The Pendulum Swing in Classroom Management

My Views Are My Own

By Lisa Schonhoff, Ed.S.

7/14/2026

Teacher retention is one of the most pressing crises in education today. Ask almost any educator why colleagues are abandoning the profession, and they will likely point to the same two factors: escalating student behavior and a lack of administrative support. Over my 25-year tenure in education, I have watched the classroom environment steadily decline—a degradation that has sharply accelerated over the past decade. While numerous variables drive this shift, I will focus specifically on how classroom management training has fundamentally changed over time, and the direct impact that evolution has had on classrooms across the state and nation.

When I began teaching 25 years ago, classroom management was undergoing a drastic paradigm shift from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered classroom.  In the traditional teacher-centered classroom, the teacher holds the authority as the subject matter expert.  Conversely, the student-centered approach transforms the teacher into a facilitator of learning, releasing more control to the students.  In a teacher-centered classroom, the teacher provides rules and expectations.  In a student-centered classroom, the students develop the norms and behavioral boundaries. 

Today, a progressive classroom is one that uses a “person-centered” approach to classroom management which heavily emphasizes trauma informed care and restorative practices.  This approach was developed by a psychologist named Carl Rogers who stressed the importance of empathy and providing a safe space for all learners.

“The person-centered approach outlined by Rogers has three tenets – empathy (the ability to put yourself in one's shoes), congruence (genuineness), and unconditional positive regard (no judgement); all of these are core essentials for anyone adhering to the person-centered approach (Rogers 61-2). These tenets help the adherent to self-reflect and move forward with meeting people where they are at. For instance, if an instructor can genuinely empathize with an English Language learner, perhaps because that same instructor may have had a similar background, he or she will be able to understand the struggle of that student in the classroom.”

While the person-centered approach sounds like a compassionate, empathetic way to manage a classroom, the reality on the ground is starkly different.  Many educators now find it nearly impossible to teach core content because their instructional time is entirely consumed by parsing through student feelings. Furthermore, veteran teachers argue that this systemic lack of structure and discipline leaves students feeling confused and insecure rather than empowered. Instead of fostering community, this permissive environment frequently becomes a breeding ground for bullying, emotional outbursts, and general chaos. 

The “Behavioral Intervention Training and Teacher Support Act” was written by Lynne Walz and passed in 2023, requiring every school district in Nebraska to implement behavior intervention training.  As a result, Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) (funded by global private equity firms such as FFL Partners and Wendel Group) is widely implemented in school districts across Nebraska.  CPI follows a person-centered approach to classroom management.  Teachers are trained that “it’s essential to intentionally foster a space where every student feels safe to be themselves… if a student repeatedly talks out of turn, do you react with frustration—or curiosity? Do you pause to regulate your own emotions before responding?” 

Remarkably, current training even dictates "classroom evacuations." Under this protocol, when a single student escalates into violence—screaming, spitting, and hurling furniture—the rest of the class is uprooted and dispersed to other rooms. The theoretical rationale is that removing the peers strips the escalating student of an audience while creating a "safe space" to fully experience their emotions. In reality, it leaves the remaining students traumatized and their education disrupted. Consequently, teachers are left feeling utterly exhausted, unsafe, and entirely abandoned by administration.

Has the pedagogical pendulum swung too far? In their pursuit of empathy, have well-intentioned education experts inadvertently manufactured a climate of confusion, chaos, and cognitive decline? Furthermore, when meaningful consequences and consistent discipline cease to exist, are administrators actually reinforcing the very maladaptive behaviors they seek to correct? Landmark legislation like the Behavioral Intervention Training and Teacher Support Act promised to equip educators, but one must ask: is it achieving its desired effect, or is it merely well-meaning government overreach that binds the hands of teachers while accelerating the breakdown of classroom order?

Senator Margo Juarez has introduced Legislative Resolution 455 to propose an interim study to examine recruitment, retention, and professional recognition of prekindergarten, elementary, and secondary educators…and specifically the impact of student behavior, discipline policies, and classroom management challenges on educator retention.  The study is taking place this month in Lincoln.  I encourage teachers to reach out to her office to provide input at the following email:  mjuarez@leg.ne.gov 

Photo Credit:  Crisis Prevention Institute