Discipline, such a wonderful thing. In the aftermath of yesterday, I went searching for advice on classroom management. I knew enough to know I didn’t know enough. Celia, my team-teacher, suggested keeping the class over for every minute I had to wait for them. I like this idea, but it would only be appropriate for times during which the entire class was noisy. Mary, who has a reputation for austerity and severity after 28 years in theology at Ward, gave me all sorts of advice. I could send students to her room during class, and she would discipline them (read, humiliate and punish). She gave me these business cards, bathroom passes that allow a student to leave only 3 times during the semester. She also suggested calling parents of misbehaving students (which Renee and Annie also suggested).
Well today these ideas became reality. One of my students, precious child of God, is the ringleader of misbehavior. He enjoys being the class clown and has an affinity for ignoring whatever I tell him to do. Today that all came to a stop. We did the Privilege Walk in our class today, which is a serious and sensitive exercise that asks about familial circumstances and experiences. I warned students that I would not tolerate any disruption or disrespect (talking, laughing, giggling, etc), due to the gravity of this exercise. The first act would result in a visit with Mr. Duggins, our Academic Dean. Of course, this student, precious child of God, was the first one to laugh, or rather smirk. So, I sent him to Mr. Duggins. Not that he went the first time I told him, but eventually he did. (P.S. The best advice I’ve been given about teaching is to act like you’re in control and that the classroom will behave exactly how you expect it to. Works like a charm.) After much prodding from Annie, I also decided to follow up with a phone call home, which was awkward, but effective. Discipline FTW.
I have a cousin who teaches at a "rough" school in the Minneapolis Public Schools system. At 6'2", she can be intimidating. She uses this to her advantage and only wears 3-inch heels to work for the first 2 weeks with new students. Kids are less likely to threaten someone towering over them. She said that and acting like she's in control, even when a kid is threatening her and she's actually scared, is what works for her. Now, I'm not saying you have to go get 3-inch heels to wear all the time. :P Just another interesting tactic.
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