No Opt Out: Classroom Management, Self-Esteem, and Differentiation

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

-Michael Jordan

If you mess up on the first day of school, there is no going back. Your entire year can be ruined instantly.

The first weeks, days, hours, and even seconds are crucial to a successful school year. Your students will pick up on your mannerisms. They will "size you up" and assess your competency in classroom management, whether or not you are ready for it.

First day of class. You are shaking students hands at the door and introduce yourself. Now is the time to begin teaching procedures. Many teachers begin with "icebreakers". (These activities are a good way for students to get to know each other, but I strongly recommend that you stress the procedural component of the activity and not the classroom environment. You can create that environment of comfort between your students, but I strongly recommend with beginning with procedures.) Let's say after you model how to enter and exit the classroom (which I refer to as First Five and Last Five) you have your students stand in a circle and say their name one at a time, and then something they like beginning with the first letter of their name. ("I'm Mr. Friedberg and I like mangoes.") The next person says their name, something they like, and the person before them. ("He's Mr. Friedberg, he likes mangoes, and I'm Gabriella and I like guitars.") But what happens when you get to the student who refuses. What do you do? Whatever words you say will indicate to the class your authority; are you going to maintain it, or are you going to give it up to a student who is trying to test you?

This is where No Opt Out comes in. It's the first technique in the controversial Teach Like A Champion, which is essential to my classroom. When I was in college, student taught, and became a substitute teacher, I knew all the slogans and catchphrases to use in interviews. I knew to mention "data driven instruction" and "high expectations". But what exactly do "high expectations" look like, especially in an urban classroom? No Opt Out is critical to maintaining strong behavioral standards, in addition to helping build students' self-esteem. Here is how Lemov defines the technique:

A sequence that begins with a student unable to answer a question should end with the student answering that question as often as possible.

Let's first examine defiance and return back to our icebreaker scenario. A student may say, "I don't know", "I don't want to do this", or "I don't like anything". In all three instances, the student is trying to take control of the classroom. Power should never be negotiated. Before I became a teacher I worked for years at a local community center. My former boss was one of the best disciplinarians. I have ever seen. As she put it, "Either you're in charge or the kids are. You decide."

Like Cold Call, the technique is incredibly simple with deep implications. Essentially, use the technique to have a student answer your question or respond to your direction.

It's important to realize that when a student says, "I don't know", they may be unsure of an answer or they may be defiant. Identifying this circumstance is crucial to rectifying it.

In a successful urban classroom, or any classroom for that matter, power is never negotiated. This does not mean that you need to be punitive; you should not be. In fact I strongly use Positive Framing in everything I do. I want my students to feel welcomed and excited to learn. Simultaneously, that does not mean that I let up on  being "strict". That term often has a negative connotation. I view being strict as making my expectations crystal clear and holding my students high to what they need to do. It does not have to be anything more or less than that.

Let's return to our first day scenario. You get to a student who tries to test you. He responds, "I'm not doing this,"

What is happening? He's trying to take power from you. This is where you cannot negotiate and where you can use No Opt Out. Calmly say to the student, "Alex, I'm going to ask you one more time. Either you're going to participate or you're going to be in detention after school. Now, what is your name and what do you like?"

Now it's become clear. You refuse to give up power. The majority of the time, most students should probably respond to your request- that is, if you have developed a strong classroom climate where you are the clear authority. If you have not done that, your power can begin to crumble. If the student still won't budge, it is imperative to follow up with your consequence. Whatever we do, we send a message to our students. The message sent is either this teacher means business or this year is going to be a joke.

Now let's begin to examine using this technique for when a student actually does not know. Let's say you're cold-calling students. Lemov asserts that there are for ways to respond when they cannot (or refuse to) answer:

Format 1. You provide the answer; your student repeats the answer. 
Format 2. Another student provides the answer; the initial student repeats the answer.
Format 3. You provide a cue; your student uses it to find the answer. 
Format 4. Another student provides a cue; the initial student uses it to find the answer.

In my eighth grade language arts class we are reading The Book Thief. Let's say you do a close read on a passage in the beginning of the book. Liesel Meminger finds out that her father was taken away. After the students respond with sticky notes based on Common Core question stems. You begin with a simple question using cold call. "Why was Liesel's father taken away (pause) Fabian?" The student replies that they don't know. Using all four formats, here is how you could possibly respond:

Student: I'm not sure.
Teacher: He was a communist.
Student: Oh that's right,
Teacher: What was he?
Student: A communist.
Teacher: Excellent.

Student A: I don't know.
(Cold Call another student) Teacher: Help him out (pause) Janine.
Student B: Her father was a communist.
(Teacher points back or gives a brief verbal cue to Student A)
Student A: Her father was a communist.
Teacher: Right!

Student: He was Jewish?
Teacher: Good try, but remember, he wasn't Jewish. What were some of the other groups targeted by Hitler?
Student: Poles, the mentally challenged, trade unionists... oh, communists! He was a communist.
Teacher: Good job, Fabian!

Student A: He was a gypsy?
(Cold Call another student) Teacher: He was not, but he was a member of a certain group. Who else did Hitler target besides those of a certain ethnicity (pause) Carlos?
Student B: He went after gay people and people of different political groups.
Teacher: Good. Now what was one of the main groups Hitler targeted Fabian?
Student A: Oh, communists!
Teacher: Good, give me a complete sentence, please.
Student A: Liesel's father was a communist.
Teacher: Great work!

One of the great things that I love about No Opt Out is that it can be used to build students' confidence. As I mentioned in my cold call post, questioning techniques should not be used to make students feel ashamed, but to help make them feel better. The technique emphasizes having the student answer correctly. That's what it's all about, and when students can answer correctly they can feel proud of themselves.

As you differentiate questioning techniques, you can differentiate using No Opt Out as well. My favorite "format" is 4, where another student provides a cue for their peer, and that the question is answered. (This creates a high ratio.) For example, if you ask a higher level question and the student does not get it, you can cold call a student that you believe could appropriately answer. You can also do this with a lower question. You want to create a "culture of error" where everyone participates and feels comfortable in speaking.

Students need to know that it's not only to try and fail; it's expected. Many students suffer from learned helplessness. The more we can destigmatize getting a question "wrong", the more we can push students to answer questions correctly. Our students won't become Michael Jordans if they are afraid to miss some free throws. And in order to succeed, we need to give them lots of opportunities to take free throws. They will miss some, but with proper support, they will be less afraid to take shots.