Appropriate consequence ideas?

amother

Indigo

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 12:29 am

I will be teaching middle school for the first time. I am looking for ideas of effective, appropriate consequences for misbehavior. Nothing major like calling parents but some minor things before that. For students that are disrespectful or defiant or won't do the work, what are some things you can do?

amother

Forestgreen

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 12:47 am

Disrupting the class or disrespect gets sent out of class, an extra assignment to complete in their own time, or missing recess. Passing notes, the note will be read out loud in front of the entire class. (You can have the student come up read it.) Cheating on a test, the automatically gets an F.

amother

Denim

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 2:09 am

Please do not take away recess. The kids need a break. Taking away even part of recess guarantees that my kids come home cookoo.

I don't mind if there is a reasonable extra homework assignment.

Honestly, you should work on an incentive program, rather than thinking of ways to discipline. My kids had teachers that had a jar or chart. Every day there was potential to earn X amount of points. The kids voted on the treat. Extra recess, a game, ice cream party.... The class earned it afew times a year.

Regarding finish the work in class, some of my kids had Jewish magazines in class, like Zeman, Bina,aim and mishpacha jr. They were able to read quietly once they finished their classwork.

amother

Pink

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 2:14 am

I do not think it is at all appropriate for a teacher to read a note passed during class. That is a breach of privacy and will only lead to resentment. I’m not saying not to discipline. By all means note passing is unacceptable, but please think about the students’ emotions.

Aylat

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 2:16 am

amother wrote:

Definitely don't do this! Depending on what is written it could embarrass them, you or another kid in the class. If I intercept a note I crumple it up and put it in the bin, definitely without reading it, normally without even pausing in my teaching. De-escalate.

Cheating I am very strict on because it is an integrity issue. However it's important to get to the bottom of why the kid is cheating. Trouble understanding the material? Pressure from parents to do well? Didn't bother studying? And then address that. Build up the kid whenever possible, don't let them get labeled or label themselves as bad or a troublemaker.

Aylat

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 2:20 am

amother wrote:

Honestly, you should work on an incentive program, rather than thinking of ways to discipline. My kids had teachers that had a jar or chart. Every day there was potential to earn X amount of points. The kids voted on the treat. Extra recess, a game, ice cream party.... The class earned it afew times a year.

.

This is great. Being strict and having good classroom discipline doesn't mean punishment all the time, it can be done by having high expectations, and rewarding pupils for meeting them.

amother

Taupe

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 10:34 am

I also highly recommend incentivizing good behavior. It creates a much more positive, communal classroom environment. Catch them being good and reward them for it! It nearly always works.

On the rare occasion that I’ve had to punish for excessive talking, I’ve used silent lunch. Nothing essential is being taken away like physical activity. It’s more of a natural consequence for using the learning time to chitchat- lunch time for chit chat is taken away. And of course they still get to eat.

smss

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 11:28 am

The note thing is abusive. The key to classroom management is having a good relationship with your students. Shaming them in public destroys that and will also only hurt your classroom management in the long run.

You could do a point system where they start each day with a certain number and lose/earn points for various things. Then every week or 2 they can use their points to buy privileges or other rewards...

smss

Sun, Aug 26 2018, 11:31 am

amother wrote:

Please do not take away recess. The kids need a break. Taking away even part of recess guarantees that my kids come home cookoo.

I don't think a few minutes is terrible. Maybe your kids lost recess because they were cuckoo those days not the other way around 😉

chummus

Mon, Aug 27 2018, 10:11 am

Use a point system. Only give out points for those who are deserving. Then you can use those points to "purchase" prizes at the end of the month. I always like to use a reward system instead of a consequence system.

SimchaSays

Mon, Aug 27 2018, 10:43 am

Look into responsive classroom. It teaches how to set up expectations and maintain them which sets the students for success and decreases overall behavior issues.

Natural consequence works best for me, or loss of privilege. Make some scenarios before so you have an idea of what you want to do time of. I will also pull over a student privately and let them know my expectations of them are higher, and let them know what is expected. I will also hear them out as there usually is a reason for their behavior, or they need to admit they had no reason which hey don't feel good about. There are no discussions or arguments during classtime- do what your told, we will discuss after. Let them know your policy and WHY- so everyone can learn in the best environment possible.

Be careful with too much incentives, because if a kid decides they don't want it they have no reason to listen. Plus they should be learning to do right because it's right, not for a price. Shaming a kid in front of the class is also a big no-no for me- they don't gain anything but embarrassment, and you lose respect.