How to Manage Classroom Students With Discipline

Classroom rules should be clear and logical.

Educators at every grade level face situations that require discipline. In order to manage a classroom effectively, teachers must communicate their disciplinary setup to the students in a reasonable and forthright manner. Students should have a clear idea of the classroom rules so any disciplinary action does not seem surprising and undeserved. Teachers must get to know their students on an individual level and tailor their disciplinary tactics accordingly. It is important for teachers to remember that each student has a life outside the classroom that may contribute to poor behavior at school.

Instructions

1. State the classroom rules from the very beginning of the school year, ideally some time during the first week. If students are not informed of behavior expectations, they cannot be help responsible for breaching the rules. Read the rules to the class and post them somewhere in the classroom. This will allow you to refer the students to the rules if there is ever a dispute over behavior.

2. Keep the classroom rules brief and broad. Rather than listing several specific rules such as "Don't call people names," "Don't swear," "Don't threaten the teacher or other classmates," simply state, "Treat people with respect." By listing the rules in general terms you can avoid berating the students with a lengthy list of negative assumptions. Also, it is impossible to account for every possible behavior issue so a very specific list would leave room for students to defend bad behaviors that aren't on the list.

3. Formulate a system of escalating consequences and explain it clearly to the students. For example, explain how in most cases you will always begin with a warning and increase the consequences from there. More serious consequences should accommodate the student's age and the magnitude of her behavior issue. Some consequences that may be effective are limiting recess time, time-outs and taking away classroom privileges. Explain how there are certain behaviors such as hitting that bypass the warning consequence and lead to higher disciplinary action, perhaps under the school administrators.

4. Be fair and consistent in your assessment of behavior breaches and when assigning consequences. Don't allow your own mood to get in the way of judging a situation reasonably. Consider the motivations behind a student's behavior and determine whether his actions were intentional and/or malicious. As NDT-eEd.org suggests, focus on "correcting the problem rather that distributing punishment."

5. Never humiliate or chastise a student, especially in front of her peers. When a student acts out in front of the class, deal with it as briefly and respectfully as possible. Inform the student that you will discuss the issue at another time and remove the student from the lesson if he continues to misbehave. It is important not to let one student's behavior limit the other students right to learn in a positive environment.

References

• NDT: Effective Discipline
• Education World: Consistency And Flexibility