Crazy Class

Photo by : Will Ellis

The class above could have had so many e numbers that their eyes have turned red. This could be the start of some challenging behaviour.

For the first lesson with pupils who are new to you you may find that the class is often compliant with your wishes. This is what I call the honeymoon period. Depending on the behaviour of the pupils this can last for minutes or the whole lesson. The kids are checking you out at first because you are an unknown quantity. ( they may have heard of you by reputation). Once they feel a bit more comfortable they start to test you out. It can often start with minor disruption and challenges and depending on how you deal with it, problem behaviour can increase or decrease.

For this reason, I think its very important to get off on the right foot with a new class in September. You might have kids that you have never taught before so its important to lay done the ground rules so they know where they stand. Below I give details of one way of dealing with a new class that I find very effective at using the honeymoon period to take control and establish your authority so that you can get on with some proper teaching in the following lessons. This is my approach that I have developed for use with my most challenging pupils, adapt it for your class where appropriate.

1 Get the class lined up outside the classroom. Insist on them being quiet before you invite them in. Once they are quiet, tell them to come into the class but don’t sit down. This is a bit confusing for the kids and it also prevents them from controlling where they sit. You want to be in charge from the off!

2 As they come into the room tell them all to stand in one area together.Tell them you have a seating plan. At this stage you might get one or two kids complain. However small the compliant, challenge it. Tell them to keep the comment to themselves of tell them to go out and stand in the corridor. If you don’t know the kid, you can ask for his/ her name.The kid then thinks that you are not happy with their challenge and 9/10 this kid will get a message that your not gonna take any messing from them. The real important thing is that you send out a really big message to all the other kids that you ain’t a pushover. While all this is going on challenge any minor behaviour issues for example if someone is eating a sweet or gum,tell them to put it in the bin or swallow it. If you cover these basics most pupils will be a little shocked or confused and while their in this state, you move in and take control! All this sounds mean and dictatorial but it works really well and helps the whole class settle quickly and lets you get on with the teaching.

3 Go through your seating plan and get them sat down one by one in the correct places. Again any complaints, challenge the kid - I might say, “look its perfectly ok for a teacher to ask you to sit in a particular place and if you have got a problem with it,you can come back at lunch time so we can discuss it”. Some version of this usually shuts them up.

4 Once the class is seated, insist on silence and then take the register. My advice is , do not take the register if they are not silent. You can wait and show disapproving body language and expressions until they become silent. They will eventually. However I prefer to be more pro active especially if I have some leverage over the kids eg if i see them before break or lunch. I might get out my stop watch or look at the clock and say if it gets to a minute ,Im gonna times it by 5 and that’s how long you re gonna stay in at the end of class. Most kids soon get the message and shut up.

Another approach I take if the class will not be quiet for the register is to send them all outside again to line up.And then go through the whole thing again. Keep it up and you usually get your way. I ve lined kids up outside regardless of the weather. It does them no harm and helps to get the message through.
Going through the seating plan and then taking the register seems to be a bit pedantic and formal but this is good because it shows that you have a routine that you follow and that you are in charge.

5 Once registered, You can move on to giving out books. Put what you want on the front of the books on the board. Eg pupils name, my name, subject, class.

6 Now is a good time to give them some target sheets and homework/marksheet guides.I get them to stick them inside the front cover of the book. This way from the beginning the kid knows what grades/targets ect mean so there’s no excuses. Also get the kid to write down his/her current level and a target. This helps focus the kid and also shows any ofsted inspector that from the beginning you did the right thing so they can tick that box!

7 All of the above can take a bit of time but it is a really good way to establish the boundaries straight off and most of the kids will fall into line and play ball. In subsequent lessons they mayl still try it on , but you have made a strong start and-it can deter all but the most challenging. Read more below

Photo by : The sea the sea.

8 Remember, being a teacher can be like taking on an acting role. I’m not really a hard faced git who likes pissing kids off. I am a nice guy who wants the opportunity to do some good teaching and learning in his classes and this is one way to move towaqrds this goal. Cruel to be kind if you see what I mean. This also makes a teachers life much eaasier in the long term. The kids no where they stand and for some , school can be the only place where they get any form of discipline and they often respond to it well.

9 All the above sounds a bit rough and tough but I aim to be firm but fair. The last thing I need is to start a riot with some of my problem kids by getting to harsh especially if you dont know them. Knowing how to pictch this comes with experience but it worth experimenting.

10. Back to the lesson……In the time thats left of this first lesson I might introduce the subject and say a bit about the following lessons. I sometimes do a bit of work and write a couple of lines for them to copy with a question or two. Nothing fun. There is no point taking the wind out of their sails only to loose it by getting them too high and excited.

11. Just before the bell I collect in the books. It is a good idea to glance at the books early on to check thah knowone is pissing about. Make sure that the room is left in an acceptable state before they go to leave. If not , insist that they tidy up the mess or put away any equipment. It is far more effiecent frot ehm to get in the habit of tidyimg up after themselves.If not, it will eat into your time. Not good!

12 I end every lesson with the pupils standing behind thier chairs in silence so that I can dissmiss them properly at the bell . Again insist on silence. This also provides a good time to give some praise and re affirm your expectations for the next lesson.

13 As the bell goes , dismiss the class, table by table or however you like as long as you are in control.

This routine sends the kids off thinking that you are not a teacher to fuck about and you tend to get a lot less hassle later on,

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