Part Three of the Series Just for New Teachers

How to Successfully Support Difficult and Challenging Students

In an effort to help new teachers as classrooms are again filled with students as the pandemic crisis is beginning to abate, I've included some of the slides from one of my seminars designed to help teachers support difficult and challenging students. In Part Three, I want new teachers to look at some of the things that research tells us about students who as challenging and difficult. While drawing generalizations is not always the best way to approach any problem, the generalizations here may make it easier for you to see a student who may be disruptive and unruly in a different light--and thus make it possible for you to help that student succeed.

If you've ever seen a student who misbehaves in your classroom behave well in another teacher's class, the truth of this slide is self-evident. When you can view all of your students in a positive and friendly manner, then you are on the way to solving any behavior issues that may arise. Keep in mind that difficult students tend to have big chips on their shoulders and often do their best to create those negative feelings that they are all too accustomed to from the adults that interact with them. 

Of course, this is all too obvious. When students have work to do that they find interesting and manageable, they tend to focus on it instead of creating classroom chaos. Do your best to figure out the learning styles and learning needs of your students and design instruction that can make it easy for them to achieve success.

While every student should be treated with respect and dignity, it is not always easy to keep this in mind when your own teacher frustration takes over. One of the worst mistakes that any teacher can make is to cause a child to be embarrassed. When a child is humiliated in class, not only will that child find it impossible to learn, but the desire to lash out at the adult to caused that humiliation will be firmly in place. Respect the privacy of all of your students when you are dealing with discipline issues--in particular, respect the privacy of the students who need it most--those who are accustomed to causing disruptions in class.

The students in your class are far more aware of your regard for them than you may be aware. If you have students who have a long history of disruptive behavior, then you can expect that they are experts at reading your body language--constantly on the lookout for anything that indicates that you do not like or value them. Be as glad to see the students who are causing you sleepless nights with their misbehavior as you are the more compliant students in your class. 

It is not always easy to regard the troublemakers in your class as "fragile," but they are. Look beyond the tough and uncaring shells that difficult students arm themselves with to see the child who wants to succeed and be accepted.

Difficult students often act the way they do in an effort to hide their insecurities. They often lack school skills, social skills, or even basic manners. Yes, someone should have taught them these things before they were assigned to your class, but that didn't happen. It is up to you to make sure than the playing field is level. Model the courtesy and positive behaviors that you want from your students. Show them how to succeed--don't just cover the material. 

Been There, Done That...A Bad Teacher Habit

One of the hardest bad teacher habits to break is learning not to repeat yourself when you give whole group directions. Part of the reason that it is so hard to break this habit is that we want to help students. It's simply impossible to refuse a student's request for help. Another reason is that no one has taught students to listen carefully and so repeating the directions several times may help students stay on track.

It’s one thing to clarify information or explain directions; it’s another to have to repeat yourself for students who are not in the habit of listening attentively. Don’t assume that your students are good listeners. Many have never been taught how to listen attentively. It's up to you to help students learn when and how to focus their attention when their teacher is talking to them.

To begin to break this time-consuming and frustrating habit, involve your students in the project. Tell then that you are going to help them with their listening skills and explain how that you want them to listen attentively. No talking. Eyes on you. No rustling papers. Create the procedure that you want for your students to use as they listen to you and take the time to carefully teach it to your students.

Set the stage by moving to an area of the room where all students can see and hear you. Call for attention and wait patiently. Remind students that they will be working on their listening skills and that they are to listen carefully since you do not want to waste class time by having to repeat yourself.

Practice with your students if necessary. Make it a shared endeavor and a pleasant way to work out a classroom problem together. With a bit of effort, this can become a part of the culture of your classroom, and you will find yourself not having to repeat directions or other information endlessly.

