Poor pupil behavior

  I thought the article was very true and it hit right on the spot. There are alot of disrespectful kids in school today and their parents are just as disrespectful as they are. The parent should be a good role model for their child but sad to say a lot of parents are not good role models for their children and it shows when they come to school and act like they have no home training,that is a reason why a lot fo teachers change the shool they are at or even their career. Some teachers just are not ready for the abuse children can give them and sadly to say the problem will probably just get worse. We all hope that the problem will lessen or stop but it probably wont that;s just another obstacle in life youPoor pupil behavior have to get over.  poor pupil behavior

Comments

[Lani]

Hi Frederick,

I found the article you read and was interested to learn that discipline in the classroom is also a problem in Wales and Britain. Near the end of the article, I found a quote that might be something to think about. "Verbal abuse is the worse problem here. They argue back and challenge all the time, they do not accept your authority.” (from a teacher in Wales)

From experience in middle and high schools, I know that there are many instances of verbal and sometimes physical abuse of teachers. In my many years of teaching, I was quite fortunate as that did not happen that often to me. I wondered why that might be. I asked a student that once. Teddy was a senior and got into verbal arguments with our principal (called him baldy) and our media specialist (told him he was supposed to be helping her, he should do his job). She was always appropriate in my class and so I asked her about her inappropriate behavior with the other staff members. Her reply was “you’re different.”

I have tried to figure out how I was different and as I read Alfie Kohn’s Discipline: Beyond Compliance to Community, I began to think this was what mattered. Here is a link to an article from his web page “Discipline is the Problem not the Solution (http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/ditpnts.htm) He is an advocate of recognizing the good in human beings and supports education that builds children and community. He believes good teaching recognizes and contributes to the healthy functioning of our society. And he is not about “authority”. In my last teaching position, I tried to make sure that I consciously implemented many of Alfie Kohn’s ideas. That year was most incredible!! The students worked as a community, solved the problems that arose (and there were some problems; human beings are not perfect) and were in charge of their own learning.

Do you think that part of the problem can be the way teachers interact with students? Do you think Alfie Kohn might have a good idea?

Best,
Lani

[tincher]

Frederick

I think Lani has hit the nail on the head! I really think it would be great if we (teachers, adults) could just say, "I'm the big person here" and that would be it. It is just not that way. I believe you have to show respect to get respect. Now there are those students that just no matter what you try, no matter how much respect you show, they will just not act respectfully. That may be because of what you described as just no home training. If you were going to become a teacher in high school, let's say, what would be the atmosphere in your classroom? What does showing respect to students mean to you? Does it mean letting them do whatever they want?

[Frederick]

Ms.Tincher in my classroom the atmosphere would be relaxed there would not be a lot of stress involved because Iknow that I hate being put under a lot of stress.To me showing respect to students means treating them like an adult and not a child. The only reason I said that is because I hate when adults treat me like a little kid, I feel more respected when I am treated like an adult. Treating children with respect is not the same thing as letting them do what they want. That is the worst thing you can do to a class of students trust me I know. If you do that then the children won't respect you they will just run all over you!