Let us take a look at one example of how a teacher handled a classroom issue and take a look at what was done poorly and what could be improved upon for next time:
Mrs. D* teaches fifth grade. Her students were having a bad day and were not listening or staying in their chairs. Her method of handling the situation was to pull out the Barney song (I love you, you love me…) and play it for the class. The class was instructed that they must sit still and quiet through one whole playing of the song in order for the students to move onto another activity. Twenty minutes later the class period ended and they moved to specials with the song still playing.
The first problem with this scenario is that the song and task are both demeaning to the age of the student. A fifth grader does not like Barney and does not like that song. Having students sit through this song over and over again, having to sit still and quiet, was in essence the teacher telling them that she had no respect for them.
A student put in a position of belittling will revolt, whereas a student put in a position of being held to a high standard, will likely rise to the occasion. Next time, the teacher could have the students write a letter of apology to the teacher, or write a letter home to their parents explaining their behavior and signed by the teacher.
There are two basic categories of teachers: those who have good classroom management and those who don’t. Those who have it either worked hard to get it, or it just came naturally. Those who don’t have it, well, it’s not because of a lack of trying.
In fact, in speaking to some teachers who struggle with classroom management, it is doubly frustrating for teachers to struggle day in and day out to control a class of students with another teacher never struggles at all. Usually teachers lay blame. In fact, all teachers I have spoken to lay blame:
Bad group of kids
Awkward age for kids
Bad mix of kids
Bad home life
and so on
The list goes on but in the end it’s lying blame when in fact the only person who can change the situation is the teacher. And all teachers are able to change the situation if they only put their mind to it. It takes a lot of reflection, patience, trial and error and asking for help.
If you can’t seem to figure out how to get a particular group of kids under control, ask someone who has a great class – observe, ask “what if” questions, invite criticism, ask for suggestions, and be open to change.
Many teachers are able to identify the fact that there is a problem in their classroom. Some are even able to specify what the problem is:
“John is my biggest classroom management problem”
“There are a couple of boys that just don’t get along”
“My students have respect issues”
These teachers often are also able to list various strategies they have tried in order to solve the problem.
“I’ve tried everything – taking away recess, threats, calling parents, notes home, sending them to the Principal’s office, ignoring the behavior, yelling, rewards, punishments, new seating arrangements, nothing helps!”
It may in fact seem to be the impossible class – often it is a group of students who have been impossible each grade level, developing a pattern of issues.
Solving a problem like this may not be simple but it is possible with some reflection. It is important for the teacher to take a good long look at what circumstances surround the issues involved in the classroom and attempt to think back to a trigger. It may be problems at home, it may be the style of teaching or it may be the lack of a social skill.
With some intense reflection on what works and what doesn’t work in each situation, the teacher may be able to start to address the heart of the matter and begin to see small changes in the behaviors. Addressing the behavior may not solve the problem, so through this reflection the teacher will hopefully begin to see beyond the outward behavior to the root cause.
Every teacher faces at least one discipline problem each day. Handling these issues properly is the difference between a well managed classroom and a chaotic one.
Here are your five basic steps to handling any discipline problem effectively:
Take a breath – this will give you a moment to collect your thoughts and remain under control
Address the misbehavior – this is important to do appropriately, do not embarrass any student, but be sure that the student knows what he or she did wrong
Follow through with classroom consequences
Do not engage in excess conversation. Informing the student of the infraction and the consequence is enough, excess conversation only invites argument
Forgive and forget – leave the misbehavior behind as the lesson continues, giving all students the chance to learn both from the prepared lesson and from the example set
Smile Be positive Greet each student by name Hold your head high Make eye contact Be gracious Be patient Be firm Be consistent Have students Help each other Demonstrate important behaviors State clear rules Predetermine consequences Make learning fun Know your student’s names Over plan lessons Involve parents Genuinely care Ask questions Know which questions to not ask Demand respect Open lines of communication Hold classroom meetings Take time to be silly Encourage sharing Diversify lesson activities Be aware of culture Be there when students need to talk Post rules where students can see them Read to students Be genuine Be committed Collaborate with other teachers View each day as a new day Give second chances Apologize when you make a mistake Praise student effort Be specific in praise State intentions clearly Re-teach rules and consequences as necessary Be strong Do not show fear Leave troubles at home Be present Explain expectations Never give up Eat lunch with students Create individual behavior plans when necessary Allow students some say in positive rewards Allow students to earn rewards Set goals Ask students to set goals Encourage students to help each other Take time to have fun Share jokes Laugh Expect more from students Ask for advice Learn from other teachers Take time for your own family Believe in your students Make lessons obtainable for all students Provide visual aspects to all lessons Provide auditory aspects to all lessons Provide kinesthetic aspects to all lessons Try a new seating arrangement Rewrite class rules Have students decide on class rules Have students decide on class consequences Never raise your voice Avoid showing frustration Do not show anger Listen when students talk to you Provide uplifting activities for students Discourage tattle tails Teach students not to bully Teach students to treat each other properly Do not repeat warnings Make consequences fit the crime Make the classroom a safe place Be a trustworthy confidant Send positive notes home Encourage students to share with the class Look for the reason behind a behavior Find ways to encourage every student each day Prevention is the best method Have a plan in place Keep a June box for confiscated objects in class Relax! Count to 10 before responding to a child pushing your buttons Ignore attention seeking behavior Develop a good relationship with the school counselor Remember that learning is fun Create fun and engaging activities Do not beg students to obey Expect obedience Respect students Don’t be afraid to change Learn how to say no Practice transitions Have fun!
