Rooted in REAL: Culturally Responsive Practice – Thursday Edition

What We Don’t Say About Urban Classrooms Series

Behavior #1: Independent Work, Blank Paper, and the Decision to Wait

This series lives inside the work I call the REAL Authority Vault.
Not authority as control, volume, or intimidation, but authority rooted in clarity, consistency, and follow-through.
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Everything we’re about to unpack over the next few weeks—behaviors, patterns, hesitation, and expectations—connects back to how authority is built or quietly lost in the classroom.

The REAL Story

Independent work starts, and one student doesn’t move. There’s no disruption, no argument, nothing you can actually call out. They’re just sitting there with a blank paper, pencil down, staring, waiting.

And now you’re stuck.

Because stepping in too fast feels like rescuing, but waiting too long feels like you’re letting it slide. So you wait, trying to find the right moment.

Here’s the problem with that pause. While you’re deciding what to do, the student is deciding whether doing nothing works. And once it works, even once, it becomes the ultimate move.

Most new teachers assume this is about motivation or confidence. It’s usually not. It’s about the moment when expectations quietly disappear because teachers don’t want to push and risk making things worse.

Letting a student sit there feels right because it feels patient. It feels like you’re giving them space. But over time, it teaches them that opting out is acceptable as long as they’re quiet about it.

In many urban, high-need classrooms, students have learned that silence is safer than being wrong. Doing nothing becomes a way to avoid failure without drawing attention, and it works because adults hesitate.

This isn’t about being tougher or more controlling. It’s about being clear earlier than you’re comfortable with. Clear about what starting looks like, and clear that sitting there is not one of the options.

💕 3 Moves That Address This Reality

1️⃣ Stop treating silence as neutral
​Silence during independent work is still a choice, and it is one students make when they are unsure, avoiding risk, or testing what will be allowed. When a student sits quietly without starting, they are not “behaving,” they are opting out. If that silence goes unaddressed, students learn that engagement is optional as long as they are not disruptive. Over time, quiet non-participation becomes a routine because it works.

2️⃣ Define what “starting” looks like before work time begins
​Students cannot meet expectations that only exist in your head. “Start your work” is too vague in high-need classrooms. Starting has to be visible and observable so both you and the student can tell whether it is happening. That might mean the first problem is written, key information is underlined, a model is copied, or an entry point is attempted. When students know exactly what counts as starting, there is no gray area to hide in. Waiting stops being an option because the expectation is clear and measurable.

3️⃣ Interrupt early, not emotionally
​The longer you wait to address quiet disengagement, the harder it becomes to correct without frustration. Early intervention keeps the moment small and instructional instead of personal. Calm, immediate redirection communicates that starting is expected without turning it into a power struggle. When students see that silence is addressed quickly and predictably, it stops being a strategy.

Close

A quiet student can still be disengaged. A calm room can still be off track.

When silence goes unchallenged, opting out becomes the safest move in the room.

And once that happens, learning stops long before behavior ever looks like a problem.

New and Early Career Teachers Navigating Urban Settings Group

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reminded how rarely teachers are given space to slow their thinking down and talk through the work without being handed another strategy. Because of that, I opened a free, private LinkedIn group for new and early-career teachers navigating urban classrooms.

This is not coaching or PD. It’s a reflection space — a place to talk through what you’re implementing, hear how other teachers are thinking, and not feel alone in the work.

You can request access here:
​https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16349025/​
​(Manual approval is on to protect the space.)

Tiffany Smith, Ed. D., Culturally Responsive Math Specialist

Founder, Education Evolution, LLC | Creator, The REAL Framework™ | Creator of Mind the Gap Curriculum™

Know someone who’d find this helpful? Forward this email to a colleague or friend who’s passionate about creating real change in the math classroom.

Or tell them to sign up with this link: https://education-evolution.kit.com/a3118d8126