I hope you enjoyed your Week 9 Spring Break! Pardon me for being a day late in posting this week's lesson. You may have an extra day in posting your responses: the new posting day is now Sunday, March 27, by midnight
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Welcome to Week 10's posting on Promoting Social Acceptance and Managing Student Behavior [audio] .
Chapter 5 addresses the following questions on managing student behavior and promoting social acceptance. What exactly is classroom management? How many rules should be established and how does a teacher go about doing that? How does a teacher minimize classroom disruptions? How does a teacher manage the behavior of students from various backgrounds?
Classroom Management - Classroom management is providing an acceptably social environment for learning in the classroom that is beneficial to all students. It involves the teacher setting the structure in which learning can occur with minimal interruptions and behaviors that counteract that.
There is one book I recommend that all future teachers purchase before they launch their teaching career. You should get this book especially by the time you begin your clinical semester [student teaching semester]. The book Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. MacKenzie provides practical information that can be put to use immediately. It gets beyond the traditional education jargon, providing scenarios [that have been experienced] that are played out in the classroom daily. One of the principles of classroom management that MacKenzie supports is that of continual teaching of the rules of management. He suggests that teachers not only begin the school year with an outlining of the classroom rules, but continue to re-visit those as we do with course content, treating the rules as if they were a part of the curriculum.
How many classroom rules should a teacher have? As the textbook (p 240) lists, three to five general rules along with consequences are the most effective. A teacher can minimize negative disruptions by making sure she (or he) follows through every single time with the consequences beginning with the first time an offense occurs. MacKenzie makes an interesting distinction between rules in theory and rules in practice, how that what a teacher says should also be what a teacher practices. It would be naive to think that students will do everything just as is required. Be prepared to enact any rule that is established, because it will be the job of some students to test those limits. Especially what you do in the first few days/weeks of school will set the tone for how well managed (or not) your classroom will be for the rest of the school year. Students expect and need structure from the teacher, regardless of what they may say.
Reference: Note the teacher interview with Ms. Nina Zaragoza on pages 235-236.
How do you deal behavior-wise with students with disabilities or from a variety of backgrounds, cultures? Very curtly, the answer here is much the same for how you deal with any student's behavior. Of course, if you have limited exposure to working with these types of students then first as the text recommends, the teacher should begin by asking him or herself reflective questions such as:
1. What behaviors bother me as a teacher?
2. Am I sure that all students who behave in these ways are treated in the same way?
3. To what extent have I reached out and demonstrated genuine caring and concern to all students in my class?
4. What steps am I taking to better engage all students in instruction and learning? p. 244
Reference: Positive feedback equals a positive classroom environment, see p. 237 - 240.
See: The Dark Side... ; Classroom Interactions and Achievement ; Increase Expectations ; Classroom Management ; Developing Social Competence for all Students
References:
Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. MacKenzie
The First Days of School by Harry K and Rosemary T. Wong
Pragmatically Speaking - How to use this information in the classroom:
Establish a positive classroom environment - get to know all of your students by name; initiate an introductory assignment at the beginning of school that allows each student to introduce, share something about themselves [the teacher as well]; allow students to participate in the establishing of the rules.
Create a learning community - Focus on abilities, celebrate diversity; demonstrate respect for all students; provide opportunities for mixed-ability learning groups (see p. 246).
Have class meetings - make sure all students are respected; teach students to have concern for each other; concentrate on students' abilities; spend time teaching the behavioral skills you want students to exhibit in your classroom [see pp. 255-257].
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Required Blog 5 Posting Assignment [one more posting to go!]
Read the following article: No Time for Time Out!
This article discusses why time outs might not be the best solution for behavioral problems. It is very difficult to make a child who does not want to sit-to sit down! Have you had any experience with this personally? Were time outs effective for you when you were younger? Do you think that as a teacher you will use this or be more like the teacher in the article and find different solutions? How could this solution be adjusted for middle/high school-ers? Provide a 200- 300 word [at least 200 words, not more than 300 words---reminder: this is a discussion, so as in a normal face-to-face classroom conversation, follow discussion etiquette: don't hog the conversation --- the challenge is to say what you have to say, intelligently but succinctly===no works cited necessary---say it in your own words :0] discussion posting answering the preceding questions.