How to Move Beyond “Please, Please Don’t Torture the Sub”

Missing school is harder for teachers than many other professionals because not only do we have to leave appropriate plans and information so that substitute teachers can manage our classes while we are out, but also because even the best of students tend to have the classic, “Oh boy! We have a sub!” reaction. Unless you have a top notch sub and have done everything possible to ensure that your students will still learn while you are out, you will return to deal with the unpleasant aftermath of a disaster.


Being able to miss school without worries about your students and all the things that are going wrong in your absence is possible with a bit of planning and preparation. First of all, very early in the school year, create a binder filled with helpful information that any substitute teacher can use. When you change seating charts, add or drop students, or when other significant changes occur, update your binder. Here are some items that you may want to include in your sub binder.

• Class rosters with helpful pronunciation clues
• A photo seating chart. Photograph your students sitting in their assigned seats. Print these and write the name of your students under their photos. Your sub will know where students are supposed to sit and will be able to match names to faces right away.
• Medical information for students with chronic illnesses such as asthma or diabetes
• Your daily class and duty schedule
• Classroom procedures for daily routines such as lunch, restroom requests, fire drills and other emergencies
• A list of several activities that students can do if they finish early. You can do this early in the year so that it is handy just in case you are rushed for time.
• A map of the school with exits and fire extinguishers marked
• Copies of all necessary forms such as lunch or attendance counts
• Names and room numbers of helpful teachers
• A phone number where you can be reached

Next, make sure to leave workable plans that even the most harried sub can follow.

• Your lesson plans for any day that you are going to miss should be specifically written for the sub.
• Provide plenty of directions and a suggested time length for each assignment.
• Do plan independent written work that will be collected and graded.
• Make sure to photocopy, label, and organize all handouts.
• Leave work that will occupy students, but that is not merely busy work.  
• Avoid computer use, videos, media center visits, and activities involving scissors or other sharp tools.

Finally, it’s important to involve students in a positive way in maintaining the order and routines of the class when you need to be absent. You may consider having students write out what they can do to help the sub so that things can run smoothly. Having students be aware of their specific responsibilities is a positive way to enlist their cooperation. Have them take a pledge of instructional cooperation. Assign tasks such as turning in attendance or passing out papers. Make cooperation fun. Make it an intriguing class challenge. Best of all, make it their responsibility. When students own a situation, they will more often than not rise to the occasion and exceed even our highest expectations.

 

If your students have misbehaved while you were out, however, don’t rush to punish. First, have students write out their version of the events of the class. Read these, and think about what you are going to do before you punish an entire class or even individual students based on what a substitute teacher has told you. If you then have to deal with misbehavior after you have gathered the facts from the sub and from your students, strive to be fair.

Summertime Thoughts about School

Like most other teachers, I find it impossible to completely be on vacation during the summer. I think about school. I think about what I could have done better last year, and I look ahead to the things that I know I can improve in the upcoming year. In doing some research, I found these three helpful documents stored away on my computer. They are from the DVD professional development kit that accompanies the First-Year Teacher's Survival Guide.  I found them helpful in guiding my thinking about school and the ways that I can be a better teacher. Feel free to use them to inform your summertime school thoughts as well.



Teacher Worksheet 7.6: How to Create a Useful Teacher Binder

Although a teacher’s binder is a very personal set of documents, dependent on the needs of the teacher and the types of courses and student that teacher has to manage; there are some items that are almost indispensible in any teacher binder.

·        Your professional goals

·        A to-do list for your professional life

·        A list of positive labels about students

·        Lists of activities to refer to energize your instruction

·        Copy of Bloom’s Taxonomy

·        List of Gardner’s multiple intelligences

·        Tips for teaching study skills

·        Grading reminders such as due dates or grading scales

·        A school year calendar

·        An outline of the instructional plan for the year, semester, or grading period

·        Personally inspiring items such as uplifting quotations or notes from students

·        Seating charts

·        List of classroom chores for students to manage

·        Ideas for integrating technology

·        Class rosters

·        Techniques for managing various classroom problems

·        Lists of Internet resources to explore

·        Stress management techniques

 

