Surviving disruptive students: Classroom discipline

Note: For now, you are a guest in your cooperating teacher’s classroom. Ask your co-op how he or she wants you to deal with disruptive students while you are learning the ropes. The following article, though, will give you some good advice on how to prevent disruptive behaviors when you land your first job as a teacher.

The responsibility for good student discipline rests primarily with the classroom teacher. Most authorities agree that, without a comfortable disciplinary situation, the teacher’s job becomes frustrating and often unbearable, and as a result, little teaching or learning takes place.

It is very important that you establish clearly and immediately the behavior pattern to be followed by your students. Actually, students welcome reasonable discipline and have respect for teachers who follow a consistent policy.

Ask your support teacher for copies of discipline policies for your district and/or building. Your classroom policy should reflect the district guidelines.

These suggestions for better classroom discipline are offered by your colleagues who have, as they say, “been there.”

1. Be consistent in application of discipline and fair in your requirements and assignments.

2. Show courtesy to all students, and display trust and confidence in them all. Avoid showing dislike for any student.

3. Let students tell you their side of the situation. Be willing to consider mitigating

circumstances.

4. Talk about the misdeeds of students only to those who have a right and need to know. Avoid openly comparing one student to another. Maintain student confidentiality when correcting student behavior.

5. Admit you’ve made a mistake, and apologize if you’ve treated a student unjustly.

6. Make sure punishments are appropriate for the misbehavior, and explain to the student why he or she is being punished.

7. Consistent self-control is a teacher’s best tool to influence the control of others. Negative teacher behavior creates negative student behavior.

Here are some of the more common discipline situations and a pattern for dealing with them:

What do you do when you have a confrontation with a student?

Before you act, you should know   

• What triggered the confrontation? Did you issue a challenge? (“Do you want to leave this class?”) Did you “put down” the student? Is the student challenging you?    

• Can the situation be avoided or delayed? Should there be a cooling-off period? Should there be an audience?        

• What are the consequences? How will this result in a better relationship?

You can try     

• Showing that you are in control of yourself by using relaxed gestures and a steady voice.   

• Moving to a neutral location.           

• Restating problems or feelings you think you heard, using “feeling” words.

• Focusing on specific behavior and not on the person.

• Withholding judgment until there is an agreement on what happened.

What do you do when a student seems to be a constant distraction to the rest of the class?

Before you act, you should know   

• What need the student is trying to fill (acceptance, love, attention, worth).

• What the consequences have been for the student’s behavior up to now.    

• What attitude the other students demonstrate toward this student (respect, dislike, envy).  

• Whether this is a problem of behavior or attitude.

You can try     

• Planning a contract with the student which specifies what you will do in recognition of a change in behavior.         

• Using a “time out” place to remove the student from the situation. This place is in the room, contains no distractions, and is not a punishment, but rather an aid for focusing.          

• Telling the class there will be 10 minutes of free time if the work is completed on schedule. Put the number 10 on the board. If distractions occur, cross out the 10 and reduce the free time to 9. Usually, other students will put pressure on the troublemaker to behave.

What do you do when students have tuned you out and are not listening?

Before you act, you should know   

• What percentage of the students are tuning you out?

• Has tuning you out become a habit for these students?         

• Why are students tuning you out? Are you saying relevant things? Have you been talking too long? Are you talking beyond the students’ capacity to understand? Are you excited about what you are saying? Is the student preoccupied with personal problems?       

• What does your response to the “tuned-out” students say to them? Are you personally offended? Have you become defensive? Are you disappointed with yourself?

You can try     

• Ignoring these students, letting them experience the consequences of their behavior.         

• Enjoying the students who are tuned in.

• Probing some other interest which these students may have.   

• Observing closely for possible learning problems or physical problems which may be influencing these students. 

• Stating your feelings about their behavior.  

• Asking them to describe and explain their behavior.

What do you do when a student curses or uses an obscene gesture?

Before you act, you should know   

• If the student knows the meaning of what he or she is saying or doing.  

• What triggered this behavior (anger, attempt to be funny, need for attention, shock value). 

• Who this was intended for. (Was this meant for another student? Was this meant for you to see and/or react to?)     

• Whether or not this is worth a confrontation — major or minor.  

• If you can turn this into a positive learning experience.

You can try     

• Not registering shock, anger or embarrassment — but keeping your cool.        

• Ignoring the behavior.         

• Asking the student the meaning of what he or she said or did.      

• Asking the student to use a substitute word.           

• Calling a conference with the student and the parents of repeat offenders to emphasize your position on cursing in school.

What do you do when two students are fighting?

Act immediately. If possible, separate them. If not possible, send for another adult.

Before you do anything else, you should answer these questions.        

• Should you remove the combatants from those who watched the fight? This could mean less pressure on the combatants to put on a show for others. This could mean less pressure on you to act hastily for the sake of others. 

• Do either you or the students need a cooling-off period to think about what happened and the consequences?

• Are these students frequently involved in fights, or is this an unusual situation?         

• Do you clearly understand the most recent court rulings on corporal punishment and their implications?

You can try     

• Keeping your composure and speaking and acting as unemotionally as possible.      

• Acting impartially and trying to get the facts.   

• Keeping the situation in perspective — if the students have cooled down, don’t re-ignite

their anger.      

• Determining what triggered the fight.          

• Determining if there was a clear-cut aggressor and if only that student deserves the punishment.

• Allowing students to verbalize their anger.  

• Helping students look at better ways to deal with the situation.          

• Selecting a consequence which is humane and fair to both students.          

• Stating that once the consequences are carried out, the issue is gone from your mind and should be gone from their minds, too.

Good classroom discipline should not be thought of as being strict, but as a cause-and-effect relationship. Students should be made aware that certain types of behavior will cause unpleasant results, while others will elicit recognition and praise. By using this cause-and-effect approach, most students will naturally develop good behavior attitudes and responses.

You, too, can achieve classroom control, acceptable student conduct and student achievement if you are firm, fair, friendly, consistent and prepared.

A Design for Discipline

The LEAST approach is an organized response to discipline.

Leave things alone when no problems are likely to ensue.

End the action indirectly when the behavior is disrupting classroom activities.

Attend more fully when you need to obtain more information and/or communicate.

Spell out directions when disruption and/or harm will occur.

Track student progress when following through to evaluate and reinforce behavior.

The LEAST method was designed by teachers for teachers. It is a workable, common-sense approach to dealing with behavior problems as they occur in any classroom.

The LEAST workshop is available through the PSEA Education Services Division.

Additional resources:

In Brief: Positive Approaches to Discipline

Professional Learning Exchange, PSEA Educational Services Division

Levin, J. and Shanken-Kaye, J. (1996)

The Self-Control Classroom, Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt