Scenario 1: Just as the class begins a quiet activity (a 10 minute writing) a student, the same one who’s done this several times this week, gets up and sharpens his pencil.
Teacher Thought Process for Handling the Situation
The Problem(s): 1. The student sharpening his pencil is becoming a disruption while the class is trying to concentrate on the task at hand. 2. The student is ill prepared for the activity, and thus is deducting time and learning away from his experience. 3. The student is not interested in the day’s activity, and is thus resorting to mindless duties to occupy his time otherwise.
Solution: Step 1: Before starting the day’s lesson, remind students that they must have all of their supplies necessary for class ready and at hand. Instruct students who are not prepared (i.e. unsharpened pencil) that this small frame of time, before the day’s lesson starts (i.e. while you are taking role, gathering homework, handing back work…etc.), is open for them to prepare themselves. Give the student who has become the nuisance the chance to sharpen his pencil(s) now, so that he won’t become a distraction later. If the activity begins and the student still gets up to sharpen his pencil, remind him of what you said at the beginning of class and stop him from going any further. This brings about…
Step 2: Tell him “Your time for sharpening pencils occurred at the beginning of class when you would not have caused a distraction to yourself and your working classmates. Please have a seat, and use a different pencil/pen.”
If the student argues and refuses (due to lack of another writing tool), remind him of his responsibility as a student to come prepared for class (having just one usable pen/pencil is not prepared). Lend the student a pen/pencil in the quickest and easiest way possible (either from you or a willing student), and then inform him that his daily participation grade has lost points. “Every time, this obstruction of class time occurs you will lose points from your daily attendance/participation grade, due to lack of preparedness. This deduction can occur any time you, or any other students, disturbs a class activity; whether it be the infamous pencil again and again, or any other method you use to step out of classwork. Each time you do not participate, you are damaging your daily grade in this class. Please return the pencil to its proper owner at the end of class”.
Reasoning:
It’s not worth the fight to tell him he’s not allowed to sharpen his pencil and then leave him at his own will to gain a different writing tool. He will then just distract students around him more by begging and whispering for their supplies. The other students shouldn’t have to suffer on his behalf.
If you tell him to sit there quietly and suffer for not being prepared (receiving a zero on the activity, while the other students complete it), neither your or the student gain anything. He doesn’t learn from the activity, and you fight more and more to keep him quiet while he becomes bored. In that case, you might as well have just let him sharpen the pencil.
Lending pencils again and again can become a nuisance, and it might become a financial burden. However, this method should lessen the amount of times you lend him a pencil. If his grade is going down each time he borrows, he will eventually come prepared. I would also consider only lending him your personal pencil once. If he has to borrow the teacher’s supplies again and again, he’s not learning anything. He’s also showing students that the teacher is a free source of supplies.
[My CT actually performed this method on one of her students today. The student did not have the proper writing tool for grading his spelling test. He was bugging the people around him. She stopped the noise, thanked the person next to him for lending a pen, and then told him to subtract five points from his test (which actually counts as a quiz grade/hw grade), because he was not prepared. In this case, the student did so obediently, and without a word, because he knew the rules. I hope to cultivate this same type of discipline and respect in my future classroom.]
Your choices are good ones, and subtracting points for a participation grade might be a choice, but your CT takes a chance when she instructs student to take 5 points off of grade for not being prepared because recent GA court decisions have concluded that a student's grade cannot be affected by his behavior, and the lack of a proper writing instrument may be connected to behavior. Check out Amanda and Ariel's reply to same scenario. (CK) Scenario 2: This is the third day Eloise has eaten part of her lunch during class. You can hear the papers rattling again today.
Teacher Thought Process for Handling the Situation:
The Problem(s):
Eloise is eating in class instead of participating/learning.
This is a continuous occurrence; meaning, Eloise is having a hard time finishing her lunch during the scheduled lunch period.
This is disturbing other students in the classroom from also participating.
This is disturbing my teaching. I cannot concentrate when a student is off task.
Solution: Step 1: Stop Eloise from eating in class. (This can be handled in either instance number one and/or two). Instance 1: If possible, stop her before class starts. Tell her “no food is allowed in the classroom. If I catch you eating during class time, I will call you out and write you up. These are class rules, always”. Instance 2: If the food comes out during class time, call her out and remind her of the class rules. Perform whatever discipline code is set for your classroom (whether it be: a write up, deduction of participation points, silent lunch, extra homework… etc.). The punishment should not be extreme, but the necessary “swat on the wrist” to teach the student better for next time.
Step 2: After class, when other students and teachers are not listening in, ask Eloise why she is not eating in the lunchroom. There could be many reasons why. Here are some example scenarios and solutions:
“Do you not have enough time?” – Eloise could be having a hard time finishing her lunch due to: long lunch lines, she’s catching up on hw while eating, or she is socializing too much.
If lunch lines are the issue, talk with her about her typical journey to and through the lunchroom. Figure out ways she could get to the front of the lines sooner (i.e. different path through hallways, faster and more attentive pace, being prepared when the lunch bell rings and not packing or picking up things…etc.)
If homework is the issue, talk to her about time management skills. What could she do about her schedule before and after school to allot more time towards her homework and studies?
If socializing is the problem, tell her she needs to prioritize and think farther down the road. “If you talk to your friends during lunch, and then eat in English class, when are you going to learn? At home? Class time is set aside for learning, and nothing else.”
