Dear Anxious Teacher

Are you struggling with misbehavior in the classroom? Listen-all of us struggle with this teaching. Nobody is perfect with their approach. Disciplining humans can be mentally draining, and may even make us question why we teach to begin with. Don’t expect perfection from your students. Some teachers prefer a more fear-based approach and others discipline in more of a nurturing style. My preference is obviously the latter. Also, be careful with asking advice from a teacher who has a very different style from you; their advice may not work for you. My biggest advice is this: Be yourself! Stop asking fellow teachers what they do in the classroom-especially if your styles clash. Try to find someone who has a similar temperament to you, yet still, you need to do what feels comfortable and natural to your personality. Being in the classroom and gaining experience are the best ways to learn classroom management. Making mistakes and trying new things will be your best teacher with discipline! Your students will teach you what works and what doesn’t work. Here is my advice on disciplining students while preserving the relationship with the student:

1. Redirect Calmly

2. Set Limit Firmly

3. Follow through (don’t feel bad)

1. Redirect: (Strike 1) When you see a student not following a class rule, redirect this student back to the task at hand. This first step functions as a strike 1 or a warning. Don’t use any emotions or anger when redirecting the student. For example, you could say-I really need you to complete today’s handout without talking so much to Johnny.

2. Set Limit: (Strike 2) If the misbehavior continues, this is when you use a firmer tone and establish a limit with the student. For instance- “If you continue talking with your neighbor, I am going to have to give you a consequence.” When you set a limit, it is best to do it in proximity to the student. Don’t shout this across the classroom because you want to maintain privacy and respect for the student. Also, a power struggle could ensue if the student sees an opportunity to undermine you. I would end the limit with a thank you. Kindness never hurts and being kind often eases any kind of tension between the student and you. Think of it like this: It’s harder to be a jerk to a person when they are kind. Students are no different.

3. Follow through: Strike 3 is here. Depending on the infraction and behavior, address the behavior at the end of class privately with the student. If the behavior is affecting the learning and progress of others, you may need to have a break area in your class or have the student removed if the behavior is really escalatory. I teach middle school and have put a student outside the door in a desk so that they can still learn something from the class while losing the opportunity of an audience. This is tough to do, but after the class spend some time talking with the student kindly about the incident. We should only use removing a student as a last resort.

-The hard thing about teaching is the gray area we all experience. Every student is different. You need to truly understand your students. When students misbehave, ask yourself, “why?” Behavior usually always has a motivating factor and trying to figure that out is the detective work you must do. You should discipline students fairly, consistently, and educationally. Students should learn from the consequence. With 35 students in a class, you are handling a lot of personalities. Good relationships with students are the most important factor in getting students to listen to you. If students respect you and find that you’re a fair person, you’ll have a better shot at really getting through to them. When students dislike you, discipline becomes much more difficult. Don’t become robotic with the above approach. You need to read each situation and make the best choice for the students in the classroom. So before trying the above technique, build rapport and connect with your students first. Then implementing the above approach will work even better! You got this and remember to follow through!

Keep believing,

Mr. Greg