How do you handle untoward behavior of pupils in school?

Answer 1

A lot of educators use punishment and reward when it comes to this. You punish (in a fair manner) when there is a wrong and reward when they excell.

Addendum from the front lines:Two memories:

The first is from education classes, and professors telling us that classroom management, that is learning effective classroom management would be the most difficult thing we ever learned. This alone scared many prospective teachers out of the program.

The second is from my first teaching experience, my second day student teaching. I hit the ground running. Many student teachers observe and take notes from their supervising teachers for weeks before they being presenting lessons. I started on day two, actually day one, but day two was my first full day alone at the front of the room.

I was assigned to an eleventh grade English class in a small, suburban district in West Michigan. I took over the poetry unit. Now, about the last thing most high school students want to learn is poetry, really the last thing most students from all grades want to learn is poetry. And, when students are not interested, they will find ways to interest themselves, and that usually has a negative effect on classroom management.

I took my opportunity from the first student who acted out. Five minutes into the first hour, a student made a rude comment about the title of a poem I referenced. So, he demonstrated a craving for the limelight, and I gave it to him. I let him share his favorite verse, with only one rule -- No profane or vulgar lyrics. He struggled to come up with one for a couple minutes, then I let his buddies make suggestions. His girlfriend rescued him with R. Kelley's "I Believe I Can Fly." This opened the door for me, and I spent the rest of the day explaining to classes the origin of poetry/verse. Most of the time they were on the edge of their seats, hands in the air, trying to get what knowledge they had into the discussion.

The next day, as they walked in, I was standing in the front of the class with a boombox, playing Green Day's "Good Riddance." I spent 4 weeks covering the unit, and my supervising teacher assimilated my lesson plans into his curriculum.

The important part here is that I engaged the students, by giving them ownership of the lesson, and making it relevant to their own lives and likes. I used their music to teach, requiring each week that they find an example of the different types of poetry in music. It turned into a giant scavenger hunt. My students were so busy learning, they had no time to act out. Well, most of them.

One of my greatest success stories came from this time also.

Early into the student teaching assignment, a student who was essentially failing all of his classes, approached me at the beginning of class and asked to use the restroom. The following dialog is the general direction of our conversation:

Student: "Mr. C, can I go to the bathroom?"

Me: "You just got here. Why didn't you go on your way?"

Student: "I didn't want to be late."

Me: "Okay, take five, but hurry back."

He was gone until the end of the hour. As he returned to pick up his belongings, I commented to him without looking up, "You played me once; there won't be a second time."

About a month later, he approached me again:

Student: "Mr. C, can I go to the bathroom?"

Me: "Do you remember what I told you last time?"

Student: "Nope."

Me: "Ended with, 'There won't be a second time.'"

Student: "But, I really gotta go this time."

Me: "Sorry. Wish I could help you."

So, he returned to his seat. A few minutes later, he was back up front.

Student: "Mr. C, I really need to go to the bathroom."

Me: "Okay," I told him as I reached across my desk and opened the top drawer, "Turn out your pockets."

Student: "What?"

Me: "Empty your pockets into the drawer."

So, he does, obviously holding back on some of the items, his cellphone, his wallet, a few recreational contraband things. So, the discussion continued:

Me: "No (student's name) rabbit-ear them. I want it all. Keys, phone, wallet, all of it."

Student: "But..."

Me: "Nope, all of it. And, your shoes. If you really need to go, there won't be an issue."

So, he emptied his pockets, turning them out, slid off his shoes, and took off at a trot down the hall. Fine minutes later, he was back. I gave him his shoes and told him to get the rest at the end of class. When the bell rang and everyone else had left, I returned all non-contraband items and wrote him a pass to his next class.

In the event I haven't lost you by now, this is why all of that is important. By the end of the year, that student had raised his GPA from around 1.6 to a solid 3.0, and he graduated on time. At the commencement where I was the guest speaker, he climbed over the half wall in front of me to hug me, thank me for pushing him, and told me, "You're the reason I want to go to college." Today, that student is married, has two children, and runs his own successful business.

Here it is in a nutshell:

• Genuinely care about them, every single one of them.
• Reach them where they are, and give them a chance to succeed.
• Engage them, don't preach at them.
• Show them the line that they cannot cross (the Maximus Decimus Meridius).
• And, when they become the most obnoxious, aggravating little knot-heads, KEEP CARING ABOUT THEM.

Oh, and be fair and consistent.

It is important too to note that not everyone learns in the same way. It is the job of the teacher to find they best ways for his students to learn, and to make that happen for them. Anyone who ever said that teaching was easy was a fool or woefully misinformed (or has ulterior motives). Teaching is one of the hardest jobs anyone can do, but if you love it, you will never notice...or it won't matter to you how hard it gets.