The Crucial Four elements of behaviour management

I have narrowed down the essential elements of effective behaviour management into four areas. Get these right and everything else follows.

#1: The Two Reasons

There are just two reasons children do not follow instructions:

1. They do not know what the instructions are.
2. They choose not to follow them.

The eventual aim is not simply to produce children who follow instructions, that is just the starting point. But understanding these two reasons gives you a clear map of what to address first.

#2: Fair Process

Great teachers and great organisations involve everyone in decision-making. Fair process has three elements:

1. Engagement, people are involved.
2. Explanation, reasons are given.
3. Expectation clarity, everyone knows what is expected of them.

Notice the connection with The Two Reasons: if pupils do not know what the rules are, you have not completed step three.

#3: Nice and Strict

The teachers we really liked at school were genuinely nice and genuinely strict, in equal measure. Not one or the other. Both, at the same time. This is the secret.

#4: The Reasonableness Test

Before acting, ask yourself three questions:

• Is the expectation reasonable?
• Is the consequence or reaction reasonable?
• Is the consequence or reaction being delivered reasonably?

Asking these questions consistently helps you become both nicer and stricter, the combination that actually works.