Hagrid – Teach Draco his Boundries!

In my last blog I took the opportunity to answer a few emails asking about books to help teachers in their classroom. The problem is that most teachers didn’t want to know how to teach reading and writing, but what to do with those kids that can’t be reached. I thought I’d answer a few of those questions in a few blog entries over the next few days. All of the suggestions I’m making are taken from the book, Teaching with Love and Logic.

One of the BEST things I learned as a secondary teacher is classroom management. I knew how to teach; it seemed intuitive to me. We’d play silly games, read a little, write a little and then the year was over. But, every now and then we all had one of those kinds of students. (Come on, you know you have had them!)

Button-Pushers:
For this blog I thought I’d talk about button pushers. If you’ve taught for more then ten minutes, if you are a parent or if you have ever been around a student like this, you know what a button pusher is. A button pusher is one student, normally a little arrogant, who enjoys picking at the teacher’s weak spots as a kind of sport. What happens is the teacher gets irritated, then annoyed and final angry eventually loosing their temper. That final loss of temper gives the student the upper hand and creates a lack of respect between the teacher and other students.

So, what should the teacher do when they’ve run into these students? It’s simple really, remember a few simple tips …
* Stay Calm (losing your temper reinforces the behavior)

* Ignore student (lack of attention tends to diffuse the student)

* Reward positive behavior in others (find a student across the room who is on task,
then praise them)

* If behavior continues remove student from the room into a hallway, talk quietly and calmly and remind them that if misbehavior continues they will face consequences. Then ask them to quietly return to their desk.

* If behavior does not cease then it’s time to call a parent and refer the student to a Vice-Principal.

* Remember, when you do speak to the button pusher, don’t lose your temper. Always speak to the child in a low voice, speak slowly and just remind them what you expect of them.

The button-pusher is just looking for attention. If you remove the attention it should stop. Once the student learns that he/she can’t push your buttons this behavior normally stops.

For most teachers in the US, school is just a few weeks away! Good luck in the new school year! In a couple of days I’ll post my thoughts on reluctant readers.

~ Doris

All suggestions are taken from Teaching with Love and Logic.