In this article, you'll find a personal experience of a teacher called Bill Rogers. According to Rogers, every single teacher is looking forward to running their classes in a smooth way. Nevertheless, there are many factors which lead to the opposite of what the teachers wish to! In Rogers’s article he discussed the following personalities with the perfect way to handle with them:• The Chatterbox
• The Clinger
• The Boycotter
• The Debater
A- The Chatterbox In a classroom, as Rogers was observing. The teacher was explaining a point and everyone was focusing on him. Suddenly, the chatterbox students start whispering with other students.
And he is literary explaining what happened in the class, as following:
Teacher: "Lisa and Emma, I'm trying to teach!"
Lisa: "I wasn't talking. Geez!"
Teacher: "Lisa, I saw you talking to Emma. Don't talk while I'm teaching. Pay attention."
Lisa: "C'mon, Emma just asked me about the work!"
Teacher: "Look — I don't care who said what.
(The teacher is naturally becoming irritated, especially by Lisa's tone and body language.)
Lisa: "But, Emma "
Teacher: "Lisa!" This loud response is followed by "One more word and I'll . . ." or a stand-up lecture: "I'm sick and tired of . . ." Either way, there is collateral damage.
#Strategies to Use:
The teacher should focus on the good side always and try to be nice to the students so they will feel that they have to be nice to him. The teacher should stop complaining and tell the students that he is tired if them. Instead, he should remind them about the class rule in a very lovely way! Eventually, students will get used and stop annoying or talk to each other.
2. Choose your tone of voice and body language.
These factors are very important to keep control over the class. Whenever the teacher is using his tone of voice correctly, the students will immediately know what the teacher is meaning. As well as the body language, it is very important that teachers make use of their body to deliver some messages to the classroom, otherwise, nobody will pay attention to them.
3. Try a strategic pause.
Whenever the teacher is paused between the commands he is saying, the students are paying more attention and all listen or waiting to what the teacher want to say. In the situation above, it was better if the teacher mentions the student's name without saying what wrong, which will make both Emma & Lisa stop talking.
4. Keep the focus on the primary issue by knowing how to redirect.
If we prevent the chatterbox students from talking and ask them to face front the board, in fact, we are addressing a primary behavior which is the teacher’s right is to explain and the other students’ right is learning! While the main trouble is not solved, the chatterbox students might turn back again to talk which mean the second behavior is not solved yet! So, it is better that the teacher partially agreeing (dignifying the students’ feelings) and then back again to the primary behavior.
#Strategies in Action:
Lisa and Emma are chatting and whispering while the teacher is explaining the lesson. The teacher is noticing someone is talking in the class. The teacher might pause for a while. Pausing is a good idea but not this time. So, the teacher directs Emma & Lisa by saying
"Emma. ., Lisa. ., facing this way and listening, thanks."
Lisa, complaining, says, "But we were discussing what you were explaining" The teacher is showing no interest to them and replay
“Maybe you were, but I want you to face the front and listen, thanks. You'll need to know this stuff’ this way the teacher has controlled the situation but quietly.
2- The Clinger
Next, During the story-time activity, teacher Rogers has noticed the next situation:
Halid: "Miss, Miss, I need you."
Teacher: "Just a minute, Halid."
Halid: "But Miss, I don't know what we're supposed to do next!"
Teacher: "Look, I can't be in two places at once, can I?"
Halid: (beginning to whine) "But Miss . . ."
Teacher: "Oh, all right!" She goes over to help him, reinforcing the unhelpful association that when he calls out, she will always attend to him.
Strategies to Use
1. Start with tactical ignoring. 2. Combine simple directions/reminders with hand signals. If tactical ignoring doesn’t work the teacher should think about something else. Something as simple as asking the students to raise his hand quietly” Raise your hand, thanks”. Or, at the very beginning of the semester, the teacher train the students and make them familiar that “shhh” means quiet until the teacher come to see what they want
3. Give children alternatives.
The teacher asks the student to ask other students before asking the teacher for help.
#Strategies in Action
So easily, as we have introduces before, the teacher could easily ignore the students. As what happened with Roger in the art class. Everyone has finished their art work, so the teacher decided to pass by each student to check their work. One student from that back was pulling the teachers’ leg” Come, Come to see my work, it is mine” So easily, the teacher just ignore the students until that one give up and back to his seat, raising his hand up!