Dr Herring
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ReplyDeleteI have had numerous issues attempting to post today. I have tried at least 20 times (no exaggeration). I admit that I am extremely concerned about having to try to post the special educator interview that will require multiple posts.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sorry for the deleted and duplicate posts.
Again, my post has vanished.
ReplyDeletePost 1 0f 2
ReplyDeleteThe best advice for using the time out as an effective way of dealing with behavior issues came from the television show Super Nanny. The nanny attempts to help the families in each episode deal with their children in a more effective manor. The time out is one of her favorite tools. I remember being sent to my room as a child, but it was never labeled as a time out. While I had always considered time out to be a fad that didn’t really address behavior problems, Super Nanny showed how valuable it can be through demonstrating and explaining how to use the time out effectively. The most important thing a parent (or teacher) must remember is to remain unemotional while placing a child (or student) in time out. As with all punishments, you are punishing the behavior not the child. It is very difficult to get someone who is acting out to sit down quietly in a designated area. The parent or teacher should keep conversation with the child to a minimum, explaining only why they are being placed in time out. Once the child has calmed down, the time out can begin. After completing the time out, the child must acknowledge what they did and apologize if appropriate. By using the time out in this way, a parent or teacher can take the child out of the situation that prompted the misbehavior, and get some feedback that they know what they were doing is wrong.
In the article No Time for Time Out, author Jean Hannon discusses eliminating the time out from her kindergarten classroom. She claims that by using the time out punitively in her classroom, she was not teaching students about community and personal responsibility for their actions. She noticed that by addressing individual student needs more personally, that students learned more about themselves and their classroom.
I agree that the unilateral use of any form of punishment can be ineffective. I am the parent of a six year old boy (who acts like Oliver at times), and a three year old girl. We use time out as an effective way to separate the children when they are fighting or when something in their immediate environment is causing their misbehavior. They are always told why they are being sent to time out, and asked to apologize for their actions when they come out of time out. There are times when their misbehavior only warrants an immediate apology, or simple redirection from their activity. Situational discretion is important in the classroom as well. Many schools and districts are moving to district and school wide discipline systems. The systems provide a unified set of target expectations and corresponding punishments (Miller, Hall, 2009). These systems provide a great framework, but in my opinion, must allow for some flexibility in dealing with individual students to be fully effective.
Post 2 of 2.
ReplyDeleteJean Hannon talks about the importance of respect and a sense of community in her classroom. It is important to let children at home or in your classroom feel that what they have to say is valuable, and they can discuss their concerns with you as a parent or as a teacher. This mutual respect, and clear expectations are the key to preventing behavior problems. This is especially the case as children get older. Middle and High School students have more complicated lives than ever, and it is important to understand some of the negative influences that may be affecting their behavior. In the article Classroom Interactions and Achievement, author Loyce Caruthers states that positive relationships with students increases learning and decreases behavior problems (Caruthers, 1994). It is important to make all students feel like an important, contributing part of the classroom regardless of race, class, gender or other differences. All students must all be accountable to the established rules, but they must also know that you value their unique problems. While time out might work to diffuse some situations, I think that dealing with the students on a more personal level is a more effective way to insure that the problem behavior will not occur in the future.
Works cited:
Hannon, Jean. No Time for Time Out, Kappa Delta pi Record, Spring 2002
Miller, Grant, Hall, P.H.D., Tracey. Classroom Management, 2009
Caruthers, Loyce, Classroom Interactions and Achievement, 1994.
Justin- This has happened to me as well. I'm concerned about the special educator interview as well.
ReplyDeletePost #1 of 2 (Attempting to split this up to get this to work).
ReplyDeleteTimeouts can be serious business. In Iowa, an 8 year old autistic girl was placed in a timeout for 3 hours after refusing to complete a reading assignment. The child’s parents in-turn filed suit against the district, citing abuse (Autism Today). Though this cites an extreme case, one could add potential legal ramifications to the discussion of timeouts.
As a child, my dad had a paddle that occasionally found its way to my backside, when it was not establishing permanent residence on my brother’s. Thus, due to my lack of experience with the timeout and my limited involvement with children and teenagers, I cannot provide fair comment on the pros or cons of the timeout. However, I have always personally felt a suspect about the timeout approach. In retrospect, it is clear that the paddle did not necessarily provide the remedy for my brother’s behavior woes either.
