Behavior Management: How did My Teachers Fail to Discipline Us?
By Ilana Johnson
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
June 17, 2009
In class on Monday, it was interesting to hear fellow classmate's ideas on behavior management. Many expressed different ideas on what they thought was the most appropriate way to handle discipline issues. I believe that many of our ideas, especially as prospective educators, come from our own experiences as students and how our former teachers dealt with managing behavior.
I can recall some of the ways that my former teachers handled poor student behavior:
My second grade teacher would scream to get her point across to the misbehaving student, chastising aloud and embarrassing the targeted student in front of classmates. She could be hasty, without taking the time to inquire what the student was actually doing, and either fly into a rage or immediately change a student's seat.
My fourth grade teacher would handle poor behavior by making the targeted student stand outside in the hallway, removing the “problem” from the view of the rest of the class. Once the student had spent a sufficient amount of time in the hallway, no doubt reflecting on what he or she did wrong, they would be allowed to return to the classroom. She would also request that the student stay after class at the end of the day for the purpose of “discussing” the behavior issue at hand.
My fifth grade teacher was constantly reprimanding students, as I recall quite a few classmates with chronic behavior problems. She would, like my second grade teacher, embarrassingly chastise students aloud, but without the yelling and screaming. Instead, she would instruct the student to write, during class time, on the board fifty times what they will not continue to do that got them into trouble in the first place (eg. “I will not talk in class”).
These are the ways that my former teachers handled discipline problems. However, I don't agree with some of them and do not intend to use as a prospective educator. For example, yelling and screaming is not effective. This does not build a trusting student-teacher relationship and induces poor class morale. Also, I believe instructing a student to write his or her punishment on the board during class time is not wise either. This is distracting to the other students who may feel compelled to watch the student while he or she is writing the punishment on the board and essentially miss part or all of the lesson.
I believe the best way to handle discipline issues is to address the misbehaving student quickly (eg. Bobby, please stop talking) and move on with the lesson. After class time, the student can be addressed further, in private, for inquiry (eg, Bobby, why were you talking when you know what the rules are?)
The point is to deal with the “problem” quickly and move on to continue the lesson. This eliminates distracting the others students and avoids disrupting the flow of the lesson. Also, this eliminates embarrassing or “picking on” the student and wasting class time.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
June 17, 2009
In class on Monday, it was interesting to hear fellow classmate's ideas on behavior management. Many expressed different ideas on what they thought was the most appropriate way to handle discipline issues. I believe that many of our ideas, especially as prospective educators, come from our own experiences as students and how our former teachers dealt with managing behavior.
I can recall some of the ways that my former teachers handled poor student behavior:
My second grade teacher would scream to get her point across to the misbehaving student, chastising aloud and embarrassing the targeted student in front of classmates. She could be hasty, without taking the time to inquire what the student was actually doing, and either fly into a rage or immediately change a student's seat.
My fourth grade teacher would handle poor behavior by making the targeted student stand outside in the hallway, removing the “problem” from the view of the rest of the class. Once the student had spent a sufficient amount of time in the hallway, no doubt reflecting on what he or she did wrong, they would be allowed to return to the classroom. She would also request that the student stay after class at the end of the day for the purpose of “discussing” the behavior issue at hand.
My fifth grade teacher was constantly reprimanding students, as I recall quite a few classmates with chronic behavior problems. She would, like my second grade teacher, embarrassingly chastise students aloud, but without the yelling and screaming. Instead, she would instruct the student to write, during class time, on the board fifty times what they will not continue to do that got them into trouble in the first place (eg. “I will not talk in class”).
These are the ways that my former teachers handled discipline problems. However, I don't agree with some of them and do not intend to use as a prospective educator. For example, yelling and screaming is not effective. This does not build a trusting student-teacher relationship and induces poor class morale. Also, I believe instructing a student to write his or her punishment on the board during class time is not wise either. This is distracting to the other students who may feel compelled to watch the student while he or she is writing the punishment on the board and essentially miss part or all of the lesson.
I believe the best way to handle discipline issues is to address the misbehaving student quickly (eg. Bobby, please stop talking) and move on with the lesson. After class time, the student can be addressed further, in private, for inquiry (eg, Bobby, why were you talking when you know what the rules are?)
The point is to deal with the “problem” quickly and move on to continue the lesson. This eliminates distracting the others students and avoids disrupting the flow of the lesson. Also, this eliminates embarrassing or “picking on” the student and wasting class time.
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