Laurel+Goldberg

Laurel Goldberg

October 21, 2011
Three students continually talk during class, and then insist they aren’t talking. Unfortunately, this is a common scenario that I've already seen in my TOSS placement a few times. The easiest way to deal with this problem is usually to separate the disruptive students. If this has been a recurring issue with these students, they need to be spread out apart from each other. It would also be necessary to ensure that the students in question are not moved next to other students they will talk to during class. It would probably be best to move the student(s) to the front of the class so that their behavior can be monitored with proximity control. If, for whatever reason, moving the students is ineffective in addressing the problem, it would be necessary to take further disciplinary action. I would then give each student a writing assignment for homework, which I would take for a grade. In their papers, the students would have to explain why speaking during class time is disruptive to other students, how it affects their own learning, and how it is disrespectful to me and others around them. Hopefully, this would deter the students from continually disrupting class. However, if the problem persists, I would then seek contact with the students' parents. This way the parents will be made aware of the issue, hopefully handle it accordingly at home, and not be surprised if I send their child to the front office if/when they disrupt class again.

[Great thoughts here. I have found that proximity works wonders. If you move closer to students who are talking, you often do not need to stop what you are doing and they will start acting the way you expect them to act in that space. If proximity is not working, then you can pause and hold a brief conversation with the class about your expectations and what can be done to help students meet them. -RR]

The class is shortened because of a pep rally. Part of being a teacher is being prepared for the unexpected and being flexible in your planning. Fire drills, book fairs, pep rallys, teacher-parent conferences, standardized testing, etc. are all things that can potentially disrupt or shorten a class period. It is most-often the case that the teacher will be informed well ahead of time when the class period is going to be shortened. Knowing this information ahead of time allows teachers to plan accordingly. I would simply rid the lesson of any content that could go, give part of the lesson for homework, and/or divide the lesson into two class periods rather than completing it in one. If class is shortened unexpectedly, I would administer the remainder of the lesson the next class period if the content was imperative to student learning and understanding for future lessons.

[I agree. Nothing bothered me more as a teacher than unexpected interruptions. Although, I would never complain to the students about interruptions. Instead I would revise my plans for the next couple days to make sure that the most significant parts of what I had planned could be accomplished. Most likely pep rallies are planned in advance, though. -RR]