we don't have 25 other kids, we have to worry about sometimes we can have 10, 15 minute conversations with kids, just one on one, , you find out their circumstances.
From my standpoint, a lot more empathetic of what's going on with these kids at home. And, you know, the teacher might not see it, might not want to hear it. They're just. Frustrated. And, that's when I would, would come in and I would talk to the teacher and say, let's keep working with this kid.
And let me tell you a few things. Generally, nothing confidential. This is what's going on. These are their [00:12:00] circumstances, and this is most likely why that they're, doing what they're doing. Yeah, I once went to a training with Brian Mendler and he was really good talking about discipline issues and basically one suggestion he had was to find anytime you can for that one on one interaction as a teacher, even if it's everybody is gone and you hold him back for five minutes.
Whatever that is that you can just create that one to one interaction, and give them any choice or input that you can on the class or what their thoughts are to show that you really care about what their thoughts are and their feedback, can really help build that relationship and go a long way.
And some of the some of these kids circumstances are so tough at home that literally the school is their safe place. And this is where they get the most attention. And, they really do need the staff and the teachers and the other students. So when you look at it through that lens.
Which is not as easy to [00:13:00] do for the teacher at first, especially a new teacher. It'll help you make you more, empathetic and sympathetic of what's going on. Yeah. So how about, parent contact? Because in the elementary, it's an interesting progression because I was in a K 5 building. So I would see Really early on, like K one, two, they're messaging parents all the time.
To the point I'm like, please set boundaries because parents are messaging them on the weekends and, and they tell parents every little thing, which is great. But at the same time, there does need to be a boundary there. We move up to, intermediate and I start to see less parent communication, which.
Again, it's okay, but sometimes issues come to the office and I say to teachers, have you communicated this to the parent because I never want a parent to hear from me before they hear from the teacher. So how often, especially with older kids, do you recommend that and when do, teachers contact parents?
So I [00:14:00] have two elementary age students. Actually, one is getting ready to transition to middle school, one still in elementary school. There's lots of contact. we use a platform called ParentSquare and I get messages from them. Often I get emails often all the time.
Hey, tomorrow is, , drop everything and read, or next week is Hawaiian shirt day, or hey, we have map testing. I hear from the principal or the teacher all the time. So when you move into the high school setting, I'm not saying that parents care less, but, You know, they want their kids to take on responsibility of, their school day on their own, but, , they are less engaged and not disengaged, but like, I, Hey, , Mr.
Smith, I don't need to know when my kids, English test is, you know, just teach them. So I would recommend at the beginning of the year at a minimum, , either send a letter to your teacher. To , all the students. I am your students, 11th grade English teacher.[00:15:00]
This is my contact information. Please get ahold of me anytime. You can send that out in a letter, or you can send that out in an email. And I would also highly recommend, most schools use Google Classroom. Invite the parents or guardians to the Google Classroom, and not even say anything specifically, but just, they'll be able to see what assignments are due, when, and they'll have a snapshot of what their grade is.
Same thing with our, online grading platform progress book, you would give directions on how to check on that. I would keep the contacts. To a minimum, but I mean, I would also make a point to check in, not only with the students that aren't doing well, like maybe a D or an F, or maybe there's an A student that's all of a sudden, halfway through the quarter, they're at a C.
I would check in with that, but you know, you hear about this all the time. Don't forget to make positive phone calls. Well, that's, that's again, that's easier said than done. And that takes effort, but I would do that. I [00:16:00] would make an effort to try and cold call parents to say, Hey, your daughter was really great answering this question today.
Or your son did a great job solving this equation, just some simple things like that, and you don't have to do them often, but it, adds up. , I did, principal good news calls and it was interesting because I found kindergarten and first, gave me names all the time to call, but as I encourage more people to do them, I found that it seemed like the older the kids, the more excited the parents were.
And if you think about that from a parent perspective, by the time they're a little bit older, you don't know, you hope that they're a good kid when they're out in public without you. So I think hearing anything positive like that. I always say too, it's like an advertisement for the teacher because whenever you call and say something positive, then they're going to have that positive feeling about, you for taking the time to do that.
And it builds that rapport. Sure. So I think that's a good thing. I do that as well. I'll call [00:17:00] for easy things like student of the month, or someone being recognized through PBIS or, GPA, something like that. But I also try and I'm, I'm intentional about making calls when I witness, a student or a group of students being helpful like some upperclassmen, you know, , taking initiative and helping some freshmen along or in the beginning of the year, it's, it's heartbreaking, but you'll have new students or freshmen, they go to a lunch period and.
You don't have anywhere to sit. And a lot of times our upperclassmen will step up and it doesn't make sense why these two freshmen girls sit with a table full of, boys and girls that are juniors and seniors, but kids will, show kindness. So I'll try and recognize them. At home for for acts of kindness as well.
