I just started a long term sub position at a title I school on Monday and I will be there for the rest of the year. This class is a handful (every teacher I've talked to has made some type of comment about this class). I'm learning so much everyday and I'm really excited about having this opportunity!! One of the many problems I'm having is kids not keeping their hands to themselves. I thought I would go crazy yesterday because I kept hearing..."So and So poked, pushed or tripped me". Most of the time I don't see what's going on so I'm not sure who to believe. These kids lie and want to cause trouble. How do I handle this??? I want to put it to a stop immediately. What do I do when I don't see what's happening and I don't know who to believe? These kids need to learn to keep their hands to themselves. I have started doing a community circle and we talked about mutual respect. During community circle yesterday I caught one kid poking another kid and he tried to deny it. I sent him to his desk with his head down.. If I can get through the next eight weeks and live to tell about it, I'll be able to handle any class I get when I get a full-time job!! :lol: Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
I don't have that many suggestions, but I'll give it a try. When the class is walking down the hall, have them fold their arms in front so they can't touch anyone and then walk behind them so you can see everyone. Of course you will have to have designated stopping points for the leader to stop at so everyone can stay together. You're on the right track with the community circle. I think that's a great idea. For the first few weeks, you need to make sure that if you see anyone touching someone else you need to stop it right then, every time. After a few weeks (maybe less), they'll know that you mean business. Hang in there!
Rule HANDS ARE FOR HELPING NOT HURTING_NO EXCEPTION. Go over things we can do with our hands to be helpful to others and ourselves and things we do with our hands that hurt others.Post Big Hands with Yes Or No In the room. Set up small rewards for following the rules.
Dr. Ken Shore's Classroom Problem Solver Dealing With Student Aggression In dealing with a student who is acting aggressively toward his classmates, you want to send a strong message that aggressive behavior will not be tolerated in your classroom. In addition, you want to help him develop more appropriate ways of settling disputes with his peers. Be sure, however, to avoid harsh punishment or humiliation. Harshly disciplining an aggressive student might fuel his anger and make him more determined to continue the aggressive behavior. WHAT YOU CAN DO Be assertive when breaking up fights. If two elementary school students are engaged in a fight, use a strong loud voice to stop it. If that doesn't work, you might say something odd ( "Look up! The ceiling is falling!") to divert their attention. If they still don't stop and you can't separate them, send a student to the office to get help. If a crowd of children is gathering, insist that they move away or sit down, perhaps clapping your hands to get their attention. After the incident is over, meet with the combatants together so they can give you their versions of what happened and you can help them resolve any lingering problems. Also notify the parents. Click here to share your classroom management problems or solutions on the Education World Classroom Management message board. Respond calmly but firmly to an aggressive student. Speak in a firm, no-nonsense manner to stop a student's aggressive behavior; use physical restraint as a last resort. When responding to the student, pay attention to your verbal as well as non-verbal language. Even if he is yelling at you, stay calm. Allow him to express what he is upset about without interrupting him and then acknowledge his feelings. Avoid crossing your arms, pointing a finger or making threats; any of those actions could intensity his anger and stiffen his resistance. Consider giving the student a time out. You might conclude that a student's aggressive behavior warrants separating him from the rest of the class, either to send him a strong message that what he did merits a serious consequence or to protect the other students. You can do that by giving him a time out in class or by sending him to the office. In the classroom time-out area, have him sit in a chair and instruct him to remain quiet. Let him know that he can return to the class activity after a predetermined number of minutes. If he leaves the chair or acts in a disruptive manner, reset the timer to zero. After the aggressive student cools down, talk with him privately. Although he might expect you to react punitively, surprise him by reacting supportively. Express your confidence that he can resolve problems without being hurtful to his peers. Tell him that you think he must be upset about something to lose control as he did and you want to understand what might be bothering him. If he does open up to you, listen attentively without interrupting. Speaking in a calm voice, tell him that you understand why he was upset, but stress that he has to find a way to express his anger with words rather than with his hands. Have the student apologize. You don't want to force an aggressive student to say he is sorry because that might fuel his anger, however, you do want to strongly encourage him to make amends with the student he hit. If he is willing to do that, it will help soothe hurt feelings and avoid future conflicts. Have students who were involved in a conflict fill out a behavior form. After the fighting students have calmed down, have them complete a form describing what triggered the conflict, how they behaved, and how they could have handled the situation differently. Meet with both students to discuss their responses. The form provides a record of the incident that you can use when meeting with parents and/or administrators, and it helps students learn to reflect upon and modify their behavior.
Thanks for the help, everyone... I really appreciate it!! These are third graders... They're smart and wait till I'm not looking. I cannot turn my back on these kids for two seconds. This is extremely difficult when I have to focus on helping or speaking to another student. When I see it, I deal with it immediately. How do I handle it when it's done behind my back and each student blames the other??
Jacob Kounin called it "withitness." Teachers who are excellent classroom managers give students the impression that they have eyes in back of their heads. You create this impression in several ways. First, always position yourself so that you can see the entire class. Then, let students know you are watching by giving feedback to students in various places in the room (say you are working with a small group, take a second to lift your head and compliment or correct another group on the other side of the room). Third, constantly (and positively) let them know you are aware of them. Do everything in your power to create instruction where you don't need to put your back to your students. If you do, here is a simple trick, find a small magnetic or stick on mirror that you can place next to you when you are writing on the board. As teachers, we need to pay attention to our behavior first. There is a lot of power in that line of thinking.
When the children are sat at group time, we have the 5 Ls, Legs crossed, Lips locked, Listen, Look, hands in Lap. I tell the children that there is a 6th L, that if they do these 5Ls, they will Learn. Everyone has to show me nice sitting, so if children are poking then they're not doing the 5 Ls. I turn the situation back on the student - "What can you do?". they can ignore, move away, and next time make a better choice as to whom they sit next to. Another tactic is to, "use your words", I have found with this technique that you need to give the children the words first, such as "Stop, I don't like it". Sometimes I will say that they are having so much trouble sitting nicely, they need to move to a special place (ie, out of reach of anybody). I always listen to both sides but will point out to the instigator that their actions have consequences whether it is time out from me or their class mates might not want to sit next to them in future and they are jeopardising friendships. Children need to be able to problem solve these issues, and if we don't teach them how to, then they are always going to be going to the teacher to fix these situations.
Thanks, Synapse and Letsteach... I really like the idea of using the mirror. This class needs four huge mirrors in each corner of the room..:lol: I know these kids are testing me in a big way, but I'm staying on top of them to send a message that I will not put up with their shenanigans. I'm constantly moving around the room (Fred Jones calls it "working the crowd") during instruction and during independent work. I'm praising these kids and that does work, but sometimes the trouble makers suck me in and I start focusing more on the inappropriate behaivor... I find this happens toward the end of the day when I'm tired..I know I have to remain consistent!! One of the teachers came in on Friday after school to let me know that she sees a difference in the kids... She saw how I was interacting with them and wanted to let me know that I was doing a great job... I can't tell you how much that meant to me!!
