Part Four of a Series Just for New Teachers

Solutions Begin When You Care Enough to Determine the Cause of the Problem

If you are reading this post, you may have also read the previous three posts in this series written to help new teachers successfully manage difficult and challenging students. In this week's topic, the importance of learning the causes of a student's misbehavior is the key to successfully resolving negative behavior issues.

When problems arise in any classroom, unless there is a sincere effort to determine the cause of the issue and not just force compliance, no real solution can be created. All too often, because of the rush of class business and the press of the responsibilities facing any classroom teacher, it is hard to find the time to investigate the cause of a student's behavior and to deal with it in a meaningful and lasting way. To streamline that process, it may help to consider some of the more common causes of student misbehavior. Here are some that may help you as you work to help your students succeed.

Even though this is the first cause in a list of seven, defiance is a rare cause of classroom misbehavior. Usually the causes of misbehavior are more complex than just defiance. If your relationship with a student is so poor that the student does not consistently want to cooperate and does not care about your opinion, then it is important to mend that broken relationship as quickly as you can. A multi-faceted approach involving the caring adults in the misbehaving student's life is often the most successful path to reaching a productive understanding and creating a positive relationship. 

What often appears to be angry defiance is frustration. Spending extra time to make sure all students know what to do and how to do it well is worth the trouble.

Students are masterminds at finding gray areas to exploit. Gray areas occur when the classroom teacher has not planned for every possible thing that could go wrong. Examples would be the misbehavior that can occur when there is a substitute teacher in the room, when there are a few minutes of free time between activities, when directions are not clear, or when procedures are not carefully explained and implemented. Plan carefully and think through your class procedures. 

Personality conflicts do occur with great regularity in every classroom. Do your best to prevent them with diligent attention to the social needs of your students, but accept that this type of conflict will occur. Deal with each one as it arises with sensitivity and tact to help the student move forward.

It is not acceptable to rely on negative consequences or vague threats to stop classroom misbehavior. Instead, use a broad range of motivational techniques that are more positive than negative. Students are far more likely to stay focused and to engage positively when they enjoy the class and the work they are assigned to do. 

Social inclusion is one of the most important factors in helping students do well in school. Students who feel connected to school, to their teacher, their class, and their classmates tend to work harder and with more success because they feel that what they do matters. That they matter. Every student needs to feel liked and accepted by you and by their classmates. 

Students are not born with good manners and school skills. Often, just a few minutes of conversation between a caring adult and a struggling student will make the difference when a student just does not understand what it acceptable behavior and what is not. Even if you spend time during the first weeks of school going over the behaviors that are okay for school, expect to have to review them periodically during the year--particularly after holidays or long weekends.

 

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. 

Part Two of the Series Just for New Teachers

How to Successfully Support Difficult and Challenging Students

 

One of the most common problems faced by beginning teachers is the often perplexing problem of difficult and challenging students. Last week, in Part One, I covered some suggestions for avoiding classroom power struggles. In this part of the series, I want to provide some general suggestions to guide your thinking. 

First, coping successfully with challenging students is not something that can usually be managed in a day or so. Difficult students did not develop their behaviors overnight. Generally, the behaviors that are not appropriate for a classroom setting are ones that students learned over a period of time. With that in mind, you will be more productive and far more likely to help these students if you take a measured, well-planned course of action. Take your time and help your students learn how to be successful rather that just insist on compliance. 

There are all sorts of mistakes that it possible for even the most well-intentioned teacher to make with students who are struggling with school. If you find yourself having to deal with a disruptive student or two, you may want to consider if you have made of of the mistakes in this list below. Of these mistakes, perhaps the most common one is the last one--giving too much attention to students who are causing trouble in class. Instead of reacting in a negative way, ignore as much as you can and find ways to make these students feel that they are part of the class--not on the outside with nothing to lose. 

When you look at this list, do you see your own classroom leadership style? Could you be adding to the problem?

