Teacher Tip#2: Don't Talk Down to Your Students

Students walk into our classrooms from all walk of lives. They have their own problems, some far worse than anything we've EVER experienced in our own lives. Sometimes they're having a good day, and sometimes they're having a bad day. Don't let their bad day turn into your nightmare.

Teacher Tip#2: Don't talk down to your students.

If you respect students, they'll respect you back. If you treat them like they are just a bunch of know-nothing kids, they won't respect you either.

I have seen situations go really sour when teachers get in students' faces demanding that they do their work or don't talk back.

If you don't respect your students by respecting their space when you speak to them, by raising your voice and screaming at them, they won't respect you back! Plain and simple.

Assertiveness is the key to your classroom management success. You don't want the students to run the class. They need to know that you are boss, but you will demonstrate this through being fair and assertive with your rules. It takes a clever teacher and some reverse psychology to make it through the day sometimes. Even worse, it takes just one rotten apple to spoil a bunch.

Respect is key. If the students know you respect them, they will probably apologize for any outburst or misbehavior. After all, they could just be having a bad day, nothing to do with you, so don't bring yourself into the equation.