STUGART SENSE

Last week, I felt myself losing a battle with the students in my most challenging block. I was resorting to classroom management techniques I am not altogether comfortable with. For example, two days in a row, I opted to give this block alternative assignments because their behavior was so out of control, I couldn’t get anywhere with classroom discussion and group work. The only thing I could do to save my sanity in those moments was to tell students to get out their books and to work on their own. Additionally, I resorted to throwing a student out of my classroom, which has sadly become the predominant classroom management strategy in my school.

The alternative assignments worked to pacify the students, who have been raised on handouts and bookwork. However, I know that my students need more than that and I felt I was failing them as a teacher, especially when their behavior did not show any improvement as a result.

So, I decided that we would have a classroom intervention. Figuring out what might work was challenging but, in the end, I opted for a role-playing situation. I wanted the students to see what it was like to try to control and teach a horde of unruly teenagers. (And the best part would be the satisfaction of taking part in the demonstration of bad behaviors…)

I began by asking our literacy coach to assist me. I filled him in on the details and we began the “lesson.” I asked for 5 volunteers (hoping and knowing that my rowdiest and most attention seeking students would be the first to volunteer). I then asked the volunteers to leave the room with the literacy coach. He was instructed to provide each student with a topic to teach the class. I provided him with strips of paper for each student that highlighted some points they might wish to cover. The topics were simple and slightly inane, like “how to wash your hair” and “how to train a dog to sit.” To ensure they would take their jobs seriously, I offered them 10 bonus points and a piece of candy if they were able to get at least 3 students to take notes during their lessons.

Once the volunteers were gone, I involved the other students in our secret plan. I made a PowerPoint that described 5 different behavior problems that have been exhibited in the classroom.

1. Inattentive and off task
2. Apathetic and sleepy
3. Belligerent and aggressive towards the teacher
4. Rowdy and unruly (out of seats, etc)
5. Overly inquisitive (relevant and irrelevant)

As each volunteer was sent back into the classroom (one at a time until they gave up), the entire class was to act in one particular way. For example, when the first volunteer came in, each student was supposed to be inattentive and off task.

The activity was extremely fun and I believe my students were amazed and shocked at how funny I could be when imitating bad classroom behavior. So, I was able to rack up some cool points!

More importantly, my literacy coach was able to facilitate a discussion in which I participated on equal standing with my students about classroom behavior and what changes should be made. I enjoyed hearing the volunteers process the various teaching strategies they tried to use to get the students to participate in their lessons and evaluate why they didn’t work. It is interesting to note that the volunteers tried a variety of techniques including (but not limited to) turning off the lights, pleading, taking down names, threatening to call parents, giving F’s, and cursing.

I learned a lot about my students and how they perceive the teacher’s actions in the classroom. For example, I was surprised by the debate that arose when someone brought up the issue of my alternative assignments. One student said, “Sometimes, it feels like Mrs. S. wants to give up on us….like when she gives us alternative assignments.” Another student responded with, “It’s not that she is giving up on us, she’s just fed up and she doesn’t know what else to do.” And another student interpreted my alternative assignments as me “being scared of the students.” Most of them thought that I need to be “meaner.”

I couldn’t believe that anyone would have viewed the alternative assignments as a reaction of fear or the result of my giving up on students! Although, once I heard their interpretations, I can’t say that they were completely off base. Sometimes we need to change a lesson for a group of students to provide better understanding but was what I doing making the lesson better for my students or for me? Was I giving up?

It was enlightening to get the opportunity to speak so openly with my students about what they want and need in a classroom environment. In the end, we drew up a list of norms that we felt confident we could at least try to maintain. My jury is still out as to whether the exercise will make any difference but I already know that we have developed a new respect for each other.