Even though teaching is one of the most rewarding career fields there are, the cold hard truth of the matter is every single teacher (EVERY SINGLE teacher) is going to have to end up dealing with trouble students and bad behavior that needs to be addressed properly or things can quickly spiral out of control.
Unfortunately, too terribly many new teachers are just kind of “thrown into the mix” when it comes to dealing with bad behavior in a classroom, with no real training or insight into how to properly solve these kinds of sticky situations without escalating them further.
And while the information below isn’t exactly the “be-all, end-all” guide to dealing with bad behavior in a classroom, it’s definitely more than enough to get you darted down the path of properly handling these situations.
Let’s get right to it!
Don’t hesitate to immediately defuse the situation
The very first thing that you need to do as a teacher dealing with bad behavior in a classroom is to immediately defuse the situation just as quickly and as completely as humanly possible.
It is not in your best interests, your students’ best interests, or that the “troublemaker’s” best interests to try and brush the issue under the rug or just kind of wait until it peters out all on its own. This is a sure fire way of guaranteeing that the situation becomes even worse, as you’ll be (unconsciously and with no intention whatsoever) condoning the bad behavior.
You need to act quickly and decisively to have any chance whatsoever at diffusing the situation.
Don’t argue with your students
Secondly, you need to make it a real priority to avoid at all costs arguing with your students when you’re diffusing a situation.
You need to grab the control frame immediately, influencing and imposing your position on that student without giving them any opportunity to spot weaknesses in your unified front and then exploiting them in front of your classroom.
You need to have control of the situation throughout, and reducing yourself to an argument with a student is only going to lessen your perceived control in the classroom.
This is a situation that you simply cannot afford to find yourself in.
Speak clearly, speak forcefully, and make sure that the troublemaking student understands completely that you are in control and that you will not be baited into an emotional situation.
Don’t lecture or yell at your students
Finally, and this should really go without saying, you should avoid at all costs lecturing or yelling at your students.
Blowing your top is only going to have a disastrous impact on the long term relationship that you’ll need to have with each and every one of your students, and is not exactly the kind of situation that you want to find yourself in.
Instead, as calm as can be throughout the process, waiting until the situation has been diffused to logically outline the issues with the offending student and making sure that they understand why they are being disciplined.