Hello Readers!
This
week I want to talk about one of the most challenging parts of being a teacher…addressing
student behaviors. Although it’s not an easy topic to speak about, I believe it
is a necessary topic. In my first year of teaching, I have come to the
realization that out of all the things I learned during my undergraduate
education, my student teacher experience, and my long-term substitute
positions, the one area I was not completely prepared for was how to handle behavioral
issues. For the most part, in each of these situations, I was never charged
with the responsibility of discipline. There was always someone else who dealt
with the “messy stuff.” However, now with my own classroom, it is completely up
to me to determine rewards and consequences. It definitely is a learning
process for me as I try and try again to find strategies that work with this
particular class.
Without
a doubt, the twenty-two students in my homeroom certainly keep me on my toes at
all times. Just when I think I have figured everything out, some new issue
occurs and I am back to square one. Some of the techniques I have implemented
include: a ticket reward system, a visual cue for classroom noise level, having
the students fill out a think sheet self-analyzing their inappropriate
behavior, sending students out into the hallway or to the office, one-on-one
discussions about making smart decisions, and having the district student
support specialist teach my class about problem solving. Each time, I had hope
that this new method would encourage my students to make wise decisions
regarding their behavior. In the end, some techniques were more effective than
other. For example, one of the most successful methods was having the loss of a
privilege. Depending on the student it may be loss of recess, exclusion from a
special class activity, or not being able to read in the literacy corner for a
day. The ability to differentiate when using this method is part of what makes
it so successful.
Overall, I must say the learning curve is steep
when it comes to new teachers having to learn how to monitor and manage
behaviors. There is nothing easy about the process, but I do hope that with
experience things will become a bit easier.
Until Next Time,
~A
It's funny, but managing student behavior is something that you have to "get behind the wheel" to learn. When I was in the classroom I used a few techniques that worked for me. You might find they come in handy:
ReplyDelete(1)If there was an argument or a problem between two students they could not come up to me and tattle unless someone was in danger. They had to WRITE out the problem and put it in a see through container, so I would know it was there. (I'd know the situation was going on anyway.) This worked for me. The students would come up to me to complain and I'd say, "Not listening, you need to write it out." Most of them didn't bother and the incident would pass.
(2) I would only give them seatwork that could be accomplished during the allotted time. If the student didn't finish before lunch, the student could finish at lunch or lose some recess. It worked wonders.
(3) I would only take away 5 to 10 minutes of their recess to talk to the students about their behavior. The kids need to get outside to play and run off energy.
(4) I would let a few good behavior students go down to lunch or to the bus "on time" and detain the others by 30 seconds. Never caused a problem, but the ones who left ahead of the class felt rewarded for their behavior...and really they may have gotten a 30 second head start.