All people need to be corrected at
times. The person who generally does the correcting is the one responsible for
ensuring that the individual is developing properly. There are different levels
of correction, though.
Sometimes,
the correction from the teacher only needs to be a small act, a look, a shake
of the head, or a tap on the desk. These are used when the student just needs a
quick, subtle, reminder that the action is incorrect. This allows for
correction without issue. Many times, that is enough.
In
other cases, the correction needs to be made clear, maybe the first didn´t work
or the behavior is more complex than the first situations. An example would be
if students were disrupting instruction with talking. Usually, respectfully
asking the students to refocus their attention on the content is enough.
But
what happens when the behaviors are constant and it affects the class
development and classroom environment? Should we as teachers scold them or just
talk to them like if it was a minor issue?
In my opinion neither of them, I mean
scolding students can work, but nowadays that students are overprotected and
specially kids you can´t really scold them, you can get into a bigger issue and
the main goal of scolding them is going to be lost. Also we are not going to be
like a grumpy person scolding each student and yelling at them and losing it
because they are making a mess. It´s our responsibility to maintain the
discipline of the class but not going to that far.
On the other hand, if we just talk to
them like it is a minor thing, our students will lose respect to the teacher
and the misbehaviors are going to escalate quickly making it impossible to the
teacher to control the class, it´s like a snowball effect, if you let it go down
slope, it will get bigger and bigger till the point you can´t stop it.
What has really worked for me is to talk
seriously, not as a minor thing nor yelling and going crazy. Telling them the
things directly like what kind of behaviors are bothering you and also the
consequences they can reach, another thing that really works is the fact they
can lose things, I mean like certain "rights" such as playing games,
small talks, or even taking their cell phones and giving them back after the
class, depending on the behaviors you are focusing on.
In conclusion, we don´t have to be
yelling at our students because is not right; however, we need to consider and
focus on those misbehaviors our students do frequently and not leaving them as
minor things because the effects can be worse.
Hopefully,
every teacher understands this. I believe that most students don't think about
it because they don't find themselves in those situations. As a teacher, I want
every student in my classroom, but I have to protect the integrity of my
students and the classroom´s environment.
So teachers, what other techniques work
for you? Have you ever talked seriously with your students? Write the down in
the comment section. I´ll be reading you!
References
Knight, E. (2017, December 23). How
does a teacher scold a student? Retrieved from Quora:
https://www.quora.com/How-does-a-teacher-scold-a-student?fbclid=IwAR3SgqGrMR6MwCqMiIGeScrY_Zsg26ni6wYX7QezyPpP6LUk5Iu248utato
So true! This is a difficult matter for teachers, and nowadays it has become a big issue because many parents go and complain about the teacher “punishing” their children. So, teachers need to be tactful and skillful when correcting behaviors. Sometimes you just have to talk to them, but if it's something that scales, then taking some "privileges" work. I have applied this last one and it does work, especially when it's a group problem, because the majority of the group wants that privilege and forces the others to join. But when they are minor problems, I just called their names out or approach to their places so they notice that their behavior is not appropriate for the class. Thanks for sharing!
ResponderBorrarToday, the importance of the teacher does not compare with that of years ago.
ResponderBorrarBefore the teachers were a symbol of respect, now authority has been lost, and rarely can you give final solution to conflicts between students, since the students lost respect before authorities, since the reinforcements previously called punishments are also badly seen today. .
It is a sadness to see how values have been falling little by little. Very good topic.
Yes, I have talked to them. I work with little kids at preschool, they are 4 or 5 years old, when I started to work with this level It was hard to find a way to tell them the instructions and explanations. Eventually, I have found out that I had to be clear with the things I wanted to be done, I have to tell the children what I want them to do. And this works to me =)
ResponderBorrarThank you for sharing!!!