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Dealing with Unruly Students

Quora Question: Why are some teachers able to deal with unruly students while others aren't?


My Answer:


As a mentor teacher I have observed many new teachers and this is the pattern that I see:


  1. The teachers that have trouble with unruly behavior are often worrying too much about the students “liking” them and therefore do not enforce their behavior management plan. They wait and wait and ask their students to “stop talking” or “quiet down” over and over again until the students lose respect and simply ignore them.

  2. The lesson plan in classrooms where the students are routinely unruly is usually not very engaging. Bored students are much more likely to act out.

  3. The teacher is not confident and does not command authority with their presence. Meaning: they come across as weak instead of strong, calm and willing to act on their own classroom management plan. They wait until they are really upset to act and by that time they might be yelling at their students or give out an unfair punishment for all of the students, not just the ones that acted out, instead of focusing on the students that were out of line.

  4. The teacher did not develop a healthy rapport with their students from the beginning of the school year.


Solutions:


  1. Design a classroom management plan that you feel comfortable using and use it! Right away. Do not wait until you are really angry. Act the moment that a student tests your system. If you are fair and consistent, your students will love you! They want a well run classroom just as much as you do. They may not admit that in front of other students but they do not want chaos either.

  2. Create engaging lesson plans that are interesting to you too! If you are excited about your lesson students will catch your enthusiasm and they’ll be engaged in your lesson plan, not in acting out.

  3. FIRST DAY-I made sure that the very first day of school started with a hands-on, fun, engaging activity. In this way, my students already had a good mind set that my class was going to be a good place to be. I did not focus on the rules that first day because students already get it. Rules don’t change much since kindergarten. Be polite. Listen. Don’t interrupt. Keep your hands and arms to yourself. Respect others. Etc…. SO…I wait for even one student to test those basic rules and then I use that as an opportunity for a teachable moment. I stop the lesson, get everyone’s attention, and briefly explain the steps in my classroom management plan. In this way, students learn right away that I do not and will not put up with any disrespect but….we will have a fun, engaging, safe, classroom all year. I am very clear from the first day that I will not tolerate rudeness or any disrespect. This starts the school year off with 2 big ideas:

    1. This will be a fun, engaging place to learn.

    2. I will not tolerate any disrespect.

  4. Be comfortable enforcing your classroom management plan. If you are not, then change/modify your plan until it is one that you like and will use.

  5. Develop a good rapport with your students from the very first day. You can do this by starting the school year with a combination of engaging lesson plans with a clear message that you are the leader. You are not their buddy. You are the authority figure in the room.


Final Thought: This is YOUR classroom. You worked hard to get where you are. You are the CEO, the manager, the authority figure in the room. You set the rules that work for you and stick to them. Also, Have FUN! (It's MUCH easier to have fun when your students are respectful. They often come to the classroom without this respect and this is your opportunity to help them learn this. (Yes, it would be easier if all students came to us this way but they don't.)

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