What I would do differently as it relate to a teaching activity this week is change how I responded to the inappropriate classroom behavior of my 4th block. My response to their behavior was reactive and not proactive. Which was completely opposite of what I learned in NTI and know as on so many other levels. On Thursday I planned a small group activity that we never got to because of students' excessive talking, laughing and playing around. Knowing that this block is my most challenging class I should have planned better how I would address my habitual behavior issues. With this class its seems that when I address one behavior issue another is developing during that moment. To me it seems as though I am spending more time addressing behavior that teaching. All I can say is I was completely and totally perplexed by the total disregard for the lack basic respect. As a result I was completely off my game and modified the lesson to reading aloud, lecture and note taking :( I have tried the usual consequences; warnings, parent phone calls even referrals to AP but nothing has deterred the inappropriate behavior. So I plan to spend a good part of my Saturday calling parents and planning what to do with about 7 individual students.
Angela, I am there with you and had basically the same thing going on in one of my classes this past Thursday. I was finishing up the lesson and trying to transition into a lab activity. The students would not calm down after 2 or 3 minutes of me being patient and trying to gain their attention. The kids would not stop interrupting me, talking above me, standing up, and moving toward the lab, and so on. One of my female students kept asking can I put my purse in your office over and over and over. I answered her 3 times with yes you can when I finish with the instruction please sit down in your seats. About half the students were sitting and trying to concentrate on my transition instructions. I finally after trying different attention getting techniques- whispering, firm voice, blinking the lights without total success I slammed my hand down on my desk and yelled HEY at the same time. It worked. You could have heard a pen drop and every student was looking at me attentively. I cancelled the activity and had them sit without making a sound the rest of the block. The first student that made the sound got detention and a second student tried to use his cell phone and lost it for 3 days. They all sat quietly and lost the privilege of going in the back. They also had to listen to what I expect and the consequences speech the last five minutes. Dont know if I handled it correctly or not but thats what worked on that day. Some days………some days.
ReplyDeleteNot just you. It seems that all kids are becoming more disrespectful, and it seems to get worse each year. I don't know the reason, but it is a problem.
ReplyDeleteI have this problem as well with my 4th block - it is my largest class with 31.
I find it easiest to ignore the troublemakers and teach the ones that want to learn and participate. Once the lesson or class is over, then I deal with the problem students on THEIR time, not mine...
I am sorry you had a bad week! I had a few of those students last year that were so bad that they all ended up with school behavior contracts. My administration, thank goodness, backed me up. Majority of those students either were taken out of the class, expelled, or relocated to other schools. I try really hard to keep these students sooooooo busy that they don't have time to breath! I really show these students tough love and I hope and think that in the end they respect me more because of it. It is strange how some weeks these kids are hellions and some weeks they seem letargic! I blame it on the moon phases!!! LOL
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