Managing Troublemakers!
Hadi Azimi , Assistant Professor in ELT, Schools of Medicine, Shahid
Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Email: azimi.hz@gmail.com
Zahra Kobadi Kerman MA in TEFL, Islamic Azad University, Central of
Tehran Branch
Email: zahra.kobadi@yahoo.com
PREFACE
We all have had difficult classes! Not in terms of teaching but in terms
of dealing with some students who like to make trouble! We call them
troublemakers! They always talk to other classmates, are careless about class
rules, attend the class later than others, and may even talk back! Well,
dealing with these students IS important because if we deal with them in a
negative way, we may risk managing the whole class let alone these very
students! The present issue hopes to bring to your attention this significant
classroom management problem.
Write to us and explain your way of dealing with troublemakers. Your
student may be our student the next semester! azimi.hz@gmail.com
QUOTABLE QUOTES
1
“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.”
Robert A. Heinlein
2
“We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public
cures for their private ails.”
Eric Hoffer
3.
“From a certain point of view our real enemy, the true troublemaker, is
inside.”
Dalai Lama
4
“I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me.”
J. K. Rowling
5
“In the world of comic books, "troublemaker" means someone who
has some sense of dignity.”
Frank Miller
Teaching tips: 10 Strategies for Teachers: How to Deal With Disruptive
Troublemakers
1. Have a sense of humor
In the classroom, you have to have a sense of humor. If you do not, the
kids will not like you and you will not like the kids because there will be a
disconnect. Using a sense of humor with high schoolers is the best way to
disarm a bad situation. You also have to be careful with your sense of humor.
If you carry it too far and students do not understand their limits, you could
have a potential rowdy class who thinks you are a clown who can be a push over.
Dispel this notion by constantly giving the kids guidelines. Once they have the
guidelines for classroom behavior, they will “get” your sense of humor.
2. Never raise your voice
Disruptive troublemakers are just waiting for you to raise your voice or
yell at them. They love it. It gives them a chance to raise their voice and
argue back. They love retelling stories about the teachers who "lost
it." They love knowing they were the ones who caused it. Be careful that
you don't show up in their Twitter feeds. Do not give them the pleasure. Calm,
cool, and collected is the key.
3. The silent stare
When students in my class are talking too much or out of their seats, I
stand in front of the class and simply stare at them. One of the students gets
the hint. Then I hear, “Shhh, shhh, shhh!” all over the room. I act like I did
not even recognize the loudness in the room, and I start or resume.
There have been a few times that it has taken a class too long to quiet
down. In those few occasions, I say, “Obviously, you know what is going on
today. The assignment is on the board. I am not wasting my time with you. You
are on your own.” They are all aghast. I go back to my desk, and one at a time
the kids trickle back asking for help. This may seem harsh, but it works. I do
eventually go back to the front of the room and ask in a humorous, sarcastic
tone, "Would you like me to explain?" They usually give a resounding,
"Yes!"
Even though they would like to make you think you are unimportant at
times, most of them know they need you.
4. Learn their names
I have to admit, learning their names is the hardest part for me. I
start looking at rosters over the summer.
If you have a troublemaker in class, you want to be able to call that
student by name on the first day of school. Unfortunately, the ones who want to
cause problems are the ones easiest to remember.
The kids who do not say much are the ones I need to work on most.
Remembering their names shows all your students that you care about who
they are and what they do. Many times, just knowing a name will help stop a kid
from creating trouble.
5. Send the first disrupter to the hall and the second to the office
In the beginning of the year, you must set the tone.
If they are going to make trouble in my class, I give the first warning,
“The first one goes to the hall and the second one goes to the office.” There
are usually at least two pushing the buttons - many times together.
You must follow through with the threat so they know you mean business.
When you show them in the beginning of the year that your objective is to teach
them and not babysit them, they get the message quickly.
Students love to test teachers. Not because they are "bad" but
because they are kids. Try to remember your own school days so you can relate
to them before it is irreparable.
When you send a kid to the hall, make time to discuss the problem
clearly. Some students, even in high school, do not understand why they are
being disciplined. Make it clear in a way that lets the student know you want
their success.
The same goes for if you send a student to the office. Find a time to
discuss what happened that led to the discipline. If kids know you are still on
their side, they will try harder to do better for you.
6. Let your administrators know about your class
This past year, I had a class full of boys who were childhood friends
and loved to have fun and aggravate. They wanted the tone to be a “them against
the teacher” tone and made it clear from the beginning.
I went to the administration about it. They knew the boys already, not
just from having them in their office but also knowing them in the community.
These were not bad kids. They just wanted to have fun. I totally related.
Letting the administrators know about the situation prepares you and them for
any situation that might arise.