If she is still having difficulties with finishing her lunch, help her think of other times during the day when she is allowed to eat. She could eat a bigger breakfast. If the students are allowed to eat between classes, she could pack small storable snacks in her purse/bookbag. This way she can rightfully eat a different periods throughout the day, and not be as hungry at lunch time (or during English class!).
“Are people bothering you at lunch that are keeping you from eating?” It could be that Eloise is being bullied about eating, and thus she is afraid to eat in front of people. She hides it during class when the bullies are no longer around. However, this doesn’t solve much, because now she is being stopped by the teacher and put on the spot in front of the entire classroom. If bullying is the issue, higher administration will need to come into the action. Whether Eloise confesses about the bullies or not, it would be wise to inform whichever administrators/teachers are on lunch duty to watch Eloise and make sure there are no problems interfering with her lunch time.
Great thoughtful answers here, but you might not always have the time to think all these thoughts or have the discussion with Eloise during your filled teacher day, so mentioning to all class (as class begins) that no eating is allowed in class should address the problem, but if Eloise still pulls out her lunch after the announcement, you will have to address her individually and to avoid taking up much class time, I would take lunch and tell her she can have it back at end of class. I have seen many teachers allow students to eat in class (which I do not find helpful), so she may be used to this behavior. (CK)
ENED 4415
October 21, 2011
TOSS Scenario 1 + 2---Whatcha Gonna Do?
Scenario 1:
Just as the class begins a quiet activity (a 10 minute writing) a student, the same one who’s done this several times this week, gets up and sharpens his pencil.
Teacher Thought Process for Handling the Situation
The Problem(s):
1. The student sharpening his pencil is becoming a disruption while the class is trying to concentrate on the task at hand.
2. The student is ill prepared for the activity, and thus is deducting time and learning away from his experience.
3. The student is not interested in the day’s activity, and is thus resorting to mindless duties to occupy his time otherwise.
Solution:
Step 1: Before starting the day’s lesson, remind students that they must have all of their supplies necessary for class ready and at hand. Instruct students who are not prepared (i.e. unsharpened pencil) that this small frame of time, before the day’s lesson starts (i.e. while you are taking role, gathering homework, handing back work…etc.), is open for them to prepare themselves. Give the student who has become the nuisance the chance to sharpen his pencil(s) now, so that he won’t become a distraction later.
If the activity begins and the student still gets up to sharpen his pencil, remind him of what you said at the beginning of class and stop him from going any further. This brings about…
Step 2: Tell him “Your time for sharpening pencils occurred at the beginning of class when you would not have caused a distraction to yourself and your working classmates. Please have a seat, and use a different pencil/pen.”
Reasoning:
[My CT actually performed this method on one of her students today. The student did not have the proper writing tool for grading his spelling test. He was bugging the people around him. She stopped the noise, thanked the person next to him for lending a pen, and then told him to subtract five points from his test (which actually counts as a quiz grade/hw grade), because he was not prepared. In this case, the student did so obediently, and without a word, because he knew the rules. I hope to cultivate this same type of discipline and respect in my future classroom.]
Your choices are good ones, and subtracting points for a participation grade might be a choice, but your CT takes a chance when she instructs student to take 5 points off of grade for not being prepared because recent GA court decisions have concluded that a student's grade cannot be affected by his behavior, and the lack of a proper writing instrument may be connected to behavior. Check out Amanda and Ariel's reply to same scenario. (CK)
Scenario 2:
This is the third day Eloise has eaten part of her lunch during class. You can hear the papers rattling again today.
Teacher Thought Process for Handling the Situation:
The Problem(s):
Solution:
Step 1:
Stop Eloise from eating in class. (This can be handled in either instance number one and/or two).
Instance 1: If possible, stop her before class starts. Tell her “no food is allowed in the classroom. If I catch you eating during class time, I will call you out and write you up. These are class rules, always”.
Instance 2: If the food comes out during class time, call her out and remind her of the class rules. Perform whatever discipline code is set for your classroom (whether it be: a write up, deduction of participation points, silent lunch, extra homework… etc.). The punishment should not be extreme, but the necessary “swat on the wrist” to teach the student better for next time.
Step 2:
After class, when other students and teachers are not listening in, ask Eloise why she is not eating in the lunchroom. There could be many reasons why. Here are some example scenarios and solutions:
- “Are people bothering you at lunch that are keeping you from eating?” It could be that Eloise is being bullied about eating, and thus she is afraid to eat in front of people. She hides it during class when the bullies are no longer around. However, this doesn’t solve much, because now she is being stopped by the teacher and put on the spot in front of the entire classroom. If bullying is the issue, higher administration will need to come into the action. Whether Eloise confesses about the bullies or not, it would be wise to inform whichever administrators/teachers are on lunch duty to watch Eloise and make sure there are no problems interfering with her lunch time.
Great thoughtful answers here, but you might not always have the time to think all these thoughts or have the discussion with Eloise during your filled teacher day, so mentioning to all class (as class begins) that no eating is allowed in class should address the problem, but if Eloise still pulls out her lunch after the announcement, you will have to address her individually and to avoid taking up much class time, I would take lunch and tell her she can have it back at end of class. I have seen many teachers allow students to eat in class (which I do not find helpful), so she may be used to this behavior. (CK)