TL;DR:
- Behavior management is not the ultimate answer to solving all challenges teachers face.
- Shift your perspective from behavior management to behavior leadership, and emphasize the importance of being a leader who guides behavior change and fosters growth.
- Language is powerful and changing the way we speak about behavior can have a positive impact on classroom and school environments.
For as long as I have been in education, the term behavior management has been present and often prioritized. And early in my career during those first few years of teaching, I thought behavior management was going to be the answer to all my challenges. I thought if I could master managing behavior, then my days would be a breeze (wishful thinking on my part for sure). I thought that if I could just figure out what was going to work for all my students, I’d be in the clear and would ultimately fall in love with my job. Because, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I made it out of my first month of teaching without thinking, “What have I done?”
The words we speak every single day create the world that we live in. Click To TweetPower of Reflection
Looking back and reflecting now on those first few years, I often wonder and ask myself why I put so much power into the concept of behavior management. Why did I think that was it? Why did I believe that was going to be the magic wand that would solve all my problems?
And now, after being a behavior specialist for most of my educational career, it’s become clear to me. I thought behavior management was the ‘magic solution’ to my problems because that’s all you ever heard about. Behavior 101, Behavior Management, Classroom Management—I thought it was the answer to all because that was what I was always told when I asked for help, sought out support, or relied on good old Google for the answer.
So then…what’s the answer?
I’ve come to realize behavior management isn’t the answer. And yes, this is coming from someone who loves behavior and behavior change. Someone who has dedicated most of her 18-year career as an educator to understanding behavior. And yet, I don’t believe that behavior management is the answer. At least, not in the way I initially thought. So you might be wondering: If behavior management isn’t the answer, then what is? Is there an answer?
And on one hand, I would say, there isn’t one answer. There are many answers. But on the other hand, I will tell you, once I made this one narrative flip, everything changed. When I stopped looking at behavior change through the lens of behavior management and started to understand change through the lens of behavior leadership, everything shifted. My mindset, my perspective, my energy, my actions. One flip and everything changed.
I realized that if I wanted to shape the behaviors in my classroom, or in the schools that I was supporting, I needed to start supporting behavior in terms of leadership, instead of management.
Manager vs. Leader
When I speak to groups of educators and ask what qualities they think of when I say the word “manager,” I typically get words such as control, assertive, or person in charge. But when I ask the same question and change the word to “leader,” I get words such as intentional, objective, focused, and passionate.
When I think about who I want to show up as in any classroom, I’m choosing a leader all day, every day. CJ Reynolds recently shared that managers help to maintain the status quo, while leaders take you from one place to another. And as an educator, this signifies what I desire in any environment I’m a part of. I want to be a leader who can help guide behavior change from a starting point to growth and expansion. And, I want the staff I’m supporting and the students I’m supporting to be leaders as well.
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Our Words Are Essential
The words we speak every single day create the world that we live in. If I am speaking about managing, I will take action that aligns with management. If I am speaking about leading, I am taking actions that evoke leadership. The same can be said for our students. If we desire a community of students who are demonstrating behaviors that are serving one another, those are the behaviors we need to be prioritizing. And it starts with the language that we use.
It’s Time to Make the Switch
Will changing one word change the world? Maybe not. But maybe it can. We won’t know until we try. And I fully believe in small steps and that gradual change—and ultimately gradual gains—lead to long-term leverage and change. Since I’m in for the long run, I’m starting today by changing the way I see behavior. And it starts with changing the way speak about behavior in our classrooms and school settings.
About Lindsay Titus
Lindsay Titus is a K-12 Behavior Specialist with a license in behavior analysis. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Lindsay coaches and trains educators on the study of behavior and how to implement evidence-based behavior principles in simple and easy ways! With experience as a classroom special education teacher, and behavior specialist in public schools, residential placement, and private settings, Lindsay enjoys working with all educators looking to reignite their passion for education, connect with all students, and conquer challenging behavior in any classroom setting.