A final thought to help you with this issue is the biggest take away. Instead of being upset and negative and stressed out, adopt the attitude that classroom misbehavior is a problem that can be solved. You are no longer the victim of unruly students, but instead a classroom leader who is willing and capable of helping all students learn to manage their own behavior and succeed in your class. 

A New Series Just for Beginning Teachers 

When the pandemic began, I had five upcoming speaking engagements that I was particularly looking forward to. At all of them, I would be helping groups of teachers figure out ways to deal successfully with their most challenging students so that those students could be successful classroom citizens. And, of course, my hope was that their teachers could also enjoy their profession more without the debilitating stress that accompanies trying to deal with unruly and difficult students.

The pandemic changed everything. 

At home, I watched as teachers were hailed as heroes for the way they managed the incredible task of teaching kids during the pandemic lockdown. And not just teaching: seeing that their students were fed and cared for even when normal classroom support systems were not available. I watched with pride as teachers everywhere found the grace and patience to connect with their students in new ways. 

And then that changed, too. With growing despair, I watched as teachers were vilified for not doing enough. NOT DOING ENOUGH? 

Now there's the "surprising" news that there will be a record shortage of educators this fall. Of course, there will be. Incredibly difficult jobs + unrealistic expectations + stinking heaps of public criticism do not make make becoming an educator a popular career choice.

Old news, I know, to those of you who lived it. But, despite everything, better times lie ahead. I fully believe that. As the horrors of the pandemic begin to fade, education is still a worthy and personally fulfilling profession. You help people change their lives when you are an educator. 

To help beginning teachers adjust to their new profession, I plan to publish some of the slides that I had prepared for my pre-pandemic presentation. My hope is to provide a weekly framework of suggestions to help new teachers find ways to support and work well with all of their students--not just the most difficult or challenging ones. 

So, to start, here are a few thoughts about how to avoid one of the most common classroom problems: power struggles. 

For New Teachers Who Are Teaching In-Person Classes: Some Commonsense Suggestions for the Start of the School Year

As a new teacher, the start of your first year of teaching is often an exciting and anxious time for many reasons. This year is no exception. Already the start of the 2020-2021 school year is fraught with enough stressful decisions to daunt even the most steadfast of educators. Whether you are teaching online or in a hybrid situation or in a classroom, this school year requires a great deal of planning and commitment.  When you factor out divisive politics and all the other strife associated with starting this school year, there is room for what teachers do so well: make sound decisions based on common sense and the need to support all students. This is particularly true for teachers who are teaching in-person classes. As a first-year teacher, while this may not be the start of the career that you have dreamed of, there are several things that you can do to make sure that you and your students start the school year in a positive and effective way. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, it can serve as a start to help you think through how to manage some of the challenges ahead.

Take time to completely familiarize yourself with the reopening guidelines of your school, your district, and your state. Search their websites carefully. Pay careful attention to what is expected of you this year as well as what is expected of students and their parents and guardians. In particular, spend time educating yourself about classroom safety procedures. Knowing what to do will make it easier for you to feel more confident about how you will handle the new school year as well as how to keep your students and yourself safe.

It’s important to plan for student misbehavior and noncompliance related to the health and safety of all students. Talk with other educators about the best practices in your school concerning students who test the boundaries of social distancing or mask wearing or other safety issues related to the pandemic. A united approach will make it much easier to enforce the guidelines established by your district and school.

Although you may have learned many innovative learning strategies while you were training to become an educator, be careful to only implement those that meet the health and safety guidelines of your district and school.

As you learn more about your daily schedule, plan how you will make it as easy as possible for your students to follow classroom rules and procedures. What can you do to streamline routines and procedures? What can you do to ensure students understand both the positive and negative consequences of their behavior?  And how can you build a relationship with each student so that your classroom environment is safe and productive?