7. Have administrators visit
After I let my administrators know, they would periodically show up in
the room either a couple of them or just one. What I loved was that they never
made it seem like a visit for discipline. They would come in, ask how I was
doing, ask the kids how it was going, and actually conversed with them. It gave
the kids a good feeling to be recognized by the administrators in a good light
rather than in the cloak of shame when they are sitting in the office.
When you have a class with too many troublemakers, the administrators
can really have a positive influence by just making an appearance and showing
interest. You must let them in on the situation, and tell them you want them as
a preventative measure, not a last resort.
8. Never let them know they are getting under your skin
As soon as you let troublemakers know that they have gotten under your
skin, they have you right where they want you: angry, agitated, anxious,
defensive. No, no, no! Do not allow this to happen.
Again, you have to set guidelines from the first day. You must also
loosen up enough that you can find humor in something they just did that you
would not otherwise find humorous. You will have a miserable year if you allow
them to make you show what you are actually feeling. They love it when you “go
off the deep end,” especially in the beginning when they do not know you.
Keep reminding yourself that their success is your success. You just
need to control the type of success.
9. Treat students with respect
From the first day, always remember you are the adult and they are the
student. You must also show them respect if you want to receive it in return.
If a kid is constantly acting up in class and nothing has worked, go out
in the hall with the kid and say, “Listen, you are disrupting the class which
is not good for anyone. There are students in there who want to learn, and you
are keeping them from it. I know you are just having a good time, and I don’t
think you are a bad kid. It is just that you and I each have a job to do in
there. You need to be quiet and calm while I am teaching, and I need to keep my
focus. There are appropriate times for this type of behavior, but in the middle
of class or work time is not the time or the place. Now, let’s go back in and
act like decent human beings to each other.”
That last line usually gets a smile. I treat a disruptor with respect
(when their behavior hasn’t gone overboard), and in return we go back into the
class and things are better. Kids need to know adults understand and respect
them. Sometimes, the teacher does have to send the student to the office. Many
times it can be handled one-on-one and a new respect for each other grows from
those times.
There are times that you have to constantly work on that student-teacher
relationship.
10. Tell the disruptive student you do not need his or her help
It is inevitable. You will have one kid misbehaving, you tell the kid to
stop talking or tapping his pencil or getting up and down out of his seat or
whistling or whatever other annoying thing the kid can come up with to disrupt
the class.
Once you tell the kid to stop, you have another kid mock you by saying,
“Yeah, stop that. Don’t you know you are annoying everyone else?” These kids
are in high school. Most completely understand the dynamics of the class: good
and bad.
When a kid “appears” to be “helping” you with discipline, it is probably
a case of mocking you to get a laugh or to get a group to start in on their
buddy to create the drama. I simply say, “I have it handled, and I don’t need
your help.” Abrupt and to the point. They know when they have crossed the line.
You are going to be All Right.
I hope these are helpful tips to get you started on a good school year.
It doesn't matter if you are a new teacher or a veteran teacher who sees
a problem with a class of 35 – 40 students coming in; using clear strategies
will help your year go by much smoother for you and your students.
The strategies also allow you to build relationships with students
rather than letting constant tension control the classroom.
Some educators may disagree, but going in strong sets up the tone for
the year. You can always loosen up as you see fit throughout the year.
JOKES
1
My friend said he knew a man with a wooden leg named Smith.
So I asked him "What was the name of his other leg?"
2
The doctor to the patient: 'You are very sick'
The patient to the doctor: 'Can I get a second opinion?'
The doctor again: 'Yes, you are very ugly too...'
3
Patient: Doctor, I have a pain in my eye whenever I drink tea.
Doctor: Take the spoon out of the mug before you drink.
4
Patient: Doctor! You've got to help me! Nobody ever listens to me. No
one ever pays any attention to what I have to say.
Doctor: Next please!
5
Mother: "Did you enjoy your first day at school?"
Girl: "First day? Do you mean I have to go back tomorrow?
FUNNY RIDDLES
1. What has a neck, but no head?
2. What has three feet but no legs or arms?
3. What has teeth but can't bite?
4. What has 4 legs and only 1 foot?
5. I bind it and it walks. I loose it and it stops. What am I?
(Check below for the answers.)
CROSSWORDS:
A more advanced crossword:
Have you ever tried bungee jumping?
Across
4. Have you ever seen a car ---------?
6. What ---------- do you like to do during the holidays?
7. Have you ever been to a ------- country?
9. Have you ever swum in an ---------?
11. Have you ever tried ----------?
12. Have you ever gone ----------?
13. Have you ever climbed a -------------?
Down
1. Have you ever gone ----------?
2. Have you ever gone -------------?
3. Have you ever ridden a ---------------?
5. I think bungee jumping is ----------- .
8. I like sky diving because it is --------- .
10. Have you ever tried ------------ ?