ELLEN
BERG
Diary #10
Some New Discipline Strategies
Produce Great Results
When it came to classroom discipline, I always kind of envisioned myself as a benevolent drill sergeant.
I was the person who cared enough about them to hold them accountable for everything they did, to nag them until they got on board. While I rarely resorted to yelling, I did try to control everything they did behavior-wise. Most of the time I got good results, but there were always those few who continued to push against the rules in spite of my efforts.
I never quite made the connection between the positive effects of student choice and student-centered instruction and classroom management. I grew up with parents who loved me, but who I knew would do something terrible to me if I got in trouble at school. There were no debates, no threats, just the feeling that I would never see the light of day again if I had the nerve to act out or not do my homework. When I began teaching, I transferred that model of management to my classroom. In general, it worked. Enter a homeroom full of academically talented kids. I tried my usual act with my homeroom, and they rebelled. Worse yet, they began to hate me. As I tightened the rope, they figured out ways to tighten it around me as well. I was not happy with the results, but I wasn't quite sure what to do; after all, this management system had always worked in the past.Fortunately I stumbled across a wonderful book by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, How to Talk so Kids Can Learn. The general premise of the book is that the words we choose are as important as our gestures, tone and volume when talking with kids.
The book has a number of strategies that place the conversation on dealing with the problem, not dealing with the child – kind of a disassociation tactic. If the child believes you are criticizing them directly, they will respond in a negative manner, but if the child believes you are looking at behavior, they will more likely respond in a positive manner and learn from the exchange.
For example, as teachers we are in the habit of saying things like, "Pick up that paper," or "Stop tapping on the desk!" Statements like those seem innocent and without accusation, however, most times the kid hears something like, "You are awful for throwing paper on my floor!" The book suggests simply pointing and saying, "Paper," or, "Tapping," which gives the student information rather than accusations. Students know they should clean up after themselves and avoid tapping on the desk during instruction, and all they need is some information to become aware of the problem so they have the opportunity to change their behavior.Yeah, I was skeptical, too
I know many of you are reading this thinking, "Yeah, right," and that's exactly how I felt. I thought kids would still think I was nagging, or, worse, completely ignore me because I had not told them what to do. Still, skeptical but willing to take a risk, I decided to try two strategies for a week to see what happened. The first strategy I used was the information-giving strategy, and the second strategy was humor.
I began saying things like, "A marker is on the floor," and "Line," as I waited for kids to line up for class. The marker would get picked up with no argument of, "I didn't put it there, why do I have to pick it up?" Students fell into line without rolling their eyes. When my drum player started pounding on the desk during his group project, I stated, "Beating," and, instead of the usual argument, he said, "Oh, I'm sorry," and stopped. After that it was a matter of looking his way, and he would recognize what he was doing and stop.
The kids recognized the change in my behavior, and a few of the brave ones attempted to mimic me by repeating the one-word statements, but they stopped after they saw others falling into line and, I believe, after they realized the change for themselves.
Stand-up discipline
Humor worked equally well. I have to credit professional development consultant Rick Wormeli and Jack Berckemeyer of NMSA for a few of the ideas I have used after seeing their presentation on classroom management at NMSA's national convention last month.
When one of my very difficult students put his head down to sleep and went into an act about how very tired he was, I acknowledged his feelings, then put on a huge act myself. I walked him to our parent liaison and said, "Wiley is about to pass out in my classroom. He's had gym, a large lunch, and was up late last night. I know Wiley wants to learn in my class, but this darn schedule of his is just beating him down. Could you take him to the counselor so they can brainstorm some solutions? I just know Wiley wants to learn, and it is killing him to keep falling asleep in class."
Now, you have to know Wiley. Wiley will sit and tap with his pencil, you will call him on it, and he will, pencil in hand, swear he does not even have a pencil to tap with. He is on medication for anger management, or at least he is sometimes, since he threw a hundred-dollar bottle of his medication in the toilet not too long ago. After my exchange with the parent liaison, I waited for Wiley's reaction; there was none except the strange look he gave me. Wiley returned to class a short time later (the counselor was on lunch duty), and instead of putting his head back down on his desk, he came and asked me what he missed. I gave him the assignment, and he got right to work. Since that exchange, Wiley has worked every day in my classroom.Another way I have used humor lately is by blaming the object associated with the problem. I've told kids that when they get to their lockers, they need to find their homework and give it a good talking to for jumping out of their binders and hiding from them when the homework knew it needed to be in class. Homework completion has risen significantly.
For the pencil that kept poking the student in the next seat, I held it and said, "Listen, pencil, nobody here has time to be messing with your antics. John wants to do his work, and you keep playing around. Stop it!" It must have worked, because the pencil stayed on the paper for the rest of the period and did not bother the student next door again.
Is this a little gimmicky? Sure, but the kids get the information they need and save a lot of face. I am a firm believer is doing whatever gives you the desired results.My next steps
After seeing the success of these two strategies, I decided to add new ones in over time. I began to acknowledge kids' feelings, then asked them how they could have expressed them differently. "I can see you are really frustrated with Angie, Felicia. I hate it when someone calls me names. Is there a way you could have handled that situation without yelling across the room?" Felicia apologized and came up with several other solutions to the problem, then returned to her work with no further incidents.
I also began putting things in writing. During SSR, two of my girls were whispering and giggling rather than reading. I wrote on a sticky note, "Giggling and talking during SSR will earn you a 1 on the scoring guide; is this the grade you are shooting for?" I passed them the sticky note, and a few seconds later one of the girls returned it to me with, "NO!" in big letters. Both girls settled down and read for the rest of the time.
There are many more strategies in the book, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for ways to implement a new system of classroom management. What I like most about the strategies is that they are focused on thought, not emotion. When kids do not feel bad but are engaged in addressing changeable behaviors, they are problem-solving. We're giving them the opportunity to grow, learn and improve. Lasting resentment is not created. The brain and not the heart is the organ we are addressing with these strategies.What's our goal?
It all comes down to our intent. Why are we correcting our students? What do we hope to accomplish? If our intent is for students to be able to learn and grow, then we must adopt a classroom management philosophy that models and fosters learning and growth. If, however, we are simply looking for a way to control students (out of our fear of poor evaluations, loss of control, or simply a misguided sense of what school is about), the traditional system of intimidation, threats, and, "Do it because I am the teacher and I said so," will be the method we use.
I want my kids to learn and grow, and they will not do it simply because I will it. Yes, I am a teacher of reading, writing and language, but I am also a teacher of life skills. In the end, I do not want to teach my students that overpowering others is the way to be successful.
