Here are some specific tips for the classroom, many of which can be used on the school bus,
the playground or any other place where school employees supervise students.
BE SURE TO: Greet students as they enter your classroom.
BECAUSE: This not only models the kind of courteous behavior you want to instill in your
students, but it also gives you an opportunity for "early targeting" of potential troublemakers.
You may pick up early warning signs of potential trouble, e.g., anger, illness, arguments, fights,
trouble on the way to school, inappropriate attire or paraphernalia, homework not done, etc.
Without early targeting or intervention, small problems can escalate to major disruption or
violence.
BE SURE TO: Make "Before-Class-Starts" activities available in the classroom to engage
students in positive and productive interactions. Such activities could include board games, a
five-minute "free conversation" period or simple calisthenics.
BECAUSE: The "dead time" before the bell can be "deadly" if students don’t have a way to
channel their energies.
BE SURE TO: Have a designated place within your view for students to turn in homework
assignments as they enter.
BECAUSE: The failure of students to turn in homework on time can be a major disruption to
the class. When asked why they have not completed their assignments, students will often
engage in denials and excuses, resulting in a waste of learning time. With a homework box, or
other designated place for students to turn in work, the teacher or paraprofessional can watch
the students as they enter to see who has completed their assignments and who has not.
BE SURE TO: Have a few (three to five) basic overarching rules in place to help govern student
behavior in the classroom or on the school bus.
BECAUSE: Overarching rules provide parameters within which each student can function in
the group and identify his or her own appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. This promotes
individual ownership of the rules and encourages responsibility. (Examples of four good
overarching rules--be prompt, be polite, be prepared, be productive. Examples of bad rules--
do not chew gum, do not talk). Recite the rules often at the beginning of the school year and
make sure to explain why these rules are necessary.
BE SURE THAT: Your students know and understand the rules. Teach and reinforce the rules
as if they were curriculum, repeating them often as needed.
BECAUSE: Many school employees believe that a read-through and quick review of classroom
or school bus rules are enough to ensure student understanding and buy-in. This is a
dangerous misconception. Researchers have discovered that many young students really
don’t understand the meaning of words in the rules, such as "courteous." Also, don’t assume
that students have been taught proper behavior at home. Learning how to respect one’s self
and others is something that must be taught and reinforced.
BE SURE TO: Develop expectations for behavior that are backed up by a set of fair, workable,
enforceable and hierarchical consequences. Do not promise a consequence you cannot
deliver.
BECAUSE: Consequences are an important link to the effectiveness of your discipline code. If
the consequences fall apart, or are not there to begin with, the whole thing collapses. If they
are not enforced, the teacher’s credibility is damaged. Negative consequences should increase
in severity (hierarchical). Rule breaking and the punishment should be documented so that
you can prove that those students whom you disciplined exhibited unacceptable behavior.
This is very important when dealing with parents. Proper documentation can also help to
ensure that administrators give you the support you need to enforce your discipline plan.
BE SURE TO: When possible, involve your students in developing the rules.
BECAUSE: By involving students in the drafting of the rules you help create an environment in
which the students have a role in enforcing the rules. Peer pressure can be very effective in
helping to keep an orderly class.
BE SURE THAT: Parents know and understand your rules, including the consequences. Make
several different attempts to contact them. Phone calls and mailing letters to the home are the
most effective means of contacting parents. Do not depend on students’ hand-delivering the
rules to parents.
BECAUSE: Parents who are not aware of or are not well-versed in discipline policies are prone
to side with their children and might feel that the school employee’s actions (especially
suspension or expulsion) are arbitrary or biased.
BE SURE TO: Move a child who acts up on a school bus to the front of the bus -- perhaps at
the next regular stop. If the action is severe enough to cause possible injury, bus drivers
suggest pulling over immediately to a safe location off the road.
BECAUSE: You should avoid, if possible, disciplining a child in front of his/her peers because
this can result in a child feeling that he/she needs to show off by becoming more aggressive.
Move the student away from other students and friends to a place where you can observe
his/her behavior. It is usually best to wait until you arrive at the school site to continue
following the standard disciplinary procedures.
BE SURE THAT: School administrators are aware of your rules and consequences and the
roles that they, as school leaders, may have to play in supporting your efforts.
BECAUSE: While you cannot always count on getting the support you need from the school
administration, you still should try to elicit their help. The worst thing that can happen to
dismantle a classroom discipline plan is to have "no supportive action" or "counterenforcement
action" from building administrators. This sends a message to students that
nothing is going to happen no matter what the infraction. By the same token, don’t set rules
you know won’t be supported by administrators.
BE SURE TO: Plan out the arrangement of furniture, desks and supplies in your classroom for
ease of traffic flow, access and visibility. Design seating charts that keep all students within eye
contact. Do not put all troublemakers together and do not place them in the back of the room!
Avoid, to the best of your ability, congested aisles and stumbling blocks to easy access of
supplies. (Appoint class monitors.)
BECAUSE: Classrooms are places where there is constant traffic. The ease of flow can prevent
"traffic jams." Often, when students are placed in close and uncomfortable contact, flare-ups
become common. Moreover, teachers should be able to see each student, and each student
should be able to see the teacher. This provides opportunities for what is called "early desists"
of potentially disruptive behaviors.
BE SURE TO: Learn all students’ names as soon as possible--within the first three days of
school.
BECAUSE: Knowing students’ names helps to develop a personal relationship between you
and your students. It also helps with early targeting and early intervention by accurately
identifying troublemakers. When you don’t know names and try other forms of identification
(boy-in-blue-shirt), students can play games of avoidance, denial and trickery.
BE SURE TO: Figure out ways of scheduling routine classroom procedures smoothly and with
the least possible disruption (e.g., taking attendance, tardiness, leaving the room, bulletin
boards, grades, make-up work). Teach your classroom procedures as if they were curriculum.
BECAUSE: Student disruption and dissatisfaction can result from student anxiety and
uncertainty about how to do things in the classroom. Procedures change from class to class,
based on teacher style. Students should know how to function in each class.
BE SURE TO: Look for and try to understand differences between ADD (Attention Deficit
Disorder) behaviors and general misbehavior. Your school should already be supplying
training and policy information about this, especially in view of current increases in
mainstreaming and inclusion. If not, contact your local union representatives and ask them to
work with the administration to make this kind of training available.
BECAUSE: It is difficult to identify those students who are affected by ADD and those who are
not. Issues of fairness or legal problems can arise with the teacher caught in the middle.
BE SURE TO: Educate yourself on the rules and policies concerning disruptive and violent
behavior by special education students.
BECAUSE: Rules governing what you can or cannot do to discipline special education
students who have committed the same infractions as regular education students can be
different. This can cause havoc in the classroom or on the school bus. If you are unsure of your
authority or the rights of your students, ask your school’s administration for clarification.