Real Talk
Everyone is talking about it. The kids are out of control. Classrooms are becoming unmanageable. Teachers are leaving the profession in droves. And worst of all, educators fear that the unruly classroom environment makes it impossible to prepare kids adequately for the future. What is going on, and how can we fix it?
To solve this problem, we first need to recognize what it is we’re dealing with.
What’s going on?
1. Kids don’t focus, sit still, or stay on task.
Kids fidget and wiggle almost constantly. They get out of their seats in the middle of a lesson—sometimes just to wander. They chatter incessantly with seemingly no awareness that the teacher or anyone is speaking. And teachers are constantly interrupting their lessons to redirect students—which makes getting through a lesson nearly impossible.
Of course, for some students, issues like ADHD make it difficult to concentrate. However, only around 10% of American children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and far more than 10% of students are inattentive and fidgety in class.
2. Students don’t seem to understand the adult/child dynamic.
What a teacher will and will not allow varies from teacher to teacher. But in the past, most students, even very young ones, could intuit how to adjust their behavior according to the situation. Being able to behave in a way that is appropriate and acceptable in a given situation is actually an important life skill. (Anyone who has had to listen in on someone else’s loud phone conversation in the grocery store line knows this.)
Today’s students, however, seem to expect teachers to adjust their behavior to the students. Kids have no fear and feel free to do things like rifle through a teacher’s desk, rudely interrupt an adult conversation, and backtalk when they get into trouble. Yes, all of these things show a lack of respect, but that idea implies a certain intentionality–I know you expect a certain behavior, but I do not feel you are worthy of it. What we are seeing today is different. It’s almost as if kids don’t understand that there even is an expected behavior towards teachers and other adults. In theory, they know their teachers are in charge, but that knowledge doesn’t translate to acceptable behavior.
3. They struggle to follow basic instructions or classroom procedures.
Are they not listening? Can they really not remember the rules, the same ones we’ve had in place for months? Or can they simply not be bothered? Students don’t seem to grasp the concept of rules and procedures. Honestly, it’s mind-boggling and a serious problem when it comes to establishing classroom routines.
4. They can’t remember anything.
Not only do students have trouble remembering classroom procedures, but often they don’t remember what they’ve learned. Teachers are continually admonished to check for understanding at the end of each lesson. But most of us know that just because the kids can identify a subordinate clause or solve a long-division problem today doesn’t mean they will know what we are talking about when we try to move on tomorrow. There seems to be something wrong with their capacity to retain information.
5. They lack impulse control.
Most behavior problems probably come down to this: the kids do what they want when they want. If they want to express any thought, no matter how unrelated to the lesson or who else is talking, they shout it out. If they want to break something (pencils, crayons, their chairs) they break it. And if they want to throw something, stand on it, jump over it, or push it out of the way, they do it. They barge into the middle of other people’s conversations. And they will walk right between two people who are talking when they could just as easily go around. Either they cannot control themselves, or they aren’t even aware that they should.
What can be done?
This kind of frank examination of the state of American classrooms is unsettling, and this assessment of student behavior is scathing to be sure. But if parents, teachers, and administrators aren’t brutally honest about what’s happening and don’t get a handle on these issues, we are doing our kids a huge disservice and quite likely cheating them out of future success and happiness.
So, what can we do? First of all, we cannot give up on these kids—instead, we have to make some difficult changes.
1. We have to stop ignoring the broken windows in our schools.
With so many problems, it’s tempting to only focus on the big issues and let seemingly smaller problems slide— like talking out of turn or forgetting their materials. However, according to the Broken Window Theory, small signs of disorder and misbehavior can lead to more serious infractions because they give the impression that no one really cares. In other words, if enough little things go unnoticed or uncorrected, students begin to get the sense that the rules don’t really matter. Also, by ignoring small infractions, we fail to instill good habits that will make it possible for students to complete more difficult tasks.
We can’t expect kids to give attention to the details of a five-paragraph essay if they can’t even follow directions about where to write their name and date on their paper. We can’t expect them to behave during a 20-minute lesson if they can’t behave walking from P.E. to art.
Critics of the Broken Window Theory argue that it leads to zero-tolerance policies, but most teachers recognize that everyone has an off day now and then. So it is important to extend a bit of grace from time to time. Still, rather than ignoring minor behavior issues and poor habits, we should be starting with these.
We have to crack down on the small things and work up to the bigger ones, and these crackdowns have to be school-wide. We must create an overall environment of order, respect, and responsible behavior. It sounds old school, but it could set the tone we desperately need right now.
2. We absolutely must advocate for more recess!
It’s easy for those of us who were in elementary school 30 or 40 years ago to look at kids today, shake our heads, and say, “We would never have acted like that.” But we had two or three recesses every day. According the Centers for Disease Control, recess improves memory and attention, helps students stay on task, and reduces disruptive behaviors—all the issues that are so problematic!
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children in grades K-12 have four 15-minute recesses a day–that’s one hour for play, socializing, or just decompressing. Yet, in many elementary schools, students are lucky to get 15 or 20 minutes of recess, and for most middle and high school students, their only break is their lunch period. It simply makes no sense for schools to hire behavior specialists, send teachers to classroom management workshops, and spend a small fortune on devices like pedal desks and other fidget tools (despite insufficient evidence to support their use) while ignoring the research on recess–the least expensive and easiest way to improve student behavior.
3. Parents and schools have to get serious (really serious) about limiting screen time.
Overuse of screens is re-wiring children’s brains–literally thinning the brain’s cortex. Too much screen time affects students’ performance and behavior in school, causes sleep issues, and can lead to anxiety, depression, and even aggression. Our children’s dependence and addiction to their devices is jeopardizing their futures. It’s up to the adults in their lives to regulate screen time. This will be hard–really hard. But groups like Screen Strong offer support for families to help them do what’s best for their kids.
Schools also have to play an active role in reducing screen time during the day and educating children and parents about the dangers of screen dependence and addiction. In the end, it will likely take a nationwide effort to make significant changes.
For those who say it’s too late, remember that in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s many Americans were addicted to cigarettes, but smoking among adults have decreased 68% since the 1970s. Restaurants, airplanes, offices, and even teacher workrooms were once filled with smoke, but that is entirely a thing of the past—all because of public campaigns to educate Americans on the dangers of cigarettes. When public outcry becomes loud enough, change can happen. Let’s get loud!
4. We have to stop blaming the kids.
Make no mistake, the problems in American classrooms are not the fault of the children. Years of poor educational and parenting practices have gotten us here. Throwing up our hands and saying, “This is just how kids are!” is not the answer.
Often teachers are encouraged to shorten, digitize, gamify, or otherwise jazz up our lessons to compete with the video games and TikToks our students are so addicted to. But lowering our standards and expectations doesn’t work, and it doesn’t do the kids any favors. This isn’t to say lessons have to be dry and boring, but to function as adults, kids must be able to listen and attend to things that aren’t always flashy and entertaining. We can and should expect more from children and teenagers—for their sakes.
For any school serious about making positive changes, the first step is to identify small but meaningful ways to enforce good behaviors and habits and implement those changes school-wide. This will likely involve some tough measures—like enforcing consequences for some seemingly small infractions. Teachers and administrators also have to be willing to advocate for a reduction in screen time—at home and at school. Finally, administrators in particular must be willing to fight at a state and local level for more recess. None of this will be easy, and honestly, teachers and principals have enough on their plates already. But the behavior issues that are driving far too many teachers from the career they love will not get better unless we address these problems now.
