Make Every Minute Count

"Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, related it to past experiences and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves." (Chickering & Gamson, 1986)

Strive to interact positively with every student. Show your students that their welfare is important to you if you want to encourage on-task behavior.
Resist the temptation to be distracted during a lesson by students who want to chat or otherwise stray from the topic.
Plan your classes so that students are engaged from the minute they enter the room until you dismiss them. Giving them "free time" at the end of class is a practice with enormous potential for trouble.
Have alternative assignments for those students who finish assignments ahead of the others. Many students waste precious time waiting for others to finish.
Be careful not to interrogate students who are tardy or who are otherwise misbehaving in front of the class. Work to minimize disruptions; do not call them to the attention of everyone else.
Raise your students' awareness about the importance of using time wisely.
Don't allow small misbehaviors to continue or to escalate.
Teach your students that you are the person who decides when class will begin and end- not a bell. This will reduce disruptions and wasted time near the end of the class period.
Don't call roll out loud. Check attendance by scanning the room while your students are working independently.

TEACHER LANGUAGE: WHEN WHAT YOU SAY CAUSES PROBLEMS

Although each region of the country may have its own dialect, there is a common language that all professional teachers use to engage students within a safe learning environment. We know we can calm students and win them over to our side of a dispute by choosing our words carefully. Teachers must be aware of the power that words can carry. In the midst of a discipline problem, teachers need to be careful to use language that will help students calm down and make a choice to behave better instead of worse.

In this list you will find some comments or rhetorical questions that many teachers tend to use when exasperated with their students. These comments and rhetorical questions WILL NOT make any discipline situation better. Instead, they have the power to frustrate students and result in an even worse disruption. Examine this list in view of your own experience. If you know that these are unproductive, then you can choose words that will encourage rather than discourage your students.

When I was your age..
You don't want me to call your mom, do you?
I'll send you t the principal...
Now you've done it. Boy, am I mad!
If you don't get to work this instant, you will fail!
Who do you think you're talking to?
Who do you think you are?
How many times do I have to tell you...
What am I going to do with you?
If you think that I am going to take this, you are sadly mistaken.
Why do you even bother coming to school with such a nasty attitude?
I don't care what your father said...
What's the matter with you? You know better than that?
Why would you do such a stupid thing?
Do I look like an idiot?

ENFORCING CLASSROOM RULES

Here are some strategies designed to help you be more effective at enforcement. Use them to encourage your students to follow the rules that govern your class.

Deal with a broken rule immediately. Waiting will confuse students who are expecting to see you take action.
Don't threaten students who break a rule. Calmy enforce the rule.
Don't lecture, argue, fuss, or give undue attention to rule-breakers. Enforce the rule.
Be clear with your students. When you have a rule, mean it. Show this by making sure you enforce all rules.
When a student has broken a rule for the first time, question the student privately to make sure he/she understands what rule was broken.
One way to make enforcing the rules easier for everyone is to keep the infractions small. Try to keep situations from escalating into major disasters whenever you can.
call attention to good behavior as often as you can. Rewards can be an effective way to encourage students to follow rules.
It is tempting to make exceptions to your rules. Before you make exceptions, think carefully. You have to balance the needs of the group with the needs of the individual student who broke the rule.
Be friendly but firm when you set limits for your students. Sometimes we err by being too permissive. Here is a quick checklist for you to use to see if you are too permissive with your students. This is a common pattern of permissiveness. Is it yours?
1. You ask your students to cooperate with you.
2. You wait while they disregard your request.
3. You repeat your request in a louder voice.
4. You wait while they disregard your request again.
5. The cycle repeats itself until you lose your cool.

HOW TO AVOID THE MOST COMMON DISCIPLINE MISTAKES

Never confront a student in front of an entire class. You'll create a disruption that will upset everyone who watches. The misbehaving student will tend to act even worse in an effort to avoid greater embarrassment.
Do not lose your temper. When you lose your temper, you place yourself on the same level as your unruly student.
Speak standard English when you speak with your students about misconduct. If you want your students to take a situation seriously, set the appropriate tone with the language you use.
Never order an angry student to comply with your demands. You'll get nowhere.
Avoid telling stories about your own misspent youth in an effort to bond with students who have misbehaved. They will either tune you out or retell the story with unkind embellishments.
Do not punish a group for the misbehaviors of some. This does not create the kind of positive peer pressure that will cause students to behave well. Instead, it will generate anger.
Don't let poor behavior affect a student's grade. You should assess a student's progress in learning with a gade, not by his or her misbehavior.
Be careful not to assign double punishment. Keeping a student after school as well as missing a class outing is an example of double punishment. This practice is not fair to the student who misbehaved.
do not be confrontational. Help your student save face in front of peers. Backing a student into an emotional corner will only hurt the student.
Do not touch an angry student. Your actions may be misinterpreted by the student who may strike out at you.
Do not let the intensity of a situation strip you of your objectivity. Remain calm and keep your thoughts collected no matter how frustrated you may be with a student.
Don't waste time trying to prove that you are right and your students are wrong. Instead of this time-consuming, impossible task, spend your energy on finding a solution to the problem you and your students are having.
Be careful not to create win/lose situations with your students. Consequences should not cause your students to feel they have lost yet another confrontation with authority.
Never hide a serious problem, such as drug abuse, in a misguided effort to help a student. Involve other concerned adults and follow your school's policy when you have to deal with this type of problem.
Don't take student misbehavior personally. Your students do not regard you in the same way that you regard yourself or that you regard other adults. Distance yourself emotionally from their misdeeds and remain as objective as possible.
Do not force a student to apologize to you or the class. Doing so will not only humiliate your student, but is not apt to be sincere.
Don't threaten a student. This is unproductive and unprofessional.
Never hit or even threaten to hit a student.
Don't punish in anger. Calm down and find a solution instead.
Don't argue with students. This only waste time and energy that can be put to better use. Stay focused on correcting the problems you and your students are having.
Don't reward students for improper behavior. Often this is done unconsciously by ignoring it or through body language. Rolling your eyes while other laugh at a student's incorrect answer or allowing students to make fun of each other without stopping the insults are two examples of this type of mistake.
Don't assign work as punishment. Sentences to write, definitions to copy, and extra homework will promote a negative attitude towards school work and learning.
Be as consistent as you can. The consistent enforcement of class rules and expectations will prevent many problems.
Don't ignore a small problem that can quickly turn into a much more serious one.
Don't be too quick to send a student to an administrator. You'll be more effective if you handle your own problems as often as you can.
Don't remain angry at a student. Once the situation has been settled, the student needs some reason to put forth the effort to behave. Knowing that you will remain angry will not encourage students to try.
Don't forget to tell students what they need to do to improve their behavior. It's not enough just to tell them to stop. You should also tell them what they need to do to get on the path to success.
Don't forget to remove temptation from your students. Don't leave valuable lying around, for instance, prevent cheating by providing scratch paper for cover sheets or moving students' desks away from the bulletin board where they could be tempted into vandalism.
Don't go straight to severe negative consequences without a build-up of penalties for escalating misbehavior. Follow the plan you established when you posted your class rules.
Make sure your class rules are clearly spelled out for your students.
Don't label your students in a negative way. Their behavior may be bad, but they are not bad people.

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