One-Line Reflection #2: My First Day Teaching and Disruptive Students
Well, today
was my first day teaching. My CT was
absent, and she had given me instructions for the students to finish reading
their library book and complete their book reports. If these two assignments were completed
students were given the option to work on the A Rose for Emily project or work on other class projects due.
I arrived early
as usual and the teacher across the hall opened the door to class. I waited outside for the substitute teacher
to arrive and started greeting the students at the door. The bell rang and no substitute teacher
arrived. To maintain the normal class
schedule, I put a journal question up for the students to answer. Normally, the students have a quote or
journal question that they may chose to respond. Using my teacher voice, I informed
the students that a substitute was running late. Next, I would put a journal question on the
board for them to respond. Then, I went
to my CT’s desk to look for today’s lesson plan. My CT had left instructions for each
class. I put the quote and journal
question up on the board for the remaining day’s classes while waiting for the
class to complete their task. So far so
good!
Then it happened! A pre-student teacher’s worst fear! Some students decided to test me! So I put my teacher hat on and initiated Mr.
Wong’s, The Well-Managed Classroom
techniques. I explained to the class that they could talk quietly, but each was
to be working on something. It took
about five minutes for the majority of the class to quiet down. To maintain on-task work, I walked the room
and asked students if they had their book to read or to work on a project not
completed. Great! It worked for the
majority of the students. However, two
groups of boys it did not. My next step was to approach the two groups and
explain that the noise level was too high and they needed to respect students
who are trying to read. Although, the
one group did respond, I had to walk around to maintain an on task goal. The other group upon numerous discussions
becomes defensive. Dr. Wong states,
“rules are most effective when there are consequences to face if students break
them and rewards if students follow them. When you see a violation of one of
the rules, immediately and quietly give out the penalty as you continue with
the lesson or classwork”. I approached
the students and again asked them to stop talking since they could not talk
quietly. Immediately they got defensive
and I did not feel a response was required of me. Therefore, I requested to have their logbooks
so I could sign them and send them to the office. The three boys immediately stood up and
walked out of the classroom. Afterwards,
I continued walking the room.
The office
called asking why the CT was not in class; I explained that there must have
been a miscommunication. During our conversation,
I stated no substitute had arrived. I
also took that moment to discuss the issues with three students and the office
responded they would take care of the issue.
A few minutes before the classroom ended, I
explained that I have a much lower voice level expectation than the CT. I then thanked the classroom for allowing me
to teach, working quietly, and to accept my expectation of them in the future. Upon the end of class, I wrote a note to my
CT about the substitute teaching not showing up and the problem with three
boys.
Upon reflection,
I decided that this situation could be handled a little differently. First, I should at the beginning of class,
discuss my classroom expectations on noise level. I went out on the website and looked for
material on disruptive students and classroom management. How to
Deal with Disruptive Students was the site I picked to reflect on and see
where I could have made a better decision. This article had a five-step
approach.
1. Talk to the students about their behavior and
ask them to stop.
2. Warn the students that their actions could
lead to further trouble.
3. Call the students parents.
4. Make school security aware of the issues so
they may be addressed. Report to the
Principal.
In this five-stop
approach, I achieved the first step: discussed with the group several times
about their behavior, and had asked them to stop. Furthermore, I did not initiate the second
step and warn them of further action. At
the time, I did not feel it was necessary, until they became defensive and
questioned my actions. As a pre-student
teacher, I did not feel my actions needed a response. Therefore, at that time,
I initiated a consequence by having them go to the office. The third step in calling the parents would
be addressed from my CT. Last, the
fourth step was to notify the principal.
When the office called about my CT being absent, I discussed the problem
with them and they stated it would be handled.
What I would
like to know from my fellow pre-student teachers is how you might have handled
this situation differently?
Citation: Wong, Harry and Rosemary K T. The First
Days of School: How to Be an Effective
Teacher. N.P.:
Harry K. Publication, n.d. Print.
Of Mice and Men/