This is Dominance: The Strategy Teachers Use to Manage Students.
Learn how “classroom managers” operate and how to fight them.
Disclaimer: Great teachers use Dominance for good—they keep rowdy classes on track without putting anyone down, they build close relationships with students through behavioral psychology—our goal is not to expose them. We’re to expose teachers who misuse these strategies to make students uncomfortable, unsafe, and deeply unhappy… and show students how they can respond.
Not sure if your teacher fits? Find out here. Have an issue with a nice teacher? Try this.
In 1993, when zero-tolerance discipline policies nationwide were getting students suspended for “insubordination,” education researchers decided the key to reducing “behavior issues” in classrooms was Dominance.
1. Understand how your teacher sees you 👇👇
They didn’t mean stand-on-your-neck dominance or spank-your-bum dominance: they defined it as “the teacher's ability to provide clear purpose and strong guidance regarding both academics and student behavior.”
That means rewards, punishments, and rules—plus hidden tactics to earn your trust or keep you stuck at your desk:
EMPLOYING “GROUP CONTINGENCY POLICIES,” THAT’S A NICE WAY OF SAYING COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT, WHICH IS A WAR CRIME UNDER THE GENEVA CONVENTION.
This was published in 2003 as the gold standard of teaching...
Not every idea was bad, even if one of them is the *sole reason* your teachers are always making eye contact with you:
Dominance enables teachers to abuse their power as the classroom boss, with an arsenal of small physical cues, barely acknowledging you when they put a finger on their lip or raise an eyebrow at you, creating routines and patterns, training you to behave. The root of dominance is fear. Your teacher can write home, suspend you, make you sit outside... kindergarten stuff.
Dominance makes it seem like there's nothing you can do about your teacher's power.
It almost feels like you have to act up just to show how you feel.
1. Understand how your teacher sees you ✅
2. Tag yourself 👇👇
Click on a category!
Are these descriptions accurate for you? Do they understand how you act?
These are the strategies suggested for dealing with the category you selected:
Choose a category above!
Reading that either gave you some ideas ways your teacher could make class more chill or made you think, "Woah, this SUCKS. THAT'S WHY my teacher's been trying to treat me this way?!"
Good teachers handle every student differently. Bad teachers treat every student the same, no matter what they need. Bad teachers might also treat you differently... in a bad way.
Your job is to understand how you want to be treated and make it a reality.
1. Understand how your teacher sees you ✅
2. Tag yourself ✅
3. Call your teacher out for "managing" you and negotiate change 👇👇
Click one thing that will make your life easier:
Gas me up when I succeed
have more empathy when you punish me
help me build time management skills
stop just frowning at me/eyeing me when I mess up
stop talking down to me when I don't understand something
don't pretend I don't exist when I do something wrong
Stop treating me exactly like every other student when I need different things
Anything from your strategies list above or another problem you have in class (double tap edit this textbox!)
Click one thing that will make your teacher's life easier
Start a conversation. Here's a personalized script based on the options you suggested:
Make sure to select options above for a personalized script! Here's a generic template:
"I have feedback on ways the class could be a better learning environment, but I’m afraid to come off as rude or judgey.
Is there a way I could earn your trust first so both of us are more comfortable with suggestions? Maybe you have some feedback for me I could try to use first?"
Most teachers prefer feedback from a friend or colleague, so you can ask another teacher to send the message if you're nervous. Or you can email your techer anonymously here.
This script is emotionally available: it honestly says what you do wrong in class. That honesty will build trust with the teacher. This script is empathetic: it doesn't force change on the teacher, instead making sure they get something they want in exchange.
1. Understand how your teacher sees you ✅
2. Tag yourself ✅
3. Call your teacher out for "managing" you and negotiate change ✅✅✅
Need more help to make change happen? Reach out to ben [@] fix.school or text 781-three-three-zero-6849. We're always free to talk :)
Bonus strategy: Classwide challenge.
If more than half the class is pressed about the teacher, usually when the teacher has really crossed a line but you're too scared to say something alone...
Put all their ig handles into this form and we'll make an IG account like "fix-mrs.frizzle's-class" and send all of them follow requests.
You'll get a handmade webpage that lets you put all your feedback together into one google doc and choose to anonymously send it to your assistant principal or have Doorstop Education the teacher ourselves - that way, they won't get into any trouble with the school.