Most teachers have a good handle on behaviors and classroom management in the classroom.  The problems sometimes happen however when the students are out of the classroom, on the school bus, or when a substitute teacher is in the room.  I have had some luck with this and I wanted to share.

I Allow Tattling

Ok, not really! I see many teachers completely brushing off an issue when students come to them. Saying things like, “Just go play somewhere else.” or, “Stay away from her.” I don’t do this.  The students are allowed to tell me things but they know that my first question will always be, “What did you do about it? Did you use an ‘I’ statement?” The students are required to say something to the effect of, “I didn’t like it when you _____ because it made me feel _____.”  This can resolve so many issues and has been very effective.

“What happens at specials stays at specials”

Another common trend that I see is that teachers will not listen to a student tell them about something that happened outside of the classroom. They may say something like, “Did you tell the cafeteria aides? Then I don’t want to hear about it.” I always find out what was done about the situation.  If it seemed appropriate and was taken care of then I explain that to the student who is telling. Every week I randomly pick a super kid to be the classroom helper.  This student runs errands, waters the plants, takes the lunch money, and is the eyes and ears of the classroom when I am not around.  I tell the class when I need to step in the hallway, or out of the room, the super kid is in charge.  They don’t say anything to the student misbehaving they simply write down their name and I take care of it.  This works amazingly great. Even the students that have behavior issues do a great job as super kid. If I have a substitute the super kid knows that if the substitute takes care of an issue  then they can’t write it down.  If the substitute did not appropriately take care of an issue they are allowed to write me a note.

Why Reward them for Something you Expect?

A few teachers use a rewards system for behavior. It usually looks something like this: The students behave at specials or the cafeteria, the teacher puts some sort of marble or button in a jar, and when they get enough marbles, they get a reward.  I don’t use this in my class.  I don’t want the kids to think, “I’ll behave so I can get a prize.”  Anytime they ask, “Why can’t we get a marble?”I tell them,  ”I don’t want them to behave because they might get a reward, I don’t want them to behave because I might be mad at them.  I want them to behave because IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!” (I do frequently reward my students, but it is usually when they least expect it!)

Try It Out!

I get many great compliments from specials teachers, bus drivers, and cafeteria staff.  I had a college student  who substitute taught in my room ask to come in and talk to me.  She said, “This is BY FAR the best behaved class I have ever sub’d in.” Give it a try and leave me a comment!

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