How is bad behavior handled in a classroom?

[LisaR]

I should start by saying that I homeschool my kids so we are not involved in a daily classroom setting.

My dd is involved in a wonderful choir for children in 5th - 8th grade. The two teachers also teach at the middle and high school. Every single week there are five teen girls that are nothing but trouble. The class is held at a local college and during break these girls make a mess in the bathroom and disrupt the classes that are taking place. I have a friend that teaches at that time and she has spoken to the choir director repeatedly about these girls. During choir, they are known to burst out laughing. A girl quit the choir due to their relentless teasing. I have sat in on the choir numerous times and I have patrolled the bathroom during the break. Tonight these girls were opening the boy's bathroom door and blaring music from their cell phone inside. They laughed when I told them to stop.

Here is the problem: everyone is punished for the five kids poor behavior. They lose 5 minutes off their break time. They are lectured as a group about proper behavior, teasing, screwing around, etc. instead of addressing the individual kids that are causing the problem. I am trying to figure out if this is the typical mentality today? Is this a punish everyone and hope peer pressure from the "good" kids will change the ones with the poor behavior? If so, it hasn't worked. Two of my DD's friends have said the entire class loses 5 minutes of recess whenever just one child acts up during school. In my day, the kids would be addressed once and if that didn't work, the parents would be called.

My DD is so tired of sitting through lectures on proper behavior. The front row of the choir is made up of all the 10, 11 and 12 year olds. The teens are in the second row. My DD says it is sad that the younger kids know how to be more respectful then the older kids. Of course, I remind her that her teen years are not too far away and she better remember this!

I should add that these five girls are wonderful singers. Two really do stand out. They are also very well behaved during all performances.

Is it really worth saying anything to the director? As a high school teacher for 25 years, I would think she would have handled this better by now. I am assuming an email from me won't change anything.

Lisa

 

[HaleyB]

Lisa,

I have known lots of teachers who use this method, and I think it is laziness. If it is clear who is breaking the rules then they should be punished. And good singers or not, if they can not behave they should be kicked out.

I would speak to the teachers. It may not help but you never know. If this method is no longer the easiest, because parents like you speak up, maybe they will adopt a new method. It is worth a try.

I hate when teachers or parents do the group punishment thing. It is unfair and not effective. I think it makes the good kids question why they bother to be good, if they are going to get in trouble any way. My sons teacher does this and I just tell him that he knows he is good and that is the most important thing. I try not to let on to him that I think it is unfair. But I am with you, it drives me nuts.

 

[donnajon]

I have two sisters that used to teach at different high schools in the same school district. One sisters' school was very well disciplined. The principal didn't put up with misbehavior and kept the kids in line. The second sister's school had a principal who was terrified of a law suit. She told the individual teachers to deal with it but they had better never send any of the students to her office. All a kid had to do was threaten to sue and they could get whatever they wanted. (This got one kid on the cheerleader squad - sister used to coach them - she refused but principal over-ruled her!) Anyway, the kids were known to be bad at this school (same district remember) because they knew there weren't any consequences. Incidently, this sorry principal went on to be the national principal of the year - it was a big joke! She could make herself look good on paper but nop one there could stand her!!!!
So, the teacher may have her hands tied by the principal in this law-suit happy country of ours!

 

[disneyfan6301]

I am a 7th-8th grade teacher. I try to rarely use the group punishment. If the majority of the class is acting up, they will write sentences, but I do a 1-2-3 type thing where they have three chances to quieten down before they have to write. It usually only takes 1 or 2 times writing before my 7th graders get the hint. Rarely do my 8th graders have to write. I am amazed at the difference in maturity!!!

As for these 5 girls, the director/teacher of the choir needs to pull them aside and let them know that this behavior will not be tolerated. Either they straighten up or they will not be allowed in the choir.

 

[angel's momma]

DD is younger, only 2nd grade. She's very quiet, and a good student.

In the classroom it's always been individual punishments.

At recess & lunch - the supervisors always give group punishment. There's approx. 120 1st & 2nd graders together. More often than not, the entire group has to sit for part of recess, or have "silent" lunch.

DD even asked a supervisor why everyone gets punished -the answer was it's too hard to know who was noisy.

I've gone & had lunch with DD - it's not too hard to know which tables are acting up.

 

[LisaR]

Thanks everyone. I think reality is this is a somewhat excepted way of punishment. DD doesn't like it but understands that she can't fix it. She loves the choir and is willing to put up with it. I see why I would have never made it as a teacher. I would be all over those girls and would have been fired within weeks!

Lisa