Plan, too, how you will present yourself to your students. The best teachers adopt a deliberate attitude of warmth and caring paired with a no-nonsense expectation of effort and mutual respect. Spend time brainstorming different ways to project this attitude so that your students will know that you care about them, but that you expect positive behavior from them.

Streamline and simplify your classroom and your professional life. For example, even though you may have dreamed for years of the perfect classroom, it’s more important this year to keep the focus on learning and safety. Being organized and purposeful will help you accomplish all that you need to do. Keep things as simple as possible.

Maintain a transparent classroom by reaching out to the parents and guardians of your students frequently. While it may take extra time to do this, the rewards will make your effort worth the trouble as you create an effective partnership to keep everyone safe.

Allow more time than usual for students to adjust to being in a classroom again. It will take a while to get your students acclimated to being in a classroom and working productively. It is reasonable to expect that many students will be anxious and will act out. It is also reasonable to expect that there will be deficits in previous learning. Be patient with them and reteach as often as necessary.

Things I Wish I Had Known as a New Teacher

Some things never change. Even though I have posted this list before and shared about a zillion times when people email me requesting a copy, the advice in it still could make a difference for a new teacher. It never hurts to know that you are not alone with your worries when you are just starting out in a new career.

1. Don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun learning with your students. It’s okay to fail sometimes.
2. Realize that you will have to prove yourself all year long. To students, colleagues, parents, yourself…
3. Being regarded as trustworthy is an invaluable goal.
4. There will be plenty of opportunities to learn from mistakes.
5. If you don’t spend time reflecting on your teaching each day, it will be very hard for you to improve.
6. There will never be enough time to get all of the things you want to accomplish with your students done.
7. It’s important to think about student activities in terms of small blocks of time so they stay on task.
8. Leave your problems at school at the end of the day. Balance is key.
9. It’s important to show students how to help themselves. Learned helplessness does not have to be permanent.
10. Take good care of school resources and teach students to do the same.
11. Use your personal strong points and teach your students to do the same.
12. Be selective. Don’t fight battles you can’t win. Ignore the small stuff.
13. Focus on what you can change and get then get busy doing it.
14. Use a multifaceted approach when presenting material.
15. Don’t just react to a problem. Solve it.
16. It takes time to get to know your students and even longer to gain their fragile trust.
17. Make it a point to build strong relationships with your colleagues. You need each other.
18. Parents do indeed expect you to live up to their ideal of what a teacher should be.
19. If you act like a professional, you will make it easier for others to defend you when you make a mistake.
20. Paperwork must be dealt with accurately, quickly, and efficiently.
21. Patience. Patience. Patience.
22. You are a role model, ready or not.
23. When you teach students to believe in themselves, you create lifelong learners.
24. Don’t allow any student to be invisible. Draw them in. Build confidence and engagement.
25. Establish routines for yourself and for your students. Everyone will benefit.
26. Students need structure. They also need fun and creativity.
27. Get them up and moving. Active students tend to misbehave less than those who are bored.
28. Be prepared for class. This means having a solid Plan B.
29. Spend more time telling your students what they do right than what they do wrong.
30. When you make a mistake, admit it and move on. Teach your students this, too.
31. Be unfailingly positive. After all, if you don’t believe in your students, who does?
32. Students are far more concerned with the idea of “fairness” than you can imagine.
33. Set goals for yourself and work with your students to set goals for them.
34. Stay away from those negative colleagues. They will poison your day, your week, your career.
35. Ask for help. We all need help at times. Speak up.
36. Actively work to improve your skills and knowledge about teaching.
37. Create your own PLN. Use social media to connect with other educators.
38. Volunteer for extra jobs at school with caution.
39. Work hard to let your students know how special they are to you.
40. The worst students deserve the best from you.
41. No student comes to school determined to fail (and to make your life unpleasant)—despite evidence to the contrary.
42. You will make a difference in the lives of your students…it takes time, however.
43. Ask, “How can I help you with that?” and watch the magic happen.
44. Say, “I know you’re better than that” when a student misbehaves.
45. You will have some hard days as a teacher. Have a plan ready to help manage stress.
46. You can’t ever predict how a lesson will go or what your students will do.
47. Laughing with students is a great way to build a community in a hurry.
48. Connections with students are vital if you want to have happy days at school.
49. A well-planned lesson is the best discipline plan you can have.
50. Never, ever forget that you may be the only person who shows a student that you care.

