Do you ever feel like you’re drowning in lists of classroom rules?
The more rules you put up, the more behavior infractions you notice…which means you need to create more rules, right?
And yet no matter how many rules you post, teach, and enforce…behavior doesn’t seem to improve.
Stop me if this sounds familiar:
- “Why can’t they just follow the rules?”
- “Why won’t they do what’s expected of them?”
- “I tell them the rules over and over, but they just don’t listen!”
If you’re nodding right now, you’re not alone.
The problem isn’t you. It’s not even your students. It’s deeper than that.
Let’s dig in.
Why Classroom Rules Are Important
Classroom rules are an important part of a classroom management plan. They provide a structure and a common language for teachers and students.
With classroom rules, students know the expectations teachers will be enforcing.
When a student disobeys a classroom rule, the teacher can point to the poster or anchor chart and show the student exactly why they’re in trouble.
There’s power to that, and comfort in knowing the student won’t successfully weasel out of their consequence by claiming they “didn’t know” they weren’t supposed to do what they did. (Even though we all know they were well aware they were misbehaving.)
The trouble comes when teachers try to “cover” every possible behavior infraction or “catch” students when they misbehave.
That kind of thinking leads to those lists of rules hanging in many classrooms:
- Raise your hand to speak
- Keep your hands to yourself
- Clean up after yourself
- Follow directions the first time they’re given
Don’t get me wrong – these are great habits for students to get in. And for the longest time, I had those lists of rules in my classroom too.
One year I made rules with the students. It took about 3 days and 4 pieces of chart paper, but they had ownership!
(All those rules were broken by December.)
The next year, I tried setting the rules myself and dictating them to students when they walked in on day 1.
(All those rules were broken by October.)
I even tried having students come up with rules for me. I thought that if they got a sense of what it was like to create rules for someone else, they might be more willing to follow the rules I set for them.
Nope. I don’t think anyone actually called me out on breaking any of their rules, and they had no noticeable improvement with following the rules I made for them.
All those pretty anchor charts on the wall, some signed by students, some made with fancy bubble letters and illustrations?
They became nothing more than decoration. Useless wall art. Part of the scenery.
And they were ultimately ignored.
Something had to change.
Common Classroom Rules (and Why They Don’t Work Long-Term)
I had accidentally hit upon a common human failing: the tendency to get complacent.
See, students, like teachers, tend to ignore the boring and familiar. Think about your copy room for a moment. Can you tell me what posters are on the wall?
(Ok, maybe you can because of all the times you’ve stared at them while waiting for your copies to finish. Why does it always take forever on Mondays?)
By sticking the rules poster to the wall and never mentioning it again, I had made it part of the scenery for my students.
Sure, I might have done the “January Reset” where we looked at the rules again, but for the most part? I ignored that poster just as much as my students did.
My rules list, like many of yours, had good rules on it:
- Don’t talk while someone else is talking.
- Don’t run in the halls.
- Be prepared for class.
- Respect your classmates.
- Use appropriate language.
- Try your best!
The problem – besides accidentally making the rules poster feel as interesting as wallpaper – was that there were so many rules it was impossible to remember them all.
I certainly couldn’t do it, and I was the one who was supposed to enforce them!
So one year, I pulled out all the anchor charts and rules posters students and I had made over the years.
I sorted the rules:
- Raise your hand to speak → show respect to your teacher and classmates
- Don’t draw on the desks → be respectful of school property
- Treat others the way you want to be treated → respect for others again
- Ask for help if you need it → show respect for yourself
Then I realized: It all comes back to respect!
The One Rule That Actually Works
That year, I told my students that there was only one rule in my class: respect.
Student shouting out? That’s not showing respect to me or the others in class.
Student writing on desks? That’s not very respectful to school property.
Student calling themself “stupid” or “dumb”? Gentle reminder to treat yourself with respect.
As the year went on, students were still held to the same high expectations as when we had lengthy lists of class rules. The difference was that now I only had to remind them of one rule (instead of 37).
Things went so well that year that I introduced the One Rule to the next class I taught. And the next. And the next.
I’ve lost track of how many classes it was, but it was a lot.
I’ve worked in classrooms in some capacity (sub, para, classroom teacher, exploratory teacher) for over 15 years, and Every. Single. Class. Responded positively to the One Rule.
In fact, my second-toughest class responded best to the One Rule. They were 8th graders, with all the corresponding attitude that entails.
They tried everything they could to misbehave, and each time I brought their behavior back to the one rule.
- Sleeping during class? That’s not showing me respect.
- Drawing inappropriate genitalia on the desks? That’s disrespectful to school property.
- Saying “I’m so dumb”? That’s disrespecting yourself.
By the end of the year? They were staying awake during class, using their pencils to write on paper (not on the desks), and talking about themselves with kind words.
Here’s the truth: You don’t need 37 rules taped to the wall. You just need one rule that sticks.
How to Teach with Only One Rule
Action Step: Take a look at your list of rules. How many of them actually tie back to respect? I bet they all do.
(If you have a rule that doesn’t connect to respect, let me know in the comments!)
If, like me, you realize that all of your rules connect to respect in some way, I challenge you to tear down those anchor charts. Rip the rules right off the wall.
(Bonus points if you do this in front of students for the shock value!)
Tell students that all those rules were just fancy ways of saying, “Respect.”
“Respect each other.” “Respect school property.” “Respect yourself.”
Then put up the One Rule Poster in place of that long list of rules.
When you download that poster set, you’re not just getting some pretty posters (though they look pretty good, if I do say so myself).
You’re getting a 3-day email guide that walks you through the steps of introducing and enforcing respect.
Because that’s the real power behind the One Rule.
It’s not the shock of tearing down the Pinterest-perfect anchor charts.
It’s the unwavering belief that every person and thing in your classroom deserves respect.
When you make that your hill to die on, you will be amazed at the transformation that comes over your class.
Download your free Respect Posters to make your One Rule visible and actionable.
Most teachers find that three to five rules feel “manageable,” but the exact number doesn’t matter as much as clarity and consistency. What matters most is that your students understand and can apply your expectations — and that all your rules connect to a shared foundation, like respect.
Classroom rules provide structure and a shared language for behavior. They help students understand boundaries and make expectations predictable, which leads to smoother routines and fewer power struggles.
Respect. It’s the one rule that covers every behavior you’ll ever encounter — respect for yourself, for others, and for your learning space.
Model them, reinforce them consistently, and build buy-in by connecting rules to real-world respect. When students see that rules protect their learning and relationships, they’ll follow them because they believe in them — not because they’re afraid of consequences.
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