Book Review: Teaching with Love and Logic - Taking Control of the Classroom

If you are looking to “up” your classroom management game, there are many helpful, research-based resources on the market. They vary in approach, therefore you have to choose the one that you believe fits your classroom management style the best. 

If you are looking to purchase a guide, read my book reviews with Big Ideas to determine which one is right for you. And of course, to get an overview of ALL effective Classroom Management strategies, purchase Chapter 2 of the How to Teach Elementary School series: Classroom Management. 

A Love and Logic classroom is built on mutual respect and dignity. Teachers share control with students by giving them an opportunity to make good choices: “Feel free to do anything as long as it doesn’t cause a problem for someone else.”

For a student that does not make good choices, it is up to them to solve the problem, because if they do not, the teacher will take back control. Any consequences given by the teacher are LOGICAL to the infraction.

I LOVE (pun intended) the philosophy behind the love and logic classroom. When raising my two boys, the approach of allowing them to make their own choices and solve their own problems has paid off in spades now that they are adults able to navigate the world successfully on their own.

In my professional opinion, Teaching with Love and Logic works well beginning at about 3rd grade. I believe that primary students in grades K-2 need more structure and guidelines with a gradual release of control with maturity.

You can certainly incorporate the philosophy of respect, dignity, and empathy at any age. The rule of, “Feel free to do anything that doesn’t cause a problem for someone else,” may be too broad for a kindergartner. Find the balance between this approach and the structure needed to guide littles towards knowing what good choices look like.

• Your primary responsibility is to teach the WHOLE. Love and Logic teachers protect the flock. They maintain a calm and productive learning environment by ensuring that no student is allowed to interfere with the learning of others by remaining chronically disruptive.

• Do not create long lists of DO’s and DON’Ts. The more rules we provide, the more power struggles.

• Always allow students to solve their own problems FIRST, the person who does the most thinking about a problem, will learn the most from the problem.

• Empathize with the student, give the problem back to them, give choices if needed, have the student verbalize to you their options.

• Be CONSISTENT. Yes is always yes. No is always no.

• Use the “One Sentence Intervention” with challenging students. Identify positive things the student values and use those to form a relationship.

• Kids NEED to make lots of small, affordable mistakes. Respond to those mistakes with empathy and understanding.

• Let students make small choices about the things that only affect them. Give away control that you don’t need.

NOW get your own copy of Teaching with Love and Logic and begin building relationships with your students!