Chp. 13 Questions to Consider

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Questions to Consider---> 

 How will you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning?

Personally, I think that one of the most important elements in creating a productive learning environment is providing an environment that features a good balance of structure and flexibility. From the first day of class, it is important to establish set procedures and expectations. However, it is also important to remember that not everything always goes according to protocol. In those cases it is necessary to have some level of flexibility. When you are willing to accommodate special circumstances, I think that your students will be appreciative of your respect for them as human beings with other needs and issues outside of the classroom. On that note, establishing a mutual respect in your classroom should help with plenty of arising problems other than and in addition to disciplinary issues. 

Now consider your CSEL case study.  Develop a full continuum of responses for dealing with the misbehavior of your case (ignoring through dealing with serious and repetitive infractions)...

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High School Case Study

You have started to dread your fifth period music class.  It is made up entirely of seniors who are counting the days until graduation and seem to care very little about learning.  Most of the students are obviously members of one clique or another.  Whenever they think your back is turned, they start passing notes and text messaging.  Worse, three boys have started disrupting those engaged in learning.  No matter what you say, they laugh at the students who sing tenor and soprano, especially when they are practicing their parts.  Yesterday, Tony, Jeff, and Morris started roughhousing then all three of them refused to sit down and follow the class procedures that the classroom community agreed upon at the beginning of the year. Although you have been using a set approach to handling infractions of rules, you decide it is time to change these procedures.

If change is needed, which it seems to be in this situation, then I think it is important to inform the students why you are changing the procedures and what exactly the new procedures and resulting consequences will be. As for in the moment, I believe the following actions would be appropriate:

Note passers & texters: Remind students that texting is against classroom and most likely school policy and that if caught again, the phone will be confiscated. As for note passing, let the students know that there is a time and place for talking with friends during breaks between classes and occasional down time in class. Then warn that any notes seen being passed will be taken up and thrown away. 

As for the 3 disruptive boys, explain to them that their behavior is disrespectful and rude to you and the other students. If the former consequences haven't been working, then I would warn them that the next infraction would result in a meeting between them, me, and the principal, and possibly their parents. Roughhousing is unacceptable. 

Since this is a group of graduating seniors, they should have a handle on proper school behavior by this point. I would acknowledge that they must be feeling restless and excited about graduating, but that graduation is still a ways off and that their behavior now can affect their graduating. Many schools will hold diplomas if the student has outstanding discipline issues to resolve. I would even go so far as to encourage them to be good examples for the lower classmen during their remaining time in the school. Seniors are looked up to, and their behaviors can have a resounding effect on the school's overall atmosphere.