Julie Allard
T O P I C :
Unrestrained Name Calling
Julie Poses the Question. . . .
September 5, 2007
My Post and Ponder question is:
What can I do to engage two students who, as juniors in high school, disrupt class because they are calling each other names? They have been separated, but continue the name calling across the room.
Anthony Halter answers. . . .
September 13, 2007
Julie,
I cannot say this will work with all students or all classrooms. However, since it is at the first of the year, you might want to back up and punt. The first day of class, my mentor teacher instructed the class on classroom norms. First and foremost, the students are expected to show respect for the teacher. When she calls roll, they answer "yes mam." If they do not, she waits until they give the proper response. Second, NO talking is permitted without permission from the teacher. Personally, I would try to find out what they dislike the most and that would be their punishment for bad behavior. If they hate to write essays, then let them know that they will be writing essays EVERY TIME they act out in class.
I know that we are supposed to watch our step since we are interns, but the point comes when you have to ask yourself if you can sacrifice the safety of the class for a couple of jerks. I probably call down just as many kids in the hall as anyone for inappropriate behavior. Twice I have had students try to ignore me. I went straight to them and asked them why they did not follow instructions. Then I ask them if they choose to do as instructed or do they choose to go to the office and see if we can settle the issue there. I am always nice about it, but they can tell that I will not just let their actions go unaddressed. Do only what you feel comfortable with and the rest is the responsibility of your mentor. I hope this does not sound "preachy." It is just my two cents.
Have a Great Day!
Quinn Bivens answers. . . .
September 13, 2007
It is a drastic measure, but is it possible to move one of the students to another class? That is something I would explore.
Sarah White answers. . . .
September 14, 2007
Maybe these two students are just trying to get attention. If you have a desk at the front of your room, pull one of them up there and have them sit on the floor behind the desk facing the wall (or somewhere else that is out of sight of the rest of the class, but you can see). Then they are not the center of attention anymore. My mentor had me use this method with two boys in our classroom and it really worked. They haven't done it since.
Jessica Fay answers. . . .
September 21, 2007
I think that you and your mentor teacher should create a behavioral contract with the two students. Since they have not listened to class rules AND disobeyed both of your requests to stop, then you should try something different. Have them sign something saying how they will behave and the consequences if they do not abide by the contract. Then, follow through with the contract. By having them sign something, it seems more serious.
If they continue to disrupt the class, then follow through with the punishment and talk with their parents. If this still doesn't work, it may be time to refer the students to the principal. Before this measure though, try to figure this out in the classroom. The students probably just want attention, so working creatively can hopefully solve the problem.
Megan Murry answers. . . .
September 19, 2007
Have you tried speaking to the boys individually? Granted, my mentor teaches ninth graders, but this has proven to be very successful for her. She makes it clear to all students that if they are having behavior problems in class, she will first send them to the hall. She will not disrupt the class to deal with, or, in a sense recognize, their actions. When she does have a free moment, she will go to the hall to discuss the matter with the student. They will not return to the classroom until they both feel comfortable about the situation and about each other. If things are unable to be resolved she will then, and only then, take further action (i.e. calling parents, sending student to office, etc.). She has been teaching for 14 years, and has yet to send a student to the office.
While it might be too late to "sell" this system to the class (as my mentor does on the first day of class), I still believe that speaking with each student individually could be beneficial. I think this shows the student that their actions are not only disrupting the entire class, but they are also bothering you on a more personal level. If anything, you might be able to get to the root of the name calling and progress from there!
Brian Ross answers. . . .
September 28, 2007
We have a similar situation in our classroom except that the two kids like each other so much that they will not quit talking to each other. Our classroom has about five ADD kids in it, and at the beginning of the year, we had a fairly good grasp on managing them so that we could accomplish things in class. About three weeks after school had started, a girl transferred into our class who was best friends with the most disruptive boy in the class. We had no way of knowing this when she came in and the only open seat was next to that boy, so they sat next to each other for a couple of weeks. This was a disaster. After a couple of weeks of that, we gave them a new seating chart with her on the front left and him at the back right of the room. So far this has worked out much better. We also got much more strict on small talking and calling them out for things that wouldn't seem like that big of a deal. This seems to cut down on them ever causing mass disruption in the room.
Jane Keen answers. . . .
October 18, 2007
I have a class with a few students who just can't stop talking and yelling things out in class.
One thing that I have started doing is to plan a fun activity at least once a week for at least half of a class (I usually do something a few times a week). For the students who can't seem to behave before the activity, I have a worksheet that requires them to read a passage about what we are going over in our activity and answer questions. I make them do that worksheet while we do our activity.
This week, I rented a discovery box from the Shiloh Museum on the Civil War. We did a map activity on battles of the Civil War, and then I let them try on clothes and eat hard tack, and we had a few other hands on activities.
There were a few students who just would not keep quiet during our map activity (in fact, I have a consistent problem with them talking in class), so I made them sit during the last ten minutes when we were doing our hands on activities and write "I am sorry for disrupting the class learning process by talking over and over again" until the bell rang. I talked to the boys after the bell rang about how they made me feel disrespected by interrupting my teaching process, and they appologized. I asked them why they were doing it, and explained to them why it upset me.
I wouldn't have normally done this, but feel that it is a reoccuring situation that required some special attention. I have only had one class with them since, so I can't evaluate the effectiveness of the approach, but they seemed to respond well.
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