Some kids just can’t let go. Why can’t we go outside. Mr. Smith’s class is outside. Why can’t we use markers instead? Why does Erica get to be line leader? Why can’t we listen to music? Why can’t I use my phone? My phone has a calculator! Why can’t we go to lunch early? Mr. Smith always does. Why do I have to sit in front? Why can’t I sit by the window? It’s too hot here. When will you change the seating chart?

Whining can get exhausting if you don’t shut it down quickly.

Tip for newbies for the day: DON’T ENGAGE. IT’S NOT A DEMOCRACY OR EVEN A VILLAGE HALL MEETING. IT’S YOUR CLASSROOM. YOUR RODEO. YOUR RULES.

Maybe you will put together those classroom rules as a group. That’s great. You want to be able to say, “We agreed on these rules.” You want buy-in — and class participation helps enormously to get that buy-in.

But you can lose hours over the course of a month if you always try to explain the rationales for your requirements. Especially those new teachers who are not yet parents may struggle to lay down the law of the classroom. Most of us plan never to say, “Because I told you so!” to our kids. We intend to explain our reasoning and get our children to agree with us for the right reasons. When there’s time, I favor that approach.

But time is of the essence in teaching. Whining eats minutes like a voracious dog in a Kibbles bag. Whining also can exhaust a teacher, who has a lesson plan to get through and who is juggling who knows how many administrative requirements with extra paperwork. I just finished a state-required module on asthma and I am a retired teacher. But subs must do the modules too. I have at least five more to go.

New teacher, you are probably going to be crazy busy. You don’t want to be discussing phones or seating choices. Prepare a set of quick lines to move the discussion along.

“No changes to the seating chart. I will make changes later this year. But we need to develop our routines together right now.”

Then point to the sign. Change the subject. Don’t let yourself be redirected back to that seating chart. If you say, “We will switch when we get to the next unit, you will have waiting students demanding their new chart as soon as you go from chapter three to chapter four. Avoid anything that sounds like a promise, although it’s reasonable to assure students that their chart is not fixed in stone. YOU will want to fix your chart after you see where the problems begin to crop up.

Your class. Your rodeo. You are in charge.

Ignore Mr. Smith. Some kids are experts at using dad to get around mom and vice versa. Heck, maybe you were one of them. That should help you as you teach. The Mr. Smith ploy will be used on inexperienced teachers especially. Sensing that you are still insecure, students will take advantage and tell you “Mr. Smith allows phones/early recess/candy in the classroom” etc. Remember:

1. Mr. Smith probably does not allow the free-for-all your students are describing.
2. Even if Mr. Smith allows those phones and fidget spinners, you are not Mr. Smith and you do not have to do anything Mr. Smith does that seems to disrupt or slow down your class.
3. As soon as you do allow an activity based on Mr. Smith’s class, you will be hearing about that Smith guy until you want to hide in the closet at the mere mention of his name.
4. You don’t want to change horses in midstream very often. Can you change a rule? Yes, if that seems wise. In a school with a great deal of broken technology, you may want to sign off on short periods of phone usage. The phones are computers and sometimes any search engine in a storm will do. But be aware that changes beget demands for more changes, and all those demands suck away time.

The “NO WHINING” sign can be a winner. When you want to shut down a discussion, repeat the rule or expectation and point at the sign. If a student attempts to continue, in a calm, firm, teacher voice, say, “No whining!” Then redirect.

“It is too soon to change seating charts. Please go back to your seat.”

Eduhonesty: Having given this advice, I now have to backtrack a bit. Please always listen to students. And follow your gut. I worked in difficult schools and I sometimes broke my rules. This almost always caused me trouble, but sometimes rules must be broken. When “Analilia” asked to take “Dana” with her to the bathroom because she did not feel safe going alone, I looked at 85? pound Analilia — and I broke my “only one person goes to the bathroom at a time” rule. But Analilia seldom asked to go to the bathroom and those bathrooms had been the source of some recent, ugly disciplinary issues. Safety first. For days, I heard, “But you let Analilia and Dana go!” Honesty helps in this situation. Explain your reasoning, because you can’t ignore rules and then not explain why. Not explaining will lead to a perception of favoritism that’s potentially deadly to classroom atmosphere. Kids can understand “very little girl, scary bathrooms.” They don’t understand unexplained favoritism.

Questions of bullying related to seating charts also should be addressed immediately.

Always err on the side of safety and student support.

Eduhonesty: No one said this job was easy!