3- The Boycotter
In grade three Mr.Rogers has monitored that all the students are busy working on their mapping project except David. He was staring at nothing and looks very bore. The teacher got so angry because she knows that he can do the work. So the next is what literary happened in the classroom:
Teacher: "David, why aren't you working?"
David: (sighs) "I dunno."
Teacher: "Is there a problem with the assignment?"
David: "Yeah . . . geography is boring."
Teacher: "Boring, eh? Well, that's too bad. You'll just have to sit there and be bored until that map is done. . . . I don't care if it takes all day!"
David hunkers down for the duration. The power struggle is on.
#Strategies to Use:
1. Give students a choice — with consequences attached.
The teacher can use her tone of voice to give the students two chooses, whether to work now or you will have to work on it later. Using the correct tone of voice could give the student the feeling that he is very responsible about the sequences of his choose. Moreover, free time is something with a huge value for grade three, where they will have a chance to play board games and computer activities.
2. Provide take-up time. Take-up time refers to the time after giving the commands to the student. The teacher may go and focus on other students, assuming that students are going to respond to her. This way is allowing the students to save his face.
3. Reestablish the relationship.
After anything happened between the teacher and the students it is very important that the teacher reestablishes the relationship by giving nice expressions like “I am really glad to see hard working at..”
#Strategies in Action:
If we returned back to what happened between Rogers and David, the teacher after noticing that David is not working, she might say: You will regret it later by working in your free time.
David would say: “That’s not fair”
The teacher reply: “It might be not fair but this is your choice”
Then, the teacher gives time to David to think without giving him any attention. After a while, sh will notice that David is working with the other. It would be very amazing if the teacher starts giving friendly feedback, like” I am happy that you are doing this”
4- The Debater
In every class, there is that student who wants the last word to be his. They always have thousands of reasons why it is not their faults. They keep judging the teachers about very silly issues, as we see in this upper-grade class that teacher Rogers has monitored:
“Teacher: "Jason, why aren't you at your desk?"
Jason: "I'm only borrowing a ruler from Dimi. Geez!"
Teacher: "Look, don't lie to me. You were not getting a ruler. I saw you. (The teacher is becoming angry as he sees the grin surface on Jason's face that says, I'm conning you.) I'm sick and tired of your behavior!"
Jason: "How do you know, anyway, whether I was getting a ruler or not? You can ask Dimi." (He folds his arms in mega huff mode. The whole class is watching.)
Teacher: "You think you're so smart, don't you. Well, let me tell you . . ."
Here begins a mini-lecture that sees Jason slouch back to his chair, fuming. Still smarting from the previous fracas, the teacher interprets Jason's leaning back in his chair with a scowl on his face as blatant disrespect. He goes over and challenges the student.
Teacher: "What do you think you're doing now, eh?"
Strategies to Use:
1. Avoid unnecessary power struggles.
So simply, the teacher avoid making any of the discussion above by pausing for a while until Jason noticed that what he is doing is anger the teacher.
2- Plan a follow-up: the teacher can predict the situation & think about a solution before coming to the class. This will give Jason no chance to do anything.
#Strategies in Action:
The following story isms real story that happened with Mr.Rogers in upper-grade class. The teacher noticed that one of the students did not start doing his task. I came up closer and asked him in a very friendly way:
Rogers: "Bradley, I notice that you haven't started. Any problems?"
Bradley: "Yeah, well, I haven't got a pen, have I?"
Rogers: “That's okay. You can borrow one of mine."
(Whenever I teach an upper-grade class, I take pens, pencils, rulers, and erasers with me — preventive management.)
Bradley muttered something, then said moodily, dropping his voice and eyes, "Yeah, well, I haven't got a ruler, have I?"
Here Rogers pointed to the box of materials on the teacher's desk: "You can borrow one of mine."
Bradley’s voice took on a frustrated edge as he said, "Yeah, well, I haven't got any paper. Gee!"
Poor chap! I was disrupting his game. I was tempted to be sarcastic, but Rogers said, "There's paper on my desk, as well." I pointed. "I'll come and see how you're doing later."
Then Rogers left the student and notching him later going to the teachers’ desk to bring all the needed materials. In the practice stage, the teacher encourages Bradley and making him feels welcome.
All that strategies can help you out with your students inside the classroom.
(Roger, 1996)
REFRENCES:
Roger, B. (1996). Five Tricky Personalities and How to Handle Them. Retrieved from
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/classmgmt/trickypersons.htm
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