Dealing With Disobedient Students

Quora Question: As a new teacher, how do you deal with disobedient students?

Whether you are a new teacher or an experienced teacher the solution is the same. There will be less disobedience if you are clear and confident with your classroom management plan, keep your classroom active and interesting and give positive feedback as often as possible for the students that are doing what you want. Not by name, but more general. For example: “Thank you to tables 3, 5, 6 and 8 for giving me your attention right away.” After than the other table teams should begin to take notice.

People behave better for praise than for correction.

1. Have a clear, fair, doable, behavior management step system that you feel comfortable using. For example:

   
   

   1. Step one-Verbal Warming

   2. Step two-Change seats (move the student away from friends)

   3. Step three-One on one conference with you away from other students earshot

   4. Step four-Parent/guardian contact and counselor referral

      
      

2. Before changing activities make it clear to the entire class what your expectations are. For example: (This may sound obvious but sometimes teachers forget to start with this)

   
   

   1. “Everyone wrap up your conversations, stop talking and look up here at me. I have some instructions to give you.”

   2. Or…”You have 5 minutes left on this activity. I’m setting a timer. When you hear the timer, stop what you’re doing, look up at me and listen.”

      
      

3. Keep your verbal instructions short. It is best to have them written and give your students the opportunity to read them to themselves, then discuss for 2 minutes with a partner and then you ask for clarification. This keeps students more accountable and you can talk less.

   
   

4. IF, after all of the above efforts there are still some students that are not doing what you ask (it’s usually only a few by this time), work your behavior plan right away with confidence. Do not wavier when a student resists. Calmly work your plan.

   
   

5. If possible, work your plan BEFORE you are really angry. If you’re already feeling angry (understandable), then take a deep breath and try to remove any emotion from working your plan. The calmer and firmer you are, the better the student response will be because the student didn’t “get to you.”

   
   

6. Give more attention to the students that are doing what you want! I learned this over time. It is way too easy to focus on the disobedient students (because they want your attention and know how to get it) and then the well-behaved students can get overlooked. The more I learned to give my attention to the “on task” students, the fewer behavior problems I had. (See Chapter 28: “It’s o.k., Even with sheep brains on the floor” in my book written for teachers, “Wait, Don’t Quit!”)

   

Final Thought: HUGE kudos to you for being a teacher! It is only fellow teachers that truly understand how difficult it can be to handle disobedient students when what you want to do is teach. They can get in the way of your lesson plan and student learning so they must be managed, but those students can take your energy. Don’t let them! Work your plan and try to give more attention to the students that are being well-behaved.