7th grade problems

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7th grade problems
By Carolyn

Hi, Trish,

I have taught at the middle school level, and I teach fifth grade right now. Middle school is a challenge, but fifth grade can be, too.

I am expecting that you went through the rules, procedures, and expectations
the first day of school. This is extremely important. You might even want to spend several days going over these items. It is tedious and tiresome having to repeat, repeat, repeat, and remind, remind, remind. I am going to use an analogy here: It's like training a dog not to use the bathroom in your house. You have failures before you have successes. Once the dog realizes

that you won't allow him to use the bathroom in the house, he stops altogether. I hate to compare the kids to animals, and I certainly don't mean any offense to the kids, but they need the same sort of training, and it isn't always achieved on the first day.

The next time you go into your classroom, don't worry about cramming instruction into the entire class period. With middle schoolers, you sometimes have to get them over the "I'm too cool for school" attitude.

How do you do this?

1. You can do this by speaking in a firm, but friendly voice to them.

2. Refrain from raising your voice, as this gives them the impression that YOU have lost control of the situation. Definitely avoid yelling. This makes you look foolish to them.

3. Be very strict. By strict, I mean that you should stop the little things before they contribute to misbehavior. It's amazing how the little things contribute to misbehavior. Stop them before they start. For example, ask a student who is slouching in his seat or putting his head down to sit up straight. You don't have to announce this to the class--in fact, it would be preferable if you didn't call attention to him in this way--just walk back to him and whisper that he do this.

4. Stand next to a possible problem. If you stand beside a student, he is less likely to misbehave, since you are standing in his space and your nearness is reminding him that he has to shape up.

5. Avoid a sarcastic voice. Don't be confrontational. Low-key teachers actually have better control than those who resort to sarcasm and confrontation. Middle schoolers are likely to try to challenge you to upstage you if you do this. Just pull them aside and firmly let them know what they have done to violate your rules. Immediately turn off any arguments. You don't have to argue with the child. You are the adult, and you have made the decision.

6. Middle schoolers should work without talking. This is a rule in my room, as well. Talking generally translates into socializing and off-task behavior.

7. Have a system which shows the kids how they progress to a detention or trip to the office. I used to tell the kids that if they talked, they would receive a point. I would log it on my log sheet. If they talked, or otherwise broke another rule, then I gave them two points. I elected to place the student in time-out in another teacher's room. On the third offense (three points), I would call the parent and explain the problem. If that didn't work, then I would write a referral and send it to the office. Disruptive children need to be removed from your room at the FIRST sign of trouble. Don't allow it to get to the point where they are out of control. Target one student who is misbehaving and give him the consequence. Make a model out of one child in this way.

8. By all means, allow them to know that while their behaviior is unacceptable to you, you really care about them. Provide rewards, if necessary in your situation, if they do display appropriate behavior.

9. Take the time--OFTEN--to show that you have HIGH expectations of them. You WON'T accept a torn paper. You won't accept a paper which is written in pink ink. You won't accept a paper which isn't properly headed. This actually contributes to their respect of you. If they see that they can get away with the barest minimum, that's all they will give you. Don't be afraid to tell them, "I can see that you have put some effort into this work, but I KNOW that you can do better."

In summary, stopping problems before they start, having high expectations of kids, and showing genuine care for the students may turn them around. It just may not happen overnight. You just may be the teacher of the group who the kids like and respect. It does happen.