A technology teacher at one of our workshops raised an ongoing issue he was having with students who don’t bring appropriate clothing to his subject. This is a safety concern as well as a behaviour issue – students cannot participate in the lesson without correct footwear.
This makes extra work for the teacher, taking him away from the rest of the class while he finds work for these students and manages their behaviour.
Teachers often come to me bemoaning the fact that while they know the strategies to use for one off-task student, but they don’t know what do they do when there is more than one student misbehaving.
This situation can feel overwhelming and you may need to look outside the box for answers to this dilemma.
Have you ever taught a student who made you dread going to class? The student who won’t engage no matter what you do? Who made you wait expectantly for the bell at the end of the lesson even more eagerly than the students?
I know I have!
A student who won’t engage with the learning, who refuses to follow directions, who disrupts the class and with whom you feel you cannot connect can really undermine your confidence.
Don’t despair. There are ways to relieve your stress levels and improve the situation.
We know that a student displaying constantly inappropriate behaviour and not effectively accessing the learning is a cause for concern.
When the student doesn’t respond to your whole class expectations, reinforcements and consequences you may decide to work with them to develop an individual behaviour contract.
Depending on the severity of the problem, parental support can also be enlisted to implement the plan.
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a conflict with a student that began with a minor issue that blew way out of proportion and ended in the student having a meltdown, the principal being called and perhaps the student being suspended?
Many teachers have been in this situation and it is not a happy place. It can feel like things are out of control and you are heading down a path you wish you never started. You simply asked the student to put their hat away and now there is a broken window, a cut hand and this is not what you signed up for.
Low-level behaviours require low-level responses.
While your name may be the sweetest sound on earth to you, when it is overused in a negative tone, there is no sweetness!
I have heard teachers use a student’s name over and over in a vain effort to have them comply with directions – to stop or start doing something. The teacher’s voice becomes white noise – the target student is not listening and the rest of the class is annoyed and also switching off.
Being creative and using a variety of non-verbal ways to manage student behaviour and gain student attention can avoid this pitfall and save your voice: