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[C712]Classroom Management And Discipline

by Ruth Wells, Rut

At our popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Workshops (http://www.youthchg.com), we always let the course participants name the problem areas they want to cover during the inservice workshop. We can always count on teachers asking for ideas for classroom management and control. Nearly every teacher has had moments when maintaining control over the class was difficult or impossible. Some teachers tell us that there class has actually gotten out of control. Here's help.

So many students believe that they should be in charge of the classroom and that they know more than the teacher. It can be tough to teach hard-to-manage students who think they should be in charge. Since few schools have a written game plan to formally train their kids to be students, you may see a lot of younger and older youth who do not look, act or sound like students.

Until trained to be students, some youngsters may continue to be unmanageable. Here is a small sampling from our arsenal of strategies to effectively teach kids to be successful students. The strategies offered here will focus on just one of the many skill areas you need to cover: how to interact properly with teachers. Don't forget to cover those other areas too-- how often to talk in class, what to say or not say, how to be on task, how to arrive on time, how to interact with other students and so on. Our books and classes cover all these areas in depth, but here's a peek at some of our best!

** Who Is Qualified to Be in Charge?
For students who believe that they should run the class, have your kids list out all the qualifications that teachers must have. Write their responses on the board and elicit answers like "have a college degree" and "have a license to teach." Next, ask the class to determine who has these qualifications, the teacher or students? This intervention can very effectively squelch your "know-it-all" students' attempts to be the boss of the class.

** Just Say "Yes"
So often, "NO!" is the first word from a student's mouth in response to a teacher's direction. Understandably, that response can become a problem quite quickly. Teach the students that a "trick" to more often get your teacher to do what you want is to say "Yes." Drill the students to use sentences such as "Yes, I will do the math but can you show me how" and "Yes, but I don't really want to do it." Teach students that "Yes" is the magic word to use with teachers to have a better chance to get what they want. Also, discuss what bad things can happen to employees who say "NO" to bosses, and note that school is the place to prepare for employment to avoid "practicing on the job."

** Help Me Faster
When the teacher doesn't immediately respond to a request for help, some students become upset or misbehave, sometimes believing that the teacher hates them-- that's why they don't respond faster. To quickly show students why the teacher doesn't always immediately provide aid every time, have a student assume the role of teacher then have all the other students request help at once. The role-play teacher will quickly understand why the teacher is unable to always provide instant aid. Ask the students to recommend how the teacher should allocate aid. The class will suggest that the teacher respond to the person who requests help first, which should prove to be an easy-to-do answer for the teacher to follow.

** Teachers Are Lousy Mind Readers
To show students that teachers are unable to decipher what that their tantrum or sulking means, teach students that teachers are lousy mind readers. Have students think of numbers, and have the teacher attempt to guess the numbers. Keep score on the board. Assess the score and discuss that teachers can't read minds very well. Discuss when students sometimes expect teachers to read minds, and what students could do that would work much better.

** Top 10 Ways Your Teacher Can't Tell You Need Help To further teach students that teachers are unable to magically determine when students need help, have the class make a Top 10 List. Title this list "The Top 10 Ways Your Teacher Can't Tell You Need Help." Elicit answers such as "you glare." Post the completed list on the wall and discuss what might work better.

Many experts in education agree that the students who are causing the classroom management problems usually fall into one of four categories:

1. attention seekers ~ (pencil tappers, hummers, students who talk out etc.)

2. power seekers ~ (always getting in the last word, muttering under their breath)

3. revenge seekers ~ (recipients of frequent punishment)

4. avoiding failure ~ (students who don't do the work or withdraw from the lesson as a means of avoiding more failure)

However, for most teachers, it is the power seekers that start to make our blood boil. These are the students who question your authority and do so in front of the whole class.

Many teachers feel that they cannot let the power seeking student get in the last word because the will lose face with the rest of the class...leading others to feel comfortable questioning your authority as well.

These power seekers are trying to "bait" the teacher by mumbling something under their breath or flat out stating, "You can't make me do this assignment!"

Bottom line...these power seeking students are trying to get a reaction out of the teacher and there is nothing they would like more than to have their fellow classmates watch the teacher explode.

Don't do this...Don't fall for their tricks...Don't take the bait!!!

At least not then and there in front of the other students.

There are other options...A much better approach is to take a deep breath, don't lose your cool, and in a calm, matter-of-fact manner simply tell the student to see you after class and then immediately continue on with the lesson.

If the power seeking student then mutter's something under his breath again just ignore it...that's right ignore it...the rest of class already knows that you will handle the situation without their presence. There is no need for further response at this time as all you will be doing is disrupting your own lesson and giving that power seeking student just what he wants.

Then, when the bell rings and the class is leaving, simply pull that power seeking student aside and follow through without the audience that the student desired. Depending on the situation you may also follow that up with a phone call home, parent conference, detention etc.

Just don't get "into it" in front of the rest of the class.

By knowing the reasoning behind why a student is misbehaving (i.e. seeking power) a teacher can make much better classroom management decisions.

Article Source : Classroom Management Articles

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Both Ruth Wells & Adam Waxler are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Ruth Wells has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Self Esteem and Teachers. . Ruth Wells's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.

Adam Waxler has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lose Weight, Interview Questions and Arthritis Signs. If you can't manage your classroom you can't teach! Fortunately, Adam Waxler, a full-time social studies teacher and adjunct education professor, has developed a FREE 5-part classroom management e-course. For more information about this FREE course visit:. Adam Waxler's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.