Too sensitive? Or not doing enough w/ classroom management

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Classroom Discipline Chatboard

Too sensitive? Or not doing enough w/ classroom management

by Moose

Nov 4, 2012

I have been a high school teacher for 16 years. I don't know if I have regressed with my management or I am getting more sensitive. My issues are sometimes kids want to make noises in class like whistling, tapping pencils, making music with their hands on the desk. Sometimes I feel if I address every little noise, I am giving them the attention they want and then others chime in. Do you ignore it or address it each time?

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good luck On 11/04/12, Moose wrote: > I have been a high school teacher for 16 years. I don't > know if I have regressed with my management or I am getting > more sensitive. My issues are sometimes kids want to make > noises in class like whistling, tapping pencils, making > music with their hands on the desk. Sometimes I feel if I > addres...See MoreOn 11/04/12, Moose wrote: > I have been a high school teacher for 16 years. I don't > know if I have regressed with my management or I am getting > more sensitive. My issues are sometimes kids want to make > noises in class like whistling, tapping pencils, making > music with their hands on the desk. Sometimes I feel if I > address every little noise, I am giving them the attention > they want and then others chime in. Do you ignore it or > address it each time?

I ignore minor disruptions - I don't expect total silence. It's not easy to be a young person with tons of energy and basically spend the day sitting in hard chairs. They get restless. And modern kids are very fidgety particularly in the periods right before lunch, right after lunch and the last period of the day.

But I tell them which is now sadly true that I don't hear well - I don't and so the side noises need to be kept to a minimum. Whistling would be completely inappropriate even if I could hear well.

What is your class doing? If you're trying to conduct a discussion, then whistling is rude. My response to that is "We're discussing here, why are you whistling?"

Tapping pencils - I say "that makes it hard for me to hear what Susan is saying." I recommend to fidgety kids that they get a big gum eraser and they can tap that - it makes no sounds. I show them how to constantly wiggle a foot but silently - I have to do just that in every faculty meeting to keep myself sitting for the long length of a faculty meeting.

they don't want attention - they want some relief from the boredom of a long school day. They'd much rather talk to you about what you said to one of them than discuss the material and for that reason alone, I don't invite trouble and do ignore minor disruptions. Binders drop - get a rug on the floor. No whistling - give me a break. Tapping makes it hard to hear, shake your foot instead and if you want to drum your hands on the desk, don't. Get gum erasers for the room and tell them they can borrow one to hold in their hand for the class. That tactile reference helps to 'ground' some of them.

Good luck.

Nov 4, 2012

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