Students who drive you to distraction

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Home : 2003 : February : 28

Students who drive you to distraction
By Cathy-Dee

For those of you who are really frustrated and wondering if teaching is for you, HANG IN THERE! We all have years (sometimes 2 or 3 in a row) where the kids just seem to know our number and get to us on a regular basis.
But we also do have years where our classes are great and we just love the entire year.
I've been teaching now for 10 years and I am having one of those frustrating years this year. I have 3 (had 4 but one just moved) boys who are wearing me out this year. One has severe behaviour problems and constantly touches everything. There are days I want to send him to the office and have

them keep him there all day. Those are the days I take a deep breath and make it through the day and go home right after school and do things I like to do.

For some groups it seems impossible to make positive changes (especially when you have 6 or 7 in one room). I'm sure you have tried a lot of different things, but don't stop now - something will come along that will make a difference.

And many of us have had that "yelling" come over us and we don't know what happened. I know from my own experience when I'm tired or sick I am more likely to get to the "loud" voice than if I make sure I'm getting my rest. I've been trying this year to take a minute before reacting to calm myself down. Sometimes I just walk into the hallway and mentally shut myself down before going back into the room.

And although you may have heard these tips before perhaps there's something new you haven't tried that might help.

- watch for those good kids and praise them - I think this has to be the hardest thing - we actually often tend to ignore the good kids - and instead we focus all our energies on those "behaviour" kids.
- I've been looking for well-behaved children in my class this entire week. The negative behaviors are still there - but I have noticed 3 or 4 of my students are really trying to be noticed for good behaviour.
- I've started giving good behaviour stickers, awards, prizes and so now the kids do not know when I might catch them being good. This is hard for me as I don't always think about it if things are going well. So by making it a focal point it has made me stay aware of those quiet, wonderful students who often do not get praised or recognized enough.

- use a quiet voice all day. I've started talking quieter and doing things like
a) everyone who is listening please put your hands on your hips and then I quickly put up stickers for everyone who is following my directions. I have some chatters who are realizing they are missing out - hopefully this will cut down on their chatting.

And this time of year also tends to be harder on many of us - we are tired of the Winter, we have report cards on our minds, we've had too many inside recesses, etc., Wait until Easter and you may find things will just seem better or at least you'll be able to handle them better. And we can all hope for peaceful, quiet classrooms for next year!