Effective Classroom Discipline Tip- The Short Talk!

Every teacher has to deal with discipline issues pretty much every day. I know we have wonderful little angels who populate our classrooms, it is good to be prepared when on takes a wild impulse to be defiant or (gasp) break a rule.

There are dozens of ways to deal with this when it happens, and many are very effective. Unfortunately, as the year wears on even the best of us can find ourselves at our wits end and it is all too easy to lose our tempers when dealing with our students especially those that have been difficult. When this happens we find ourselves raising our voices, losing our cool, and through that losing our rapport with the students.

Now make sure you don' t think I am pointing fingers. Too many times I have made the mistake I detailed above. I know what it does because I have been there done that, and usually wished I had not. The following may help you avoid making the mistakes I have made.

I have found that it is very effective to have a student led hall conference. Make consequences clear and when you take them outside your door let them do all the talking!

Here is how it works:

For this to be really effective you have to establish that you are going to follow through with consequences. For elementary and Middle schoolers it is highly effective, in most cases to call their parents. For some high schoolers this works as well, also, or involving a coach, or of course an administrator can be very effective.

Establish the procedure with the input of your students. The main reason for this is ownership on their part of the consequences to follow. If they are a part of establishing how the procedure works then they will feel the responsibility of abiding by it more than they will if they have no part in it and you just lay down the law.

If you prefer it can still be effective if you retain the control of establishing the procedure. I know that some teachers feel more comfortable with this, and some teachers may be in a situation where giving the students much input just is not feasible.

Either way establish with the students that if they break a classroom rule and they are in line for consequences you are going to step outside with them and they are going to have about two minutes to speak. In those two minutes they need to tell you the following:

1. What rule they broke and how they broke it.

2. What consequences they can expect if the problem is not fixed.

3. The steps they are going to take to fix the problem- they need to be VERY convincing in this one.

4. That if this happens again they will not get a chance to fix the problem.

If their talk is convincing you step back inside, they sit down, and you go back about your business. If the talk is not convincing, or they have already given a similar talk and not carried through with their solution to the problem, then give them the consequences- referreal, afterschool, lunch detention, staying in at recess, whatever you use for their particular offense based on their age.

This approach puts the responsibility for their actions squarely on their shoulders. It also encouraged self-evaluation on their part, something many of them have no practice in. You can also add a little paperwork for a paper trail for parents and administrators outlining the things they told you in the talk. If you pursue the paperwork make sure it matches the talk they need to give you in the hall for consistency. This is actually a very important element. The more completely you document, the better you have CY'e your A (heh-heh).

This approach has worked pretty well so far for me, and I have seen it work well with elementary and middle schoolers in particular, and in many cases with high school students.