#4 Nip disrespect in the bud.

I am a new, young teacher at alternative high school... so some of my students are actually my age or older... which can be a little awkward.  On average I am about 6 years older, which makes them feel like I am more of an older sister figure than an authority.  At the same time, it can be a huge advantage because I have no trouble relating to an 18-year old... I was just there myself. 

As I have mentioned before, my school is on a 4x4 semester schedule, so when I had a new set of students in the second semester things went much smoother.  I did learn how to command more respect.  Still I am young-looking and I need to be extra careful about disrespect, especially the first few weeks of school. 

Of course no matter what age, how much experience you have, or what age your students are, I think all teachers really need teach their students to be respectful.

Here are a few situations where students were disrespectful last year.  I want to reflect on these situations a little as I write up a plan for dealing with disrespect:

Talkative Student - I had a female student who did not stop talking... ever.  At first I did not make an issue of it and it got worse.  When she was absent one day, her good friend breathed a sigh of relief saying, "Talkative Student's not here... i will finally get my work done."  I realized then how unfair it is to the other students if I don't take control of the class.  

I Do What I Want - On my very first day of teaching, a student told me I acted like a new teacher.  He refused to do anything I asked and basically argued with everything that I said, even the most trivial things, it was months before he curbed his behavior since I didn't nip it in the bud. 

Calls Out Answers, Does not Listen - I had a very very very bright student, who I also mentored throughout the course of the year.  I found it harder to correct him because he was so smart, enthusiastic, and usually got the right answer.  It was also hard because I was mentoring him, so I really wanted him to succeed and was afraid to stifle his enthusiasm. 

Totally Inappropriate - I had a few students, and I don't like to generalize but they were mostly male, who said things that were just completely inappropriate.  I tried to ignore it, but I learned really fast that some behavior needs to be handled right away or it gets worse.  Ignoring it never works.  Trust me. 


I learned how to handle just about everything that came my way eventually.  I just want to reflect on it and make sure that I do not make the same mistake twice as I begin my second year. 

- Plan of Action - #4 from Take a Number

1.   On the syllabus I am adding a section on respect, and it will go something like this (I will probably change it around, I still have 1.5 weeks until school starts): 

"The only "rule" that I have in my classroom is respect.  Respect for yourself, respect for me, and respect for your peers.  In return, I will show you respect.  Examples of disrespect:  calling out, putting others down, talking while someone else is talking, talking back to your teacher, not raising your hand, bad language or rudeness, showing up late to class, ignoring instructions, sleeping, refusing to work with peers, not participating, breaking any handbook rules, showing up late or trying to leave early, etc.  Examples of respect:  listening to your teacher and peers, raising your hand, making eye contact when someone is talking to you, saying please and thank you, apologizing when you are wrong, forgiving when you are wronged, willingness to try new things or accept new ideas, being on time to class, working until the music* starts, doing your best, etc."

-For an added effect, I might play the song "RESPECT" on the very first day of class... R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me

*we have music play for 5 minutes instead of a bell system

2.  Never ignore disrespect.  My own personal rule will be that I will not let any disrespect slide by.

3.  Also included in the syllabus will be the repercussions for disrespect. 

First there will always be two warnings.  This will give students a chance to know that their behavior is disrespectful and to realize that I am counting. 

On the third offense, I will have a conversation with them outside of class and tell their counselor.  (Our counselors are amazing and I did not take advantage of them enough last year.)  During the conversation I will tell them that their behavior will not be accepted and ask them what they think of their progress in my class.  At this point, they will also lose any $Chemicash or $Biobucks (basically monopoly money that is used for extra credit) that they have accumulated. 

If the behavior is not curbed by these actions, I have a few options.  I can bring in an admisitrator, I can make a behavioral contract with the student, and/or I can involve parents.  I only bring administrators in if the behavior is really uncalled for.  For example, excessive talkativeness would not warrant an adminitrator, but a threat to myself, peers, or another student would immediately on the first offense.  Parents can be tricky in my situation because some of my students live on their own or their parents are not available, other parents are very pro-active and want to know about their kid's progress.  Depending on the student, I may or may not be able to contact parents.  A behavioral contract would be ideal for a talkative student or an unmotivated student.  Each contract would be individualized and include a reward and consequences that the student agrees to. 

4.  I make it my goal to determine what the behavior is stemming from.  This is where the counselors and the conversation with the student really come in handy.  I had a few cases last year where my student's behavior ultimately was attributed to substance abuse. I had a few others who had diabetes and they were not monitoring their sugar levels as well as they maybe should be.  And finally, I had a few students whose mental health were not really stable.  In those cases, it takes more than a warning to get a response.  It is also really important to report the behavior to the right people, i.e. counselors, special ed, administration, parents, and/or social workers.

5.  Reward good, respectful behavior with complements at a minimum.  It is also a reward that they get to accumulate their extra credit if they never get 3 strikes.
 
6.  What to say?  My biggest problem as a new teacher was knowing just what to say and how to say it.  I am not confrontational so this did not come naturally for me.  I am still working on it...
 

...once again the length of my blog never ceases to amaze me.  I guess I had more to say than I thought!  Happy Teaching!