Due to my relative inexperience with children and behavior management, I asked my wife Brandy about timeouts. Brandy has babysat many younger kids and said that the timeout was an effective behavior strategy. However, Brandy has also worked in special education for seven years and has never used the timeout as behavior management in school. When I asked her why it was not an effective strategy inside of school, she said that often a student is misbehaving to get out of doing an activity. As mentioned in the article (Hannon, 2002), the timeout provides the student with a way out, unintentionally rewarding a misbehaving student.
Thus, I think that the timeout strategy is inherently flawed, legally dangerous, and should be avoided. I will utilize alternative solutions to the timeout, like those discussed in the article. However, some of the methods cited are not as appropriate to apply in the higher grades. I feel that because students in the higher grades are more developed socially, emotionally, and mentally, teachers can make significant progress by treating students with the same respect that teachers demand from them. Some behaviorally issues are from students that feel their sovereignty and free will is being oppressed.
See Post #2 of 2.
Hopefully that worked.
ReplyDeletePost #2 of 2
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of pulling the kid into the hallway to talk after a behavior issue. This first takes away any entertainment value that the student is attempting to generate. More importantly, I think it gives the teacher a chance to really reach out to the student. The very first thing in this “hallway intervention” that should be done is that the teacher should ask “How are you doing?” and “Is everything okay?” This establishes first and foremost that you care about the student. This opens communication and can help determine the underlying problem. In the “hallway intervention,” teachers should remain calm and fair but clearly state the breach in rules.
As cited in the textbook, establishing fewer but more important rules is also an effective strategy (Vaughn, 2011). I believe that it is much easier to consistently enforce rules when there are fewer rules. Consistency is vital, or else the rule system will be undermined.
Student choice and differentiated instruction can ease some woes of behavioral issues. By have alternative activities, students won’t always have to begrudgingly perform a task and are more likely to chose something of greater interest, thereby increasing student participation and learning. While it takes additional planning on the part of the teacher, it could eliminate time spent on behavior management.
See additional post for my works cited.
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ReplyDeletePost 1 of 3
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses why time outs might not be the best solution for behavioral problems. It is very difficult to make a child who does not want to sit-to sit down! Have you had any experience with this personally? Were time outs effective for you when you were younger? Do you think that as a teacher you will use this or be more like the teacher in the article and find different solutions? How could this solution be adjusted for middle/high school-ers? Provide a 200- 300 word discussion posting answering the preceding questions.
While I’ve spent a great deal of time working with middle school and high school students (where timeouts are infrequently used as a punishment), I have not had much experience with the implementation of timeouts. Actually, the place that I have seen them most is on the TV show “The Supernanny”. I’m going to blame my wife for introducing me to the show (which is true) but also admit that I’ve found it to be a useful study in behavioral management. For those that have not seen the show, the show follows families who have lost control of their kids as they go through a several day consultation with an experienced nanny who helps them to attempt to regain control of their household and (ultimately) to push for the betterment of the children. For young children, timeouts are one tool that she uses and I’ve found that they are at least moderately successful in changing behavioral problems at the household level. In almost all instances the first few timeouts go poorly with the children wanting to run around and receive attention. However, without yelling or engaging in corporal punishment (and by continuing to increase the time on the timeout until it is successfully implemented), there is usually some behavioral success that occurs.
However, I would note that these timeouts are usually timeouts from playtime (which all children would not want to miss) and not from working time at school (which certain disinterested students may be happy to miss). I think Justin makes a great point in his posting (in drawing from his wife’s experience) that timeouts can be dangerous at school because it can actually provide incentive for the students who are most apathetic about learning to act out. You might expect to see certain students acting out during particularly difficult assignments and activities as a sort of free pass from participation. My question here would be, isn’t a detention ultimately a form of a timeout that takes students away from after school activities (that they would want to participate in) instead of classroom activities (which they might not want to participate in).
Post 2 of 3
ReplyDeleteI never received timeouts in the traditional sense as a kid (i.e. being forced to sit in a corner quietly for a finite amount of time). I did periodically get punished which amounted to being required to sit in my room and having my activities severely restricted (usually just homework or reading which, as an avid reader, wasn’t as much of a punishment for me as it was for my sisters).
