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An Ounce of Prevention

© Thomas Robertson

While my high school classmates and I were doing our algebra seatwork, the teacher got up from her desk and said, "I have to go to the office to take care of some paperwork. Do all of you think you can control yourselves until I get back? If you don't think you can, you can come with me."

The whole time that I was in public school, this was the only time that I was ever in a class which behaved without an overseer. That is mainly because this was the only time that the teacher took preventive measures before leaving the room.

There is a lot of talk about how to handle misbehavior once it occurs. Indeed, when I started my web site on disciplinary techniques, I intended for that web site to serve as an arsenal against the students. And I still say that such weapons are still handy in case you need to defend yourself. But if you want happy students in a happy classroom, you need something besides a stockpile of ammunition.

There are some teachers who insist that they are not so hostile. If you send a child to the time-out corner, are you punishing the child? "Oh, no! That's only allowing the child a cooling-off period!" If you hold a child inside during recess to finish a late assignment, are you punishing the child? "Oh, no! That's only allowing 'logical consequences'!"

But try explaining that to a child! No matter how softly you speak to the child, and no matter how fluently you recite these euphemisms, the child could still see you as the policeman, judge, jury, and bailiff.

And are these measures effective in managing a classroom? Yes, but only to an extent. Jacob Kounin did a study in which he compared the most and the least effective classroom managers. He found very little difference in their ways of handling misbehavior. Rather, he found significant differences in their ways of keeping misbehavior from happening in the first place.

What are some ways that this could be done? These are just suggestions; maybe you could add some more:

Ask for a pledge for good behavior.

I have found it effective to tell the class, "Raise your hand if you think you can study quietly for the rest of the class period."

Observe when the class is becoming restless.

If the students are becoming fidgety, that could be a sign that you need to switch from an organized class activity to a study period or vice-versa.