Classroom Discipline: Keep it Simple!

1.) Remember: You are either the ONLY one in control or you are OUT of control.
If any other student(s) are communicating besides you or are engaged in tasks other than the one you are leading, the classroom is not in your control. It only takes one defector to break your leadership and to break teaching effectiveness. So, by definition, we are talking totalitarianism as the only path to actual freedom for focused learning. Happily, once rules of order become the routine of your classroom, a great security sets in with the accompanying self-discipline of positive interaction and freedom for maximized learning. IF a student WILL NOT join the collective direction in which you are leading, removal from your classroom per the policy of your school is best until they choose to cooperate with you and end their campaign to stage a coup.

2.) Broaden your definitions of correctible behavior.

Why would anyone want to do that? Because the students already know how to work the system that only defines communication as talking out loud and defines disruption as action but not attitude. Until we discipline what the students know to be unacceptable but we see as too-hard-to-call, they will carry out their finest disruptive feats using these borderline behavior tactics. They know it; just CALL IT. We are talking about non-verbal communication which disrespects you, others, or the instruction through indirect or half-spoken means: whispering, gesturing, eye contact, facial expression. It all is communication and as powerfully effective as the spoken word. Sometimes a perfectly silent classroom can be completely out-of-control: a restless current of a million movements and as many points-of- focus as eyeballs. Stop and gather them whether one individual or the whole. Leave no man behind.

Copyright 2013 Joanie Militich

3.) Come to a complete stop.

Completely stop teaching (even midsentence) to discipline. This communicates that the attitude or action in question is interfering with class. This communicates that the instruction at hand is important. This communicates that every last students getting it is important. Completely stop and turn your full attention to the interruption. Most students really dont want this sort of full attention.

4.) Brevity & Eye Contact

Having stopped everything, it is important to use short, direct words: No or Stop. Students know what they are doing wrong; they only respond with What?! to put the teacher on the defensive and draw him into having to defend the right to discipline. They can save face and retain some power if they are able to confuse the teacher and make them look silly, even though the whole class generally had a much better view than the teacher while the crime was going down. Just hang on to the fact that you are a teacher in your classroom and not lawyer at court. When a student does not receive the correction but plays innocent and possibly tries to draw-in the support of other students, hold that eye contact and follow-up with a quiet but firm, You know what Im talking about. Silence any fellow students who jump in on your conversation with, She actually knows exactly what I mean. Keep it between the two of you; this is actually a way to protect the dignity of the individual. Remember that even if you turn around to just catch the end of something fishy or you didnt hear the words but see/feel the tone, you can call it with a no. The student doesnt have to know that you didnt catch the exact words. That really isnt the point anyway. Operating within the pattern already mentioned of stopping the behavior without explaining it becomes very helpful when something is wrong even if you cant put a full description on it. Finally, as you resume teaching, retain that eye contact for a few more moments and then return to it briefly but definitely a couple of times in as you resume teaching with normal class eye contact. By returning to eye contact with the addressed student in the first minute or two after correction, you will usually catch the follow-up smirk or eye roll if there is one. If this insubordination occurs, hold that firm eye contact and expression again as you keep teaching, and you usually wont need the words, Are you coming along or do I need to take further measures here? Usually the student reads this unspoken eye communication loud and clear and chooses compliance rather than further consequences per classroom/school policy. (If compliance is refused, continue

Copyright 2013 Joanie Militich

with the student in private, a conversation moved at least to the back if not out-- of classroom.)

5.) Re-Boot: Ask for Forgiveness and Start again.

From a classroom management perspective, it is never too late to ask forgiveness of the class, admitting what we should have done and articulating what will now be done. If you have failed to establish a safe and solid learning environment for your students, START TODAY. Students are amazing in the face of genuine apology, especially because they have known all along that they taking advantage and are therefore complicit in the breakdown of classroom order. Finish well.

6.) Universal Student Tactics: Dont Fall for These!

a.) Group Attack or The Collective Whine This one emerges either when addressing a student in discipline (point #4 above) or when assigning homework. As one voice, the whole class is suddenly protesting out loud. This Weve-got-you-Outnumbered attempt should be squelched with a calm but firm Class! or No! coupled with some large gesture, particularly helpful to those who are in such travail that they are no longer hearing you but can still see you. The first time this occurs, a firm approach is best to establish that This will not happen again. For any later, rare occurrences, one approach is to minimize, inferring Im not going to even dignify that with a response. Another approach is to utilize some humor, Surely that did not just happen, and I am sure it will not occur again! However you play it, transition quickly back to finishing your explanation of the assignment, directing them to raise their hands AFTER you have completed instructions and IF they have any remaining questions. (The simple restriction of listening-to-the-whole-explanation before raising their hands frees them to actually listen and release their grievance with the full explanation.)

b.) Free time! while the teacher responds to a student question. Remarkably, if a student does not have a question himself, he does not think he has anything to learn by listening as you answer another students question. We all know that one of the values of learning in community is the bonus learning stimulated by other inquisitive minds. But alas, this is a value that must be forced
Copyright 2013 Joanie Militich

on most students who will take an automatic time out while you respond to a student question, as little conversations break out simultaneously across the room. Nope. Dont set this up as normal for your classroom. Full attention (and thereby, respect) should be the expectation when a question is being asked/addressed. Simply the logistics of the noise level drowning out the questioner prohibits this laxity. c.) Get the teacher off-track. For a few students this challenge is their chosen field of mastery. All their brainpower is vested in creating and recognizing opportunities to provide this service for their class: Detour and Derail. Usually affirming the excellent question and applauding their interest by offering to discuss it with them after class, after school, or during a lunch hour weeds out insincere inquiry. And just because hands are raised does not mean that every hand should be acknowledged. If every raised hand were a mandate, the students could control the direction and destination of the day, and this HAS occurred to them.

d.) Student Slam Capitalizing on anothers weakness to position oneself as strong is an ugly part of human nature. But besides being ugly, it is highly contagious and stubborn when given latitude. Dont tolerate the sneer, the look, the snort, even the soft mocking of one student toward another. Of all classroom offenses, this one must rank highest in your opinion and in student awareness. Nothing is more sacred in your classroom than each individuals emotional safety. Your students will respect and love you for fiercely and consistently championing this protection . . . especially when their vulnerable moment comes. Stop everything to correct this, and with a direct, firm gaze state a No or Never or Absolutely not! Hold their gaze to make sure it sticks as you resume teaching.

In Conclusion: The frequency and volume of negative behavior events can be significantly minimized and even pre-empted by taking some steps of positive prevention. You can find these detailed in my product, An Ounce of Prevention: Positive Classroom Procedures to Prevent Behavior Problems, available in my product line Secondary Sense. The following outline lists the topics addressed: Seating Charts: All the Difference in the World! Time Management: Start & End with the Bell.
Copyright 2013 Joanie Militich

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: A Bag of Groceries or a Hot Meal. Smooth Transitions: I think I lost them OR They were just here a minute ago. Directive Teaching Style: Reaching the Right Destination on Time. Balance Routine with Surprise: A Little Goes a Long Way! Re-Boot: Dont Be Afraid to Say I am sorry. Fair Grading: The Forgotten Contributor to Cooperation. Isolate & Neutralize your Management Saboteur: Our Own Worst Enemy.

Copyright 2013 Joanie Militich