The author of the article makes some great points in her discussion of assigning meaning to the behavioral management process. Whereas she used to use timeouts as a punitive measure and as a means of separating offenders from the rest of the student population, she now tries to take corrective measures that improve student behavior and provide them with growth and guidance. Hannon mentions that she now “better understand[s] the importance of identifying and suspending classroom practices that interfere with or actively counter goals” (2002, 6). What I feel like Hannon is really talking about is engaging in authoritative behavioral management instead of authoritarian behavioral management. She assigns purpose to the corrections and tries to help the student understand what was wrong with their behavior and how to engage in more acceptable behavior. I think that there can be an appropriate use for timeouts in the classroom when used appropriately. For example, if a student with an anger problem lashes out at another student or the teacher, engaging in five minutes of quiet reflection about their actions can be a tool to teach them how to step back from explosive situations and consider the consequences of their action. However, you have to ask yourself what the teacher of the autistic girl Justin mentioned in his post was trying to accomplish when she put the girl in timeout for three hours for not completing a reading assignment. In that case, the girl presumably did not complete the reading assignment and likely little was learned.
Post 3 of 3
ReplyDeleteAgain, I think I will used modified forms of timeouts like detentions and separation from the classroom in limited appropriate instances. However, my goal will be to consistently apply fair punishments (which, as Hannon mentioned in her article, most students appreciate). Moreover, I plan to explain the reason for all of our classroom rules (and to appropriately limit them in number) and explain the punishments that will be in place. I think much of the problem occurs when students see punishments handed out inconsistently or rules discarded by the teacher and then later enforced with a heavy hand. We cannot be permissive and it is not instructive to be authoritarian but most beneficial to take an authoritative approach. In working with high school and middle school students, sitting in a corner for timeout can be modified to staying after class or going to detention. I’m sure others in our class are in the same position that I’m in and find classroom management to be the most daunting element of teaching. While I feel confident in the material I will be teaching and the methods I will be using to teach it, managing thirty students is a different matter all together. To be prepared, I think ultimately I will have to rely on having clear policies and engage in an open discussion with students about those policies and apply consequences for breach of those policies consistently.
Works Cited
Hannon, J. (2002). No Time for Time Out. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 38(3), 112-14.
Growing up I babysat most of my younger cousins and time-outs turned out to be more of a joke than actual punishment. My cousins had the same idea of thinking as myself in that timeouts were less affective in correcting a bad behavior and tended to give ourselves time to think about what we were going to do next. If I acted up as a child I was usually told what I did wrong, asked how I was going to fix it, and then if I didn’t then something was taken away. This was much more affective on me, and my cousins, than sitting in a corner, facing a wall, thinking about how much fun I just had messing up.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher I don’t think that I will use the time out method. I didn’t find it useful growing up and I don’t see myself enforcing it. I think I will be more apt to asking students what they think they are in trouble for and then having them write out how they intend to fix this issue. If the problems continue then setting up a meeting with the principal and calling their parent/guardian would be the next step. I would also make sure to look into the student’s background to justify if this is a “at-home” issue or just a simple mistake.
Middle and high school discipline would be extremely difficult because they are getting to the age where they don’t always take their teachers seriously. This is one main reason why I intend to teach only elementary grades because younger students have proven to me to listen a little better. When students reach middle/high school I definitely don’t think time outs are wise. If you send a student to the hallway because they are acting up then most of the time a friend walks by and they begin to talk; this can cause a whole mess of problems. If anything I think that students of this age group need a small step system consisting of a warning, detention slip, meeting with the principal and parents, and finally expulsion. I think that students at this age, especially high school, are at a point in their life where they understand the difference between right and wrong and the choices that they make. Some students refuse to change who they are which can be extremely difficult and could use the assistance of counselors but others know what they are doing and just need a little guidance.
