Class TEFL Weekend

Discipline in the classroomDiscipline in the classroom is an issue all teachers face and must deal especially with the younger learner. This is an area that is getting increasing attention in the field and even in the media. Behavior problems arise for a multitude of reasons such as problems outside the home, peer pressure, students testing limits, and more. Issues in the classroom that are a result of events outside of the school can be the most difficult to contend with as it is out of the teacher?s sphere. Some students are often by themselves because their parent or parents work late or they might have an afterschool job to help pay bills. Other students may have even more extreme situations such as abuse or legal troubles. In these cases there is not much the teacher can do except continue to encourage the student and remain a supportive resource. More typical reasons such as boredom, low self-esteem, and attention seeking can be dealt with in small but meaningful ways. Prevention, rather than reaction, is the best route to take and in the end is less stressful for both teacher and student. First, students need to respect the teacher. Respect should be expected of every student, not just for the teacher but the other students as well. When the teacher models respectful behavior, students pick up on this and will be more likely to engage in it. It is the teacher?s responsibility to set rules and guidelines early in the year and stick to them. The teacher should always be on time and prepared for class. When the teacher is disorganized it is easy for the students to see this as an opportunity to act out. To help prevent students from acting out because they are bored, the teacher needs to have a variety of activities that appeal to multiple learning styles. students may also be bored because the material is either too easy or too difficult. If a student feels the work is too challenging they may give up entirely or if a student is not challenged enough they might finish their work early and use their ?extra? time to be disruptive. The lessons should include differentiation for lower and higher level students such as scaffolding for the struggling student and more in depth questions for the student who is more advanced. For attention seekers, activities where students can report to the class, share their work, or even just read a passage from the lesson?s text can give the student positive attention and feel less like they need to act out for attention. However, even with the best plans and practices set up, there will always be behavioral problems that need to be addressed. Behavior problems can come in varying degrees of severity. If a student is chatting with their neighbor when they should be completing their work, the teacher is hardly going to send them to the principal?s office. The disciplinary action should be proportional to the offense. Sometimes just catching the student?s eye to let them know that the teacher is watching is enough to stop it. When a behavior is more disruptive, it is critical that the teacher remain calm and not embarrass the student. Not only does this go against the rule of respect that has been set up, it can easily inflame the situation. Finally, for more egregious offenses such as preventing the teacher from teaching or threats, the student should be sent to the principal. Learning how to handle discipline problems effectively can take a teacher some time to learn. Class dynamics change with each new group of students and a teacher may find that what worked with one group of students does not work with another. New teachers should observe veteran teachers and be flexible when it comes to dealing with these issues. In time, newer teachers will find what works best for them and their students.