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Bryan Harris shares four simple but effective ways deal with common classroom disruptions, from his new book, 75 Quick and Easy Solutions to Common Classroom Disruptions, co-authored by Cassandra Goldberg.
C.M. Charles, author of The Synergetic Classroom noted that, “Teachers have two great dreams – to work with students who try to learn, and to escape from the constant struggle against misbehavior.” Dealing with student disruptions can take the joy out of teaching and cause stress, anxiety, and frustration. In fact, student misbehavior has been cited as a reason some teachers leave the profession (Allensworth, Ponisciak, & Mazzeo, 2009).
While dealing with classroom misbehavior can be a challenge, it is important to remember that, in many cases, the students who are difficult inside the classroom are the ones who have problems of their own outside the classroom. Effective teachers first and foremost think about how they can provide the supports so that the student learns skills to improve in the future. Because we know that punishment alone rarely teaches a child the skills necessary to act appropriately in the future, we should consider how to provide the support so that the behavior doesn’t happen again.
Fortunately, there are some simple and effective ways to deal with classroom disruptions. First, understand that all behavior happens for a reason. Although children may not be able to clearly express what is happening in their lives, there is usually some sort of payoff for a negative behavior. Second, try to avoid becoming defensive about a child’s behavior. Rarely does a student plot to make a teacher’s life miserable. He or she usually doesn’t enter the classroom with a plan to cause chaos or to disrupt the lesson. Third, work to change the mindset. If children came to us as they should be, there would be no reason to have teachers in the first place. We can learn a great deal from our most challenging students and finding solutions may take a different way of thinking about difficult students. Finally, always maintain student dignity. For some students, it is more honorable to act bad than appear stupid. Maintaining student dignity involves valuing the child and addressing his or her behavior without making judgments about character, background, or personality.
With those ideas in mind, here are 4 simple but effective strategies for dealing with classroom disruptions:
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