Saturday, July 16, 2011

Three Levels of Effective Classroom Management

By  Nicholas Provenzano

7/8/11
Nick Provenzano
Nick Provenzano
Nick Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher on Twitter) teaches high school English at Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe, MI.

To Send or Not to Send (To The Office)

Over the past 5 years, I have sent about 2- to 3-students to office during class for discipline issues. I would like to tell you it is because my students are perfect angels or that every student respects me the moment they walk in (ha!). The truth is, I have students that cause trouble and goof around like 99 percent of all classrooms. But save for the most egregious behaviors, I refuse to send them to the principal, and this has created a better classroom environment.
Dealing with discipline in the classroom is no small task. The easy solution is to send the student to administration and let them punish the student. But what does that really accomplish? It shows the student that you do not want to deal with them and it tends to validate their behavior which is usually about getting attention. If you deal with the student yourself, you can not only avoid rewarding bad behavior, but it can help prevent long-term problems in the classroom as well.

Level One: Let Them Know You're Paying Attention

If a student is causing problems, small re-directs can be helpful during the class. Stand by the desk and tap on the shoulder to let them know you know what is going on. Sometimes eye contact can go a long way in managing a disruptive student. The main objective is to the let the student know that you are aware that they are acting up and that you have your eye on them. Sometimes, of course, this is not enough for certain students.

Level Two: Discipline in Private

If a student is undaunted, you may need to use some kind of discipline.
One thing I learned early as a teacher is to never engage in discipline in front of the class. It is a losing battle for everyone involved. The student cannot back down in front of his peers, and the teacher cannot back down in front of other students.
Instead of issuing punishment or calling more attention to a disruptive student, address them quietly. Tell the student you need to talk to them after class. It should be short and discreet while class is going on. Never make a big deal out of the behavior with the student, as that would give them exactly what they wanted.

Level Three: Time to Call in the Administrators

There are some student behaviors that absolutely warrant a trip to the principal's office. One is disrupting the learning environment for all students in class after multiple attempts by the teacher for re-direction. Any aggressive or violent behavior is also grounds for removal from a classroom. Students that choose to act this way in class need to be removed for their safety and the safety of others.
That said, simply removing the student from your classroom will not solve the problem.
If you have to send a student to the administrators, make sure to follow up with him or her before see each other in class. Reach out and try to find out why they were acting out. Sometimes communication breaks down between counselors, administrators and teachers on what is going on with students, so teachers need to engage students directly to find out what is at the root of their behavior. When you reach out with genuine concern, the student will be more likely to share important details about their life that can help explain their behavior. Like most things, communication can solve many problems.
In the next post, I'll show how clear classroom rules can be established to make the school year run smoothly.

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This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out?

What's taking so long? This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out? "Hell has a special level for those who sit by idly during times of great crisis."
Robert Kennedy

The Art of SETTING LIMITS, Its not as easy as it looks.

Art of Setting Limits Setting limits is one of the most powerful tools that professionals have to promote positive behavior change for their clients, students, residents, patients, etc. Knowing there are limits on their behavior helps the individuals in your charge to feel safe. It also helps them learn to make appropriate choices.


There are many ways to go about setting limits, but staff members who use these techniques must keep three things in mind:
Setting a limit is not the same as issuing an ultimatum.
Limits aren’t threats—If you don’t attend group, your weekend privileges will be suspended.

Limits offer choices with consequences—If you attend group and follow the other steps in your plan, you’ll be able to attend all of the special activities this weekend. If you don’t attend group, then you’ll have to stay behind. It’s your decision.
The purpose of limits is to teach, not to punish.
Through limits, people begin to understand that their actions, positive or negative, result in predictable consequences. By giving such choices and consequences, staff members provide a structure for good decision making.
Setting limits is more about listening than talking.
Taking the time to really listen to those in your charge will help you better understand their thoughts and feelings. By listening, you will learn more about what’s important to them, and that will help you set more meaningful limits.
Download The Art of Setting Limits

SYSTEMATIC USE OF CHILD LABOR


CHILD DOMESTIC HELP
by Amanda Kloer

Published February 21, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT
category: Child Labor
Wanted: Domestic worker. Must be willing to cook, clean, work with garbage, and do all other chores as assigned. No contract available, payment based on employer's mood or current financial situation. No days off. Violence, rape, and sexual harassment may be part of the job.

Would you take that job? No way. But for thousands of child domestic workers in Indonesia, this ad doesn't just describe their job, it describes their life.

A recent CARE International survey of over 200 child domestic workers in Indonesia found that 90% of them didn't have a contract with their employer, and thus no way to legally guarantee them a fair wage (or any wage at all) for their work. 65% of them had never had a day off in their whole employment, and 12% had experienced violence. Child domestic workers remain one of the most vulnerable populations to human trafficking and exploitation. And while work and life may look a little grim for the kids who answered CARE's survey, it's likely that the most abused and exploited domestic workers didn't even have the opportunity to take the survey.

In part, child domestic workers have it so much harder than adults because the people who hire children are more likely looking for someone easy to exploit. Think about it -- if you wanted to hire a domestic worker, wouldn't you choose an adult with a stronger body and more life experience to lift and haul and cook than a kid? If you could get them both for the same price, of course you would. But what if the kid was cheaper, free even, because you knew she wouldn't try and leave if you stopped paying her. Or even if you threatened her with death.



Congress Aims to Improve Laws for Runaway, Prostituted Kids

by Amanda Kloer

categories: Child Prostitution, Pimping

Published February 20, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT

The prospects for healthcare reform may be chillier than DC weather, but Democrats in the House and Senate are turning their attention to another warmer but still significant national issue: the increasing number of runaway and throwaway youth who are being forced into prostitution. In response to the growing concerns that desperate, runaway teens will be forced into prostitution in a sluggish economy, Congress is pushing several bills to improve how runaway kids are tracked by the police, fund crucial social services, and prevent teens from being caught in sex trafficking. Here's the gist of what the new legislation is trying to accomplish:

Shelter: Lack of shelter is one of the biggest vulnerabilities of runaway and homeless youth. Pimps will often use an offer of shelter as an entree to a relationship with a child or a straight up trade for sex. In the past couple years, at least 10 states have made legislative efforts to increase the number of shelters, extend shelter options, and change state reporting requirements so that youth shelters have enough time to win trust and provide services before they need to report the runaways to the police. Much of the new federal legislation would make similar increases in the availability and flexibility of shelter options.

Police Reporting: Right now, police are supposed to enter all missing persons into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database within two hours of receiving the case. In reality, that reporting doesn't always get done, making it almost impossible for law enforcement to search for missing kids across districts. This hole is a big problem in finding child prostitution victims and their pimps, since pimps will often transport girls from state to state. The new bill would strengthen reporting requirements, as well as facilitate communication between the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Runaway Switchboard

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women
Nor the Fool Politicians that used so many American GIs' lives as fodder for the fight over an english noun - "Communism"