Jean Hannon provides valuable insight from a kindergarten teacher’s perspective regarding the use of time-outs to modify unacceptable behaviors in No Time for Time Out. Based on my personal experiences with elementary students as a substitute teacher, I have used both the time-out approach and the constructive conversation approach in dealing with conflict. Classroom management plans vary by teacher, and it is my responsibility to be consistent in reinforcing the rules of the classroom. I believe time-outs are viewed most undesirable by younger elementary children, namely kindergartners, who aren’t necessarily able to communicate their reasoning for their unacceptable behavior. Therefore, I feel time-outs are best suited for younger children, as long as there is verbal reinforcement as to how or why the behavior was unacceptable. My perception of time-out is one that encourages a child to understand, evaluate, and take responsibility for his/her actions within an environment free of distractions. Furthermore, I believe time-outs should not be characterized by quiet isolation. They need to allow a student to reflect on their behavior so that they can learn from the experience. Recognizing that not all children learn in similar ways, we must also recognize that not all children will respond to discipline in similar ways.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of grade level, it is important for all students to have consistent and clear expectations of their behavior. Furthermore, I believe teachers should model behaviors consistent with classroom or student expectations. If we expect a child not to interrupt us when we are speaking, we must be conscious not to interrupt them. As Hannon suggests, expectations of student behavior should become part of the curriculum, and teachers should work with children to solve problems and guide their growth. I, personally, feel most teachers are quick to criticize, yet slow to praise. In addition, I am not a fan of requiring an apology from a child, rather, I desire for the child to develop a natural tendency to apologize. In the case of my own children (daughters, ages 9 and 6), I explain why or how I was disappointed or hurt by their actions or behaviors, allowing them some time to reflect.
Reflecting on my childhood years, as the fifth child of six in my family, I, like Justin Brennan (see above referenced post), remember my father, the disciplinarian, remediating unacceptable behaviors with a paddle. Time-outs were not common in my family, nor do I personally believe they would have gotten my attention like the paddle did. My siblings and I were not abused by any means, as spanking or whipping insinuates today, rather we were swiftly disciplined after we understood why our behavior or action was unacceptable.
As a future secondary teacher, I do not believe the time-out approach will be best suited for my future students. Middle school and high school students are typically well aware of expectations for their behavior once they reach the middle grades. However, as indicated above, regardless of grade level, it is important for teachers to set consistent and clear expectations of student behavior. I recently observed in a classroom at Grant Middle School in Springfield. They have implemented PBIS, or a Positive Behavior Intervention System. Students are given placement options, based on their ability to process (recognize) the reason and consequence for the unacceptable behavior demonstrated. There is a 5-tier placement system ranging from a safe seat in the classroom to a seat in the principal’s office. At any stage of placement, the student must recognize their behavior and assume accountability for it. It’s more than a teacher telling a student that their behavior is unacceptable; it’s about getting the student to recognize it on his/her own.
It might have been a pure coincidence, but after I submitted my discussion post (getting the message below that it had been published), I clicked the refresh button...and my post finally appeared. I, like many of you, experienced MANY issues with posting for some reason. I hope this helps and works for others in the future!
ReplyDeleteTake care!
As a lifeguard at my local pool throughout High school I witnessed daily altercations in which our punishment there was to "sit the child out" where we just sat the child on a bench near the lifeguard chair. There was one child that particularly got on my nerves, there would be days where I had to sit him out 3 or 4 times a day. Obviously he wasn't getting the hint to stop horsing around the pool. Looking back, I wish I would have disciplined him differently, since at the time I wasnt completely aware of his background. He was starved for attention, from just about anybody he could grab attention from.After reading "No Time for Time out", it made me wish I could go back and try alternative punishments that would ultimately deter him from constantly doing the same thing wrong!
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom, I would like to have set rules with set punishments. That always doesnt work out the way it is planned. Different students expel different "oliver" traits at different times, and not all the students will comply everytime to the same set of rules. So I feel giving myself a little lee-way on the rule sets to figure each student out indivdually, will benefit the classroom and hopefully the student themselves.
I believe amongst middle and high schoolers, that detention is the ultimate time-out. Yes, it takes away time of the day for students who are either tardy to much or misbehave. But what about the students who are constantly in detention, obviously they arent learning any lesson by sitting in a quiet classroom for 30 min to an hour a day. How about for those students who have detention to much, instead of giving them a vacation (school suspension) make them become involved in a group or activity to make up for detention time. Push those students to get involved into something that will benefit them as a person, rather than quiet punishment!
I have been subbing for a year now, and there were instances where students refused to sit down. In my experience it was mainly kindergarten students. It is hard for children at this age to maintain attentiveness for any set period of time. When I was subbing it suddenly seemed like they took control as soon as the teacher left the room. I eventually got all the students to sit down and started the lesson. When they had an active role in their education, the disciplinary issues were absent. I did not utilize timeouts because I felt that it would have split my attention in three directions: the class, the lesson, and any students in time-out.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason I feel that I did not use time-out was because it was not apart of my childhood. In school we lost privileges if we misbehaved, and the teacher made it known that we let her down. The latter part really affected me because I could not stand to let people down. I know I will be a teacher who looks for multiple solutions; students are too diverse for one method of classroom management. I would like to think my class would function with a high degree of success just like in the article (Hannon, 2002). It depends on whether I end up in middle school or high school.