Yeah, I think having those positive interactions with parents and and just keeping them informed is is really important. So what resources or strategies do you share if you have a new teacher or just any teacher [00:18:00] struggling with classroom management? Do you have anything that you would recommend to people?
Well, there are there are books. Lost at School. That's one of the classic books. I won't, maybe I won't assign, like, entire books, but, I have several several books on just, you know, building relationships with kids, but maybe I'll give them a chapter. Will, I will take on mentoring them in that facet.
Any new teacher within the first three years in the district. I will be their evaluator primarily and if I see that that's a need based on their just just based on informal walkthroughs , classroom environment is is one of the big, , rubric points for our evaluation system.
I give them practical advice. I go and observe and, and I'll see, okay, this class isn't bad, but if you changed how it was set up, that would help. , if they were more engaged, so I'll give them all kinds of strategies for student [00:19:00] led collaborative activities or think pair shares or partner work.
Or stations activities just keep them constantly moving and then if I do notice that it's the one or two kids acting up I'll give them strategies on building relationships with them and maybe even planning a conference during their study hall or lunch and just to meet with that student to try and to figure out what's going on to let them know your expectations and certain behaviors aren't going to cut it because it's a disruption for the whole class.
Yeah, one that I've, liked, but I think it's from the eighties is Harry Wong. Of course. Yeah. What is it? First days, first days of school. Yes. And that's still as great. And he has, CDs that I've used in improvement plans with teachers where it is, the effect of school. And it's just basic, like establishing your routines.
And. Making sure that you're really clear on expectations. All the things we talked about building relationships, making sure you actually like care about your kids and very basic things [00:20:00] that I think we all know as educators, but great resource to go back to. I know that that's a book. When I started teaching, they gave everybody a copy in the district.
And I think, a lot of our teachers, had used that book as well. So that's a great one. The first days of school, if you're a newer teacher or. You're struggling with classroom management. I think you can still get it on Amazon. I laugh in the videos. All the teachers are wearing suits. I'm like, nobody wears a suit anymore.
That's a teacher. But, very good information and just practical strategies. That was it. That was something that I was given. , I suppose as a gift at the school I worked at in Florida, first day of school, like here, read this. Yeah. And I mean, it's a lot of very practical, strategies that have stood the test of time.
Yeah. And I think that's what I like about the book too, is it's so old, , and we're always like, kids are so different, but yet they are still the same, you know, we all need routines. We all need expectations. We all need everything to be very clear and to be [00:21:00] engaged in what we're doing and to know that people care about us.
Yeah, it's a good reminder that no matter how much technology changes us and makes us more distracted and all of these things. We are still the same and needing those things to have a successful classroom. Absolutely. Anything else you want to add or, , just give advice to teachers as they start the school year?
Yes, the, the strategies are simple, but , in practice, it, it really is. It's, hard work. Teaching is a very difficult job , but , it's extremely rewarding. And the more you put in and the more time you spend with your students, caring about them, getting to know them and helping them, , the more you're going to get out of it.
There's no hack. There's no book that, that I mentioned that it's going to give you all the answers. , they'll give you strategies, but you have to follow through and it's not going to be great at first, especially with some classes. The longer you hang in [00:22:00] there, , you're going to be more experienced.
You're going to be more comfortable and the better off, you'll be. And, a wise teacher mentor once told me that it takes 20 years to gain 20 years of experience. So there's no shortcuts, hard work and consistency. Yeah. And I think consistency is huge. We didn't mention that, if you say an expectation, you need to be consistent and follow through.
It's always the boring work as you're talking. I'm like the things that we want in life, like our health, you know, weight loss, all those things, a classroom that runs, it's always like the simple, boring things. Keep it simple. The, the best solutions are often the most simplest ones. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Mike, for being with us.
It was great talking with you and just hearing your advice from that high school perspective. And I will put Mike's contact information in the show notes. So if you want to reach out to him with any questions or anything he talked about today, you can do that. But thanks again for being with us on the teacher burnout podcast.[00:23:00]
Thanks, Barb. Appreciate it.
Well, I hope you found some tips and strategies that were helpful for classroom management. if you want support throughout the school year on dealing with overwhelm, reducing stress, learning to set boundaries, all of the things that really cause burnout for teachers, you need to join us and the resilient educator academy, this academy is such a great place to get the support that you need. To feel successful in teaching throughout the year.
In this academy, you get access to all of my courses. You get group coaching, you get one-on-one coaching. You even get Monday motivations and access to a private Facebook group. So if you're wanting to join us, I hope that you do, you can click the Lincoln. The show notes and get started right away with us and the resilient educator academy.
make sure to follow me on Instagram at Barb flowers, coaching.com. If you like the show, share this episode with a friend.
Keep in mind, you have the power to shape your life. According to the mindset you choose. I hope you have a great week and I'll see you back here next time.
Yeah. [00:24:00] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.