Managing Classroom Behavior

February 2, 2021

Growing up, we attended a school in the countryside or what we would call ‘a village.’ We did not have much. Breakfast was rare, and when we got something to eat, it was a welcome relief. We walked for an hour and a half to get to school. The climate was very unfriendly. We endured extremely cold conditions; we walked bare feet. If by any chance we arrived at the school late, we would be caned in the palm of a hand or made to lie down and canned on our bottoms. The teacher used a wooden stick, or a hose pipe cut into pieces.

This was the way of life, and no one was spared. For every misconduct, there was a punishment, some as harsh as digging the school farm for an entire day. Not once did we see a parent come to school to complain about the punishment. We endured and we finished school. We turned out fine, very disciplined, and we passed our exams. No one died because of the harsh treatment we received.

Fast forward to the current situations we are seeing in schools. This week the debate on the media has been on why the cane should be reintroduced in schools. Schools are struggling with student unrest and teachers feel the only way to deter the situation is to cane the students as a form of punishment. As much as this method worked before, we are dealing with a different generation. Technology has totally changed the way life was in days past. No student is going to allow to be caned and not retaliate.

This week we are looking at ways to help the teachers manage the school unrests. There are guidelines they can use that will have a positive effect on the students without necessarily resulting back to the use of the cane. Since punishment is not yielding positive results, we feel the teachers need to find other ways they can help alleviate the situation.

Teachers must balance a great deal in the classroom on a daily basis. In addition to giving lessons, grading, giving students assistance, and managing administrative tasks, teachers must manage student behavior.
Without appropriate consideration for behavior management, classrooms can become unruly and chaotic. This creates an environment that is not conducive to learning or academic performance.

Teachers must find strategies to define the student’s behavior management that will be effective during the school year. These strategies will set the class up with the right expectations and provide boundaries for easily identifying when a student’s behavior should be considered concerning. In order for the teacher to manage the class and maintain discipline, the teacher must establish guidelines that promote appropriate behavior.

1. Engage the class in setting behavior expectations- Allow the entire class to participate in setting behavior expectations. This way the students will feel included and they will readily hold one another accountable to ensure the rules are followed.
2. Provide immediate but subtle corrections- Issues arising in class should be addressed immediately. Teachers must find a way to correct the student acting out without creating a lot of attention towards the offender. If attention is what the student is seeing, leaning down to speak to them in a low tone will have a better effect than stopping the whole class to address the student. If the behavior continues, direct intervention should be engaged privately. Privacy will lessen the impact on others and minimizes embarrassment to the student in question.’
3. Modeling and promoting positive behaviors- A teacher should look at the student in the eye when addressing them. Allow a student to answer a question, whether wrong or right, without interrupting them. Immediately rewarding a student emphasizes the actions the teacher wants to promote. The teacher needs to let the class know why the student is receiving the reward.
4. Engage Parents with positive communication- When a teacher receives a call from their child’s school, the first impression they get is that there must be trouble. Teachers should cultivate the culture of calling parents to give them praise for their student. A parent is likely to share the information with their child, thereby creating a positive rapport between home and school.
5. Avoid punishing the class- The teacher should address isolated behavior instead of punishing the entire class. Punishing the entire class will build resentment from students who are well behaved. The teacher should be able to call the specific students in a friendly manner and have a one on one discussion with them.

This week we are looking at ways to help the teachers manage the school unrests. Above are some guidelines that they can use that will have a positive effect on the students without necessarily resulting to the use of the cane.
We continue with the Choice Club curriculum but also step in to attend to other matters as they arise.