Any normal class will have a few students who can be termed as the troublemakers or the mischief mongers. Bad behaviour need not necessarily be due to the desire to break rules. It could be due to abuse or neglect at home or one could be simply restless in class. Punitive measures may not always be effective. Teachers training focuses on imposing strict rules and imposing punishments. This yields only short term results.
When students misbehave, do not act reflexively. Rather, look for the underlying reasons behind the misbehavior and accordingly deal with the situation. Try to look for a pattern in their behavior. Are they obtaining something desirable or escaping something undesirable? What happens before and after? When does it generally happen and whose attention are they trying to gain by doing so.
Do not think that the misconduct cannot be due to academic pressure. At times when students are unable to cope with academics their misbehavior could be a result of their frustration.
Do not confront every minor infraction. If a student is not paying attention or is briefly talking in the class, a hand signal or the look may be better than verbally reprimanding them. Verbal reprimand may result in students storing negative emotions like anger which will again lead to misbehavior.
When you send a student to the corner, it evokes feelings of shame and embarrassment giving a severe blow to their self esteem. Instead designate peace or time out corners. When a student is feeling agitated he can himself go to the peace corner, do some breathing exercises, reflect on his thoughts and when at peace can rejoin the class. Since the student will be going to the corner himself, it will not be termed as a punishment or have any stigma attached.
Do not adopt measures like providing red dots or writing names of students who misbehave on the board and expose them to public humiliation. This can make matters worse. Instead talk to them in private and encourage them to reflect on their wrongdoings, the reason behind it and take responsibility.
Your relationship with the student should be based on trust and empathy. Do not control students and demand perfect behavior. Support them in their daily learning and activities. Your proactive strategies should be such that help students develop social and emotional skills and keep a control over their own behavior.
If your school management system has an incident reporting application, it will be a good idea to keep a record of students who frequently get themselves into trouble. They may need professional help.
Source: edutopia