A teacher in Milwaukee was fined and charged with disorderly conduct after mishandling her frustration with one little girl in her classroom. The girl was playing with her beaded braids and despite requests from the teacher to stop, she continued. So in frustration, the teacher called the girl to the front of the class and cut one of the braids from her head.
The girl was understandably upset and her classmates laughed at her, adding to her humiliation.
When facing frustration in the classroom, it is important that teachers take a moment to pause, take a breath and consider the best course of action. It is important to avoid humiliating the child in front of the class, or damaging anything belonging to the child.
When a teacher is writing a behavior plan for a troublesome child, it can sometimes be a problem trying to choose what behavior to target on the plan. It is important to choose only one or possibly two major behaviors to focus on, this way the child will not be overwhelmed and will be able to succeed.
When attempting to choose the target behavior, think through the behavior problems the child has and list them. Then, order them in degree of importance or seriousness. If there is a behavior that is potentially harmful to the child or to other children/adults in the classroom, that needs to be the target behavior.
It is important to think through each behavior as well, because if a child throws chairs frequently, that may not be the best behavior to choose because by the time the child has thrown the chair he is already in a state of out-of-control anger. Finding a behavior to target at the onset of this anger is a much better place to focus.
Once one behavior has been targeted and improved upon, it is time to celebrate and move onto another problem behavior. Once the child begins to see success in one area, it will be easier to continue that success to other areas.
When a student breaks a rule, it is important for the teacher to address the issue promptly. Ignoring the behavior is likely to result in additional students following suite and arguments when the teacher addresses one student and not another.
The manner in which the teacher addresses each behavior does not have to be the same, though. Additionally, the teacher should not always respond verbally to each offense. Here are some additional options for addressing student misbehavior:
Frown
Shake head in displeasure
Give a warning look
Walk closer to the student and tap whatever work needs to be completed
Ask the student if he or she has a question
Remind the student to get/stay on task
Reinforce the directions that the student should be following
Ask the student nicely to act appropriately (for example, if Alex throws a piece of trash on the floor, ask him to throw the trash in the trash can instead).
Many teachers who graduate from a teaching program at a college or university have grandiose ideas about how their classroom management strategy is to prevent all discipline problems from happening. While this is naive and an incomplete classroom management plan, there is validity to the concept.
Keeping children engaged and on task is a by-product of a well-planned lesson that incorporates many different learning styles and teaching strategies.
Teachers need to consider including some of the following lesson plan strategies in their lessons:
small groups
discussion groups
role playing
peer tutoring
It is also important to incorporate each learning style into the lesson in order to keep all students engaged.
Visual Learners – Visual aspects to a lesson are often easy to include. This covers pictures, writing on the board, written examples, flash cards and similar objects.
Auditory Learners – Auditory aspects to a lesson include oral directions, lectures, and songs. Using mnemonic devices to help students remember key points is another great auditory learning strategy.
Kinesthetic Learners – Kinesthetic aspects to a lesson include the use of manipulatives and any activities that get students up and moving including games and plays.
With these multidimensional aspects to lesson plans, teachers will have the right planning in place for minimal discipline problems. Even so, it is important that teachers have an additional behavior plan in place as even the most well planned lesson can still have it’s problems.
Motivating students to follow the rules and stay in line by threatening to take away the holiday party or requiring student to “earn” the holiday party is common in many classrooms. Teachers who choose to do this will often find themselves repeating the threat each time the students disobey. This is not actually an effective means of getting students to obey, as demonstrated by the needed repetition of the threats.
Why Threaten the Holiday Party?
Teachers like to threaten the holiday party because it is a huge motivation for many students. The holiday party is a high interest or high value activity that students are willing to do anything in order to receive it. Finding a high value reward to motivate students is a very effective method of classroom management.
Why NOT Threaten the Holiday Party?
The problem with threatening to take away the holiday party is that very often the teacher is not actually willing to follow through on the threat. Children are smart and will quickly realize that the more times the threat is repeated, the less likely the teacher is to actually follow through. In fact, the repeated threats is very close to pleading with students to obey.
Additionally, if the teacher is actually willing to follow through and take away the holiday party, it means that even those students who were obeying will miss out. The only way to make this type of threat work is to routinely have disobedient students required to sit out (of recess, a party, a special class game, etc.) and make this type of discipline a recognized routine in the classroom.
