3 Practical Prescriptions for Managing Poor Behavior

Once in a while we have to face the fact that “classroom behavioral issues” does drive us crazy. It thwarts our chances to reach the best result possible. Poor behavior has to be managed like a contagious disease. Therefore, it needs to be prevented, cured and restored.

If you have had any experiences being in this kind of situation, or feeling you might experience it one day, you may benefit from reading this article.

Step 1: Prevention

1. Know your students, it’s necessary to hear in advanced about your students, e.g. are there students that need special attention?
2. Plan your lesson to suit you and your students. Plan it in advance (especially for your regular class) and always have a back up plan.
3. Allocate time to discuss common ground rules with your students. Never assume that they already know your expectations as well as you know what are theirs. Remember to be honest to yourself and set your boundaries, e.g. use of electronic devices, physical violence, eating/chewing. Update it if it’s necessary. 

Step 2: Cures

1. Don’t ever be tempted to ignore poor behaviour. Consistantly remind them.
2. Stay calm, and if anything should happen don’t ever take it personally.
3. Use gestures before words: eye contact, finger on lips, finger pointing to the ground rules, stand near the off-task student etc.
4. Verbal reminder: approach the off-task student, ask them to pay attention to their task and move away. Don’t ever be tempted to intimidate them by staying next to them until they did what you’ve asked.
5. Academic adjustment: if their poor behaviour is caused by an academic problem, try to adjust your materials, i.e. extra challenges for the fast learners and help and attention for those who are behind. This is where a back up plan and information about your students kicks in.
6. If all the stages mentioned above should fail, then you can use stronger methods, e.g. move the off-task student’s seat away from their friends or confiscate things that cause distractions like a cell phone.
7. If the problem happens over and over again, especially if it involves one particular student/group of students, please make time to discuss it with them after class.
8. If the conditions don’t improve, please inform the principals and their parents.

Step 3: Rehabilitation

1. This will only be needed after a strong warning is given e.g. after moving the student’s seat away, when you give back their gadget or things that you’ve taken from them. Don’t ever assume that they get the point of your warning right away.
2. Remember to always use open ended questions such as, “How do you feel about what I did?”, “How do you feel about what you did?” and “Why you did that?”  Always be open-minded, don’t judge, don’t label. Sincere attention will help you a lot.

Best RGDS. Hope these tips will help you. Happy teaching! 🙂

Mbak Yessi is a former doctor and English teacher at ILP Cimanggu located in Cimanggu – Bogor.