So, You Have a Talkative Class?

One of the most frustrating feelings that any teacher can experience is the hopelessness that comes when students are so busy talking that they don't pay attention to directions or work productively. Unfortunately, having a class that is excessively talkative is one of the most frequent complaints that many teachers--experienced and novice alike-- share. It is disheartening at best to plan a wonderful lesson that no student can stop talking long enough to become interested in.

The problem of the talkative class is also one that is amazingly uniform across all grade levels and subjects. Large classes, small classes, very young students and sophisticated seniors can all be so talkative that little learning can occur.

Luckily, there are a few easy approaches that can help students take charge of their own talking patterns and learn to work well with each other and with you. Try some of these to help control the talking in your classroom.

·       Be emphatic with your students when you speak with them about this problem. You should make it very clear when it is okay for them to talk and when you want them to work silently. If you are clear in communicating your expectations to your students, they will not repeatedly test your tolerance.

·       Avoid the sound-wave effect of a loud class time followed by a quiet one followed by a loud one again. Be consistent in the way you enforce the rules in your class about excessive talking. Teachers who aren’t consistent spend their time getting a class quiet, allowing the noise level to build to an intolerable level, and then getting the class quiet again in an endless and ineffective cycle.

·       Sometimes you are the problem. When your students are working quietly and productively on an assignment, don’t keep talking to the class in general. When you repeatedly interrupt their work by distracting them with your own conversation, you make it harder for your students to work quietly.

·       Begin every class with an activity that will focus your students’ attention on the work they will be doing. This focusing activity will help them make a transition from the casual chatting they may have done on the way to your class to the purposeful work that you want them to begin.

·       Teach your students that they must be responsible for their talking if you do not want to spend all class period “shushing” them. Use positive peer pressure to help them monitor each other’s behavior so that your own monitoring efforts will be more effective.

·       Direct their conversation if you have a group that likes to talk. Get them talking productively about the lesson. If you are successful at doing this, their need to interact with each other and your need to have them master the material will both be satisfied.

·       Try to figure out why they are talking excessively so that you can turn this problem into an advantage. They may be talkative because they are excited, friendly, in need of more challenging work, unsure of the limits that you’ve set, or many other reasons.

·       If your students tend to talk when they have finished an assignment and are waiting for others to finish, sequence your instruction so that there is always an overlapping activity for your students to begin right away.

·       Sometimes when students are very excited, allow them to spend a minute or two talking about it to clear the air so that they can focus on their work. Be clear in setting time limits when you do this.

·       Stay on your feet when your class has a problem with talking. Eye contact, proximity, and other nonverbal cues will help. Persistent and careful monitoring will encourage students to stay focused on their work rather than on conversation.

·       During a movie or oral presentation when students may talk instead of listen, prevent this by giving them an activity to do. Students who are taking notes or filling out a worksheet will not have time for chatter.

·       If the noise level is too loud, give students quiet activities that require they write or read independently. These assignments should be designed to interest them, not just keep the class busy.

·       Shifting gears from one activity to another is difficult for many students. Make transition times as efficient as possible in your class to avoid this problem.

·       If the entire class persists in having a problem with excessive talking, chart their behavior for them to see tangible evidence of it. Create a bar graph each day where you rank their success at managing their problem with talking on a scale of 1 to 10. Sometimes students are not aware of the severity of a problem until they can see it in a format such as this.

·       Move students who talk too much away from each other. Placing one of them near where you spend most of your time will help your monitoring efforts.