Teacher Self-Assessment 7.7: My Professional Goals This Year

Goal	Semester 1 Progress	Semester 2 Progress

 

Teacher Worksheet 7.8: A Teacher’s To-Do List

 

Phone Calls Concerning Students

Student:_______________________________________________________________________    

Parent or Guardian: Name and Number:_____________________________________________      

Date and Time:_________________________________________________________________

Reason:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Outcome:_____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Other Phone Calls

_____________________________________________________________________________________Emails to Send

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Parent Conferences

Student:______________________________________________________________________________              

Parent’s Name and Number:______________________________________________________________         

Date and Time:_________________________________________________________________________

Reason:______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Outcome:_____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Other Meetings

_____________________________________________________________________________________

After-School/Extra Duty Responsibilities

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Items to Duplicate

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Plans or Projects to Complete

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Great Websites or Other Resources to Explore

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes/Reminders/Errands

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fifty Don'ts to Save Your Career

1.     Don’t allow small problems to become large ones.

2.     Don’t refuse to honor school rules even if you don’t agree with them.

3.     Don’t try to teach without being prepared.

4.     Don’t touch a student in a way that could be misconstrued.

5.     Don’t model a lack of integrity. Follow the rules for photocopying material and showing movies.

6.      Don’t use food as a reward.

7.     Don’t allow yourself to be alone with a student.

8.     Don’t curse or use nonstandard English around your students.

9.     Don’t neglect to return phone calls within twenty-four hours.

10.  Don’t leave your students unattended even briefly.

11.  Don’t overlook serious student problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, neglect, or weapons.

12.  Don’t give students free time where they have nothing to do.

13.  Don’t be a boring teacher. Mix it up!

14.  Don’t be sarcastic. You are the grownup in the room.

15.  Don’t allow students to make fun of each other or to otherwise engage in horseplay.

16.  Don’t give up on your students who struggle.

17.  Don’t agree “not to tell” when a student tells you confidential information. You may be legally required to act on it.

18.  Don’t take suicide threats lightly.

19.  Don’t allow students to leave campus with an unauthorized adult.

20.  Don’t ignore the signs that your students are restless and bored with a lesson.

21.  Don’t allow students to sleep because they are “not bothering anyone.”

22.  Don’t ignore your own stress levels.

23.  Don’t break the laws regarding confidentiality and privacy of student information.

24.  Don’t try to be a pal to your students. They already have friends.

25.  Don’t neglect to spend enough time learning school rules and procedures.

26.  Don’t act in anger.

27.  Don’t fail to allow for differences in learning styles.

28.  Don’t underestimate the importance of motivation before, during, and after a lesson.

29.  Don’t call in sick when you are not sick.

30.  Don’t hesitate to ask for help.

31.  Don’t assign work as punishment.

32.  Don’t assume students are mastering the material. Monitor carefully.

33.  Don’t lower your expectations when students find the work difficult. Help them instead.

34.  Don’t be inconsistent in implementing your behavior policies.

35.  Don’t hide your mistakes from a mentor or administrator. Ask for help when you are in error.

36.  Don’t confront a misbehaving student in front of other students.

37.  Don’t get in a win/lose situation with a student, student’s parent, or a colleague.

38.  Don’t take the unpleasant aspects of student misbehavior personally.

39.  Don’t punish the entire group for the misbehavior of one or two students.

40.  Don’t hold grudges when your students misbehave.

41.  Don’t forget to teach classroom rules and procedures as often as it takes.

42.  Don’t be too tentative, too permissive.

43.  Don’t give too many negative directions.

44.  Don’t overreact to a simple situation.

45.  Don’t neglect to set boundaries for your students.

46.  Don’t avoid proofreading your own work.

47.  Don’t call parents without being prepared and professional.

48.  Don’t begin teaching without having their attention.

49.  Don’t forget that young people don’t always use good judgment.

50.  Don’t forget to look beyond the behaviors you can observe to determine the underlying causes.