What to Do When Kids Won’t Follow the Rules (Part 2)
Deep in their hearts EVERY student has the same question: “What are you going to do about it?” Effective teachers provide a quick, calm, and fair answer.
In Part 1 of this blog post, I shared three suggestions to help teachers dealing with an awful class. Non-compliant students need structure and repeated review of objective expectations.
If you’re dealing with very difficult students, you already know; that isn’t enough.
Your students may not be as verbally defiant as this group, but in their hearts EVERY student has the same question as Shemika: “What are you going to do about it?”
That leads to the continuation of my list…
18 things to try when your class is awful (#4-8)
Suggestion #4 Have objective consequences and enforce them universally.
Here are my 4 consequences:
Warning. This sounds something like, “Susie, you’re out of your seat which is breaking rule #1. This is your warning.” “Mason, you’re talking across tables, which is breaking rule #2. This is your warning.” There’s no emotion, it’s just a simple statement of fact.
Verbal “4 questions”. The four questions are, “What are you doing? What should you be doing? Are you doing it? What are you going to change?” This technique is used school-wide at my school, so implementing it into my consequences was a natural fit.
Written 4 questions reflection and seat change. For the 3rd offense, the student is moved to a secluded seat. I hand them a worksheet with the 4 questions. They are not allowed to leave nor participate in classroom activities until I review and approve their thoughtful completion of this page. You could also collaborate with a neighboring teacher to complete this step in a buddy classroom.
Call to Parents
“I don’t teach French… I teach students. And (deep breath) learning to operate as a human in society is the #1 thing this group of students needs. ”
The key to making this work is firm, unemotional, and universal enforcement. In tough classes, I guarantee someone will test your rules on the very first day. You MUST implement the consequences immediately and unemotionally. Likewise, perhaps a sweet, compliant, straight-A student will get out of their seat to get a tissue; you MUST give them a warning just like anyone else. Every. Single. Time.
Note - if a student refuses to complete a step, move on to the next step. Don’t (for example) have an extended conversation with a student on step 2. They answer quickly, or they move up to step 3. Likewise if they refuse to complete the reflection form satisfactorily; move on to a parent call and then administration.
Suggestion #5 Call home early. Try very hard to talk to the parent on a voice phone call.
Last fall I had a very challenging class. When I saw the roster, I knew the class was going to be a handful, so I actually called parents before school started, introduced myself, and shared my classroom rules. I also talked about the great things about the class and how excited I was to be able to share my love of French with their child.
Parent calls must be a step in your classroom management plan.
Sadly, I had to implement my classroom management plan on the very first day. That evening I stayed after school for more than an hour calling the 5 parents whose students had hit consequence #4.
Is this pleasant or easy? Not really. Is it a magical solution? Of course not. But, knowing I would call home really did impact students’ behavior in my class.
I also hear teachers argue that phone calls home are time consuming, that the parent numbers don’t always work, and that some parents don’t speak English. And… the unpleasant fact is that some parents may respond to you with hostility or blame. All of this is true. That doesn’t change the fact that partnering with parents is an important part of our job and is even more critical when a student is struggling in our classes. For more on this topic, stay posted for my upcoming blog series about how to talk with challenging parents.
Suggestion #6: Document everything
This is pretty easy to do when your classroom management plan is objective. Just a quick note on a spreadsheet or paper chart - on date, Johnny reached consequence #3 for breaking rule #2 - and you have a fairly indisputable record of what went on.
It’s very important to document all parent phone contact or contact attempts - again, this can be documented quickly on a simple running spreadsheet.
This documentation protects you and gives you evidence to take to administration when you can’t resolve a classroom behavior issue on your own. Most administrators will be sympathetic when you ask for help after documenting this type of in-class behavior intervention.
Suggestion #7: Avoid Power Struggles
We’ve all had experiences where you ask a student to do something - let’s say, take out their earbuds - and the student refuses. My natural tendency is to stand over the student, hands on hips, and insist they comply. This sets up a power struggle and often, even when you win… you lose.
Here’s a gentler approach.
First Request. Casually approach the student and say, “Hey, Ronnie, can you do me a favor? I need you to take your earbuds out.” Walk away.
By phrasing it as a request and walking on, you’re giving Ronnie voice and choice in his compliance. At least 50% of the time, the student will pause (and maybe sigh and roll his eyes) and then do what you asked. Crisis averted.
If the student doesn’t comply, casually circle around a second time and say something like, “Hey Ronnie, this is the 2nd time I’ve asked you. I need you to put your earbuds away.” Walk away again.
Again, you’re making it clear; the student has a choice. You’re not ‘forcing’ him to do anything… but you also haven’t forgotten.
On the third pass, if the student hasn’t complied I usually kneel down so I’m eye-level or slightly lower than the student. This helps reduce the aggression of the coming exchange. I firmly and calmly say, “Ronnie, this is the third time I’ve asked you to remove your earbuds. You know that’s a school rule, and if you refuse I have no choice but to take it up a level.” I’ll usually pause for effect, then smile and walk on.
“My natural tendency is to stand over the student, hands on hips, and insist they comply. This sets up a power struggle and often, even when you win… you lose.”
On the fourth pass, I’ll ask directly, “Ronnie, are you refusing to do what I ask?” At this point, the student is pretty invested in his defiance, but asking directly “Are you refusing?” sometimes jolts the student into compliance.
When it doesn’t work after all these attempts, I tell the student, “I’m really sorry we have to go there, but you’re giving me no choice but to take this up to admin / call your parents / whatever the next disciplinary step is”. And then, be sure to follow through with next-level consequences.
I would say this approach has about a 90% success rate with difficult students. The power of the approach lies in your calm confidence in your own authority, while at the same time respecting the student’s autonomy in his own behavioral choices.
Suggestion #8: Shift your focus from teaching content to teaching behavior
This one was really tough for me, because I believe my content is extremely important. But the fact is, we can’t get to the content if classroom behavior is out of control. Maybe that means we need to take time every single day to review the rules or to practice classroom procedures. Maybe I need to model taking notes or taking turns talking and listening. Some days, you might only get through 30% of your lesson with this class. On those days, I remind myself that I don’t teach French… I teach students. And (deep breath) learning to operate as a human in society is the #1 thing this group of students needs.
So, there’s no magic bullet. Just calm, even enforcement of objective rules. You can do it. And click here for more suggestions for dealing with difficult classes.
