How to deal with a badly behaved class

STICK to the ROUTINE

The first week honeymoon period is over and your new class has gone feral. How will you find your way back from the brink, asks Paul Dix…

Your first term as a new teacher started brilliantly. The children responded to you immediately and were thoroughly engaged in what you were teaching. Putting aside your behaviour plan, you thought you were the chosen one, a natural born teacher, and dismissed colleagues who warned of a ‘honeymoon period’. Then the magic wore off. They wouldn’t listen when you called for quiet, they were wriggling in assembly, and you have heard concerned grumblings about the noise level in your room. In less than a week, a beautifully curious and engaged Year 5 class have broken bad. Ryan has stopped working and started questioning, “Do I really need to do this, Miss?” “Miss, have you got a boyfriend?” “Miss, is penis a rude word?” Tyrone won’t come in from play, “I aint comin’ though” (lengthy teeth kissing), and Monica looks disturbingly like an unwrinkled Dale Winton – having sprayed herself with fake tan. It seems the fascination of a new teacher has created a false dawn.

How do you respond?

A Call in ‘the beast’ You have noticed that one colleague in particular seems to have absolutely no problems with behaviour. She often talks about it in the staffroom. You go and ask her for support.

B Drill the routines You go back to the basic routines and decide to get them right before attempting anything else.

C Appeal to their better nature You reason with the class and ask them to pledge that they will improve their behaviour immediately.

If you chose…

A Call in ‘the beast’ Miss Long is not hard to find. Her voice whips down corridors like a lizard’s tongue, verbally lashing children with old school flourish. As you ask for help over a cup of tea, you are surprised at how quickly the tears well up in your eyes.

You explain how the children have become unruly almost overnight and, before you have finished, she is on her feet with a sense of urgency. She clearly has a plan. As you follow her out of the room she tells you to sit down, have a cup of tea and relax while she has a word with the children. After 15 minutes she returns with a big smile and tells you to go and enjoy the afternoon’s teaching.

As you walk back into the classroom, you can see you’re are not the only one to have shed a few tears. The boys are cowed and some of the girls look shell- shocked. Ryan is subdued, Tyrone has a 1000-yard stare and Monica is scrubbing manically. The other children are clearly shaken. They are quiet, over- polite – frightened, even. You realise you have walked into the aftermath of a massacre. Having called in the attack dog, the trust you so carefully built has been ripped apart. It sends a clear message to the class: I don’t know how to deal with your behaviour.

Talking behaviour
> Is it ever right to read the riot act to the whole class?
> Do all schools need at least one scary teacher?
> Are the teachers who are best at managing behaviour the most aggressive?

B Drill the routines

Although there are individuals who are causing concern, you decide to prioritise the routines the whole class are getting wrong. You are specific about the behaviours you don’t want and the behaviours you do. To help everyone, you display the two routines that you want to change as a set of symbols.

After your introduction, you immediately start catching children who are doing the right thing. It works brilliantly but, wary of another false dawn, you persist. Children who choose not to follow the routine are immediately given small, incremental sanctions. Counting down from five as you wait for quiet – while picking out those who have already settled – is becoming a useful routine. The seating plan that got lost in the excitement of the new term gets reinstated – another good idea. And you drill the new routine for group work by noticing each child who follows it.

The class gradually reach a base level of behaviour that you are happy with, for now. There is more to be done, but you have changed the direction of travel. The whole class routines have had a positive effect on Ryan, Tyrone and Monica, but you are aware they are going to need more work (and Monica is going to need wet wipes).

Talking behaviour
> How long do you need to drill a routine before it is embedded?
> What are the advantages of having the routines you are teaching displayed with symbols, not words?
> Why might a countdown to silence be more effective than hands up?

C Appeal to their better nature You gather the class together to speak to them about what has been happening. They are a lovely group of children who behaved well until a few days ago. You are sure that a quiet word will go a long way.

After some difficulty in getting the children quiet, you explain how their behaviour has made you feel and how upset you have been. You explain that you don’t want to be ‘one of the shouty teachers’ and that you would much rather work in a spirit of equality and mutual trust. The children listen intently. They make all the right noises in all the right places. They promise to be better behaved; the sincerity is palpable. The afternoon goes brilliantly and you are sure that they have turned the corner.

However, the following morning you find you have to shout unusually loudly to get your voice heard. Yesterday seems like another country and the children are breaking their promises faster than a newly elected politician. There are no routines for better behaviour and you worry that you may have been too unspecific. Staring into your mug of tea at breaktime, your faith in humanity has been shaken. To see one false dawn is a mistake, but to see two is just plain naivety. You remove all thoughts of being a natural born teacher and resolve to learn your craft thoroughly.

Talking behaviour

> Why can’t you rely on the good nature of most of the children?
> Is it right to connect their behaviour with how you feel?
Are there any dangers lurking?
> Is there such a thing as a natural born teacher?

WHICH APPROACH DID YOU USE?

A Your behaviour style: too hasty

Slow down and take a moment to think about who might be the best colleague to help you with behaviour. Many schools have maverick teachers who are a shade too aggressive in managing behaviour. They get their needs met, but no one else’s. Find support from a teacher who will guide and stand alongside you but never take over. Look for the teacher who can manage behaviour rather than the one who forces children to comply.

B Your behaviour style: righteous reinforcer

Even experienced teachers can come unstuck when they forget to reinforce the routines. A focus on important routines at any time in the term can sharpen everyone’s behaviour. Before introducing an activity, define, display and drill it. The best teachers’ routines are so engrained they can transform a classroom in the blink of an eye.

C Your behaviour style: too much love

Children learn very young how to make the right noises when an adult is upset with them. Pleading with children to behave better has never worked. After all, ‘behaving better’ means something different to each child. When a child promises to be ‘better behaved’ it is a lovely sentiment, but that’s all it is.