Wed, 05 Feb 2020

Simple Techniques to Maintain Discipline in Your Class

Nowadays, the role of teachers is changing differently from the past. Teachers in these days are required to be kind and patient, be lively and entertaining, have a good rapport with students, and so on, it seems like the teachers are likely to be friends of students. It is good to have these qualities, however, teachers could become easygoing or too forgiving to omit the students’ mistakes when they do something wrong. It is worse when teachers becoming targets and even victims of students’ aggression. Therefore, it is quite difficult to teach students the boundaries between what they could and could not do. In this writing, there are two questions will be discussed. The first question is why the discipline in the classroom is important, and the second question is how to maintain the discipline in class.

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Chau P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

The importance of discipline

Discipline is the key to keep students safe in the learning environment, which means when students follow the class rules or norms, they are in the comfort zone and have good opportunities to develop their personal goals and learning objectives. However, if the students break the rules or norms, they will be punished by teachers for their bad behaviors. The teachers use discipline to ensure the students receive the most benefits and values from their education.

children raising hands

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How to maintain discipline in the classroom?

First, teachers should know their expectations for the class and their students, they need to clarify the types of routines they use to ensure a consistent and safe learning environment. Next, the students should be shared and announced their teacher’s expectation for them to help them know how to behave right. After that, the teacher could start to establish the rules in class or discuss with students to create the rules based on the expectation of the teacher. Imagine that if the teacher fails to set up and manage the class well, it leads to the misbehavior of students. After having discipline in the classroom, teachers should continue to create good actions and behavior in class with the students to have the consistency of the rules. Teachers need to be on time and keep professional manners, for instance, teachers need to grade assignments and return them as soon as possible, avoid arguing with students or even use threats to enforce the students to follow the rules, especially not to humiliate children. Students need teachers to respect them and treat all class members fairly. Moreover, teachers should try to praise the good work or behaviors of the students immediately. But if a student is out of discipline, the teacher should be calm and show facial expression, a body gesture, or a quiet action such as walking toward the student or calling the student’s name. In the worse case, the teacher should talk to the student in person, try to explain what he/she had done, be objective rather than emotional. In case of giving punishments, make sure they are appropriate for the misbehavior, and explain to the student why he or she is being punished.

Also Read: What type of visa do I need to teach English in Spain?

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