Managing the Disruptive Class

Written by: Lady Lit • Edited by: Wendy Finn
Updated Dec 13, 2011 • Related Guides: Classroom Management | Disruptive Behavior | School Year

Part I and Part II of this series have provided teachers with suggestions on dealing with those students who always want to act out and disrupt the quiet classroom environment. Strategies are needed to help teachers deal with those students who habitually and intentionally disobey instructions.

Problems, Problems

At this point in the school year, teachers are tired of dealing with problematic and disruptive behavior from students. Teachers have exhausted their means with regard to implementing classroom management strategies and still have students who refuse to refrain from talking as well as those students who will do anything and everything to gain the attention of their peers. Teachers are just trying to last the remainder of the school year and are looking forward to their break.

Try Isolating the Disruptive Student

Here are some suggestions to help you prevent from pulling your hair out.

Isolate the student who is disrupting your class to an area of your classroom where no one sits. If you have to, move the students from the rows that surround the student and give him no one to talk to and no one to bother. If you have a full class, this suggestion may not work. If you have a table against a wall, move the student to that particular table so that the student is all alone and has no one to disrupt or bother.

Isolation and or alienation can work wonders and can increase the attentiveness of your class and eliminate those unnecessary disruptions.

Revoke Meaningful Privileges

Also, take away some meaningful reward or consequence for this student. If you allow your students to earn eating/drinking privileges, do not allow this student to eat or drink in class. If the student already has these privileges, revoke them. After all, if the privilege is that meaningful to the student, he will reform his problematic behavior and work hard to regain the privilege.

Avoid Putting the Student in the Hallway

Remember, that as a teacher you are liable, so I would avoid sticking students in the hallway. Generally students are notorious for roaming campus and end up getting in even deeper trouble. As a teacher, you are liable for whatever actions the student engages. This means that if a student does something serious to another student or injures himself, that student as well as his or her parents may sue you. I realize that this is not fair, but you have to be careful as to your actions as a classroom teacher