Dealing with Problematic Students (Elementary Schools)

I've been teaching English in Japan for 4 years now. I began teaching in Japan by working for a company called Nova, teaching both adults and children, but then left and became what is known as an 'ALT' (Assistant Language Teacher).

As an ALT, I've taught at five different elementary schools, and have dealt with a wide range of students. Each student displays a differing degree of trouble-making, and the extent he causes trouble is dependent on numerous, seemingly unrelated, variables. This article will discuss one of these variables, the one that you have the most control over: The command of the classroom you are able to give.

Here are a few tips on how to generate the necessary command.

I've discovered that the leading reason is the command of the teacher.

I've taught, as an assistant, with over 100 different home-room teachers (the main teachers who teach the main subjects -- I come in and teach English with them). I've seen just about every kind of teacher there is - the lazy teacher, the incompetent teacher, the teacher who doesn't plan, the teacher who leaves everything up to me, the teacher who encourages their students to be a pain-in-the-neck, the strict teachers, the really strict teacher, the teacher who can suck the fun out of anything, the really energetic teacher, the fantastic teacher who can somehow make the students not only behave but also have fun. You name it, I've seen it.

The first and best way to increase your command as a teacher, and thus keep the problem children at bay: be prepared and planned. The teachers that seem to cause the biggest problems are the ones that don't do an ample job planning for their lessons. Some teachers actually don't plan hardly at all and just try to put things together at the last minute -- but the bad kids can pick up on this and make things horrible. I've been guilty of this crime -- Woe! I also have been felled by the vile forces of lackadaisical planning! -- In each instance, the kids could immediately see that something was wrong, and I could always see a sharp decline in student behavior.

The next, important thing to make sure of is to take charge. As simple, cliched and stupid as this might sound, it's very important: you have to be the teacher. Being a teacher is not a popularity contest, it's about education (and a bit of baby-sitting). The best way to do this is to simply act like the head of the room: what you say is more important than what they say and what you are doing is more important than what they are doing... so act like it! One way to do this is to just get into a "don't take no crap" attitude.

Another great way to take charge is to set rules. These rules do not have to be written down - I've always found that writing down rules just causes problems - what if you accidently don't punish one kid for something on the list? What if you don't write down something that is important but not obvious? The rules should be, basically, that which needs to exist - talking out of turn, passing notes, throwing erasers (this just happened in my last class about 20 minutes ago), no bullying or mean comments directed at other students (this is a big one).

After you've established what is or is not a rule, enforce them. You need to try to consistently enforce the rules, but this is not always possible. One way that I enforce rules with really troublesome kids is that I explain to them (I know some Japanese) that they can mess around and joke around a little as long as they don't get too loud and as long as they don't bully or insult other children. If you as a teacher like to goof off, then expect the kids to follow you - just make sure you are able to make a distinction about what is too loud.

When you are enforcing your rules, enforce them with a serious tone, and a serious face: "It's OK to screw around a little, but don't bully", I tell them, sternly and with a straight face, while looking right at them in the eye. This usually stops bullying (it might happen again, but it usually stops the single incident), and leaves the problem child from feeling mad.

In a few classes, where the teachers are very lax on rules, I try to establish a few good rules for the children, i.e.: using a trash can instead of the floor. I enforce the rule by simply and casually walking down the rows and aisles while having the children repeat after me (I teach English, repeating is a big part of what we do), and I pick up everything on the floor and just throw it out. The kids learn - fast - that they shouldn't leave their favorite books or pencils on the floor when I'm around.

While enforcing the rules don't ever let it become a 'my power vs. your power' event. There is a power struggle in the classroom, I'm sure just about every teacher noticies this, and you need to make sure that you always come out on top. But don't ever fight with the child - this just let's them think that their opinions are important and justified. It also makes all the other children upset about wasting time - everyone loses. It also encourages some of the other problem children: they might see the classroom as a 'children vs. teacher' situation and side with the trouble maker in order to make themselves feel like they're 'fighting the power'.

When enforcing your rules, be sure to know when to let a few things go. You don't have to enforce every rule every second of every day. If you have a problem child, doing so can give the child the power to disrupt the classroom at will. This can just make things worse.

And the last, quite possibly most overlooked way that you can stop problematic children in their tracks - try to make learning fun. I'm a cynical man, and I hate happy-go-lucky-foo-foo-la-la things - but this is a fantastic way to make sure that problem children don't cause problems. If your class is fun then the child will actually want to pay attention. If your class is fun, and he causes problems, then he will lose out on the fun. If the class is fun, then the opportunity cost of being a problem-child will raise for that child, and might not be worth it.

Well, hopefully this article helps a few teachers out there trying to figure out how to deal with their problematic children! Remember - you're the teacher, the leader and the authority figure of the classroom, not them.