I know the method utilized in the article could be modified for the middle school setting, but it may be difficult to use in high school. These are two different age groups at different stages of development cognitively. I feel that in order to maintain focus at the high school level, they need open learning situations where they can make decisions. Students with a sense of responsibility will see purpose in their education.
Works Cited
Hannon, J. (2002). NO Time For Time Out. Kappa Delta Pi Record. 38, 1-7.
When I was in high school I used to watch two young children during the day, I saw their parents punish them, especially the boy, by putting them in time out. All this served to do was make the child sulky and then he would go right back to the inappropriate behavior after ten minutes. I was never put into time out as a punishment, usually my parents just did not allow me to go to my friends’ houses, which was very effective, but my husband’s mom often used time outs on him. She did add a twist and had him stand up and hold his shoes straight out to the sides. I believe time outs are ineffective in redirecting a child’s behavior. All they do is create an inconvenience for the teacher and students. Punishments should not simply punish the child, they don’t learn anything like that, instead punishments should teach a child the correct behavior in the situation. I liked the teacher’s idea of making the children recite an apology and care for the person whose feelings they had hurt. This corrects behavior as well as teaches social skills. There are always going to be Olivers in the classroom. What we as teachers need to do is not simply give their misbehavior attention by calling them out and putting them in time outs, but we need to show them the proper way to act in ways that encourages them to behave in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI know you, Dr. Herring, have much classroom experience. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for dealing with this behavior in a high school setting. When we misbehaved, we were always sent to the hall, which is simply a time out for older kids. Are there other ways, like the apology, that would encourage appropriate behavior that you have used?
Time-out treatments can be tricky. I agree with them, but they need to be handled on a consistent basis. Children should be placed in time-outs for breaking the classroom/home rules that they understand for a reasonable amount of time. The time-out shouldn’t be too long and afterwards a parent or teacher needs to go to the child and have the child explain to them why they were placed in time-out to be aware of their behavior. Although, the time-out idea needs to be introduced early in the child’s life so it’s not thrown at them all of a sudden. If they know what will happen to them for bad behavior then I think it will be more effective. I have experienced a parent that put their child in time-out for every little thing the child did wrong, but the child couldn’t explain why they were placed there so he didn’t know how to correct his behavior. I had to sit in time-out a couple of times but I don’t think it was called a time-out. My parents just told me to go to my room or in another room until I could act correctly. Whenever I released my anger, I would go back in the room with everyone else and would apologize to them for my behavior. I like the way my parents made me do this because it made me take responsibility for my actions. I like how the article talked about a classroom needs to have respect. This lets the child know that they have a say in the plans and that their teacher is thinking of their personal needs. After reading this article, I think I will be the type of teacher that finds different solutions based on individual behaviors. I understand everyone needs different solution strategies and learn differently. If a “time-out” doesn’t work for a child, I could take away something that meant something to them. For example, an elementary or lower middle school child, the teacher could take away their free time or their recess if they showed bad behavior. I agree with Justin when he said to take the child into the hallway to talk about their behavior and get them away from embarrassing them or away from the attention they are seeking. For middle/high school students, placing them in time-out would not be effective. Most everyone that’s posted so far has mentioned that adolescents in this age group know the different between right and wrong. Most of the time they are acting up because something or someone has hurt their feelings so they get a bad attitude or they are trying to be funny and make the other students laugh at them to seek attention. I think the most effective way would be to take away their hall time going from class to class so they couldn’t interact with their friends for that time period or assign detention.
ReplyDeleteThe article, No Time for Time Out, addresses the issue of time outs and that they are not the best solution for disciplining students with behavioral issues. However, time outs were used when I was in school and I believe time outs are still a good corrective action for students with behavioral problems. The type of time out used should be based on the student’s behavioral issues. There are three types of times outs. One removes the student from the classroom environment, having them go sit in the hall or in another room. Another type of time out has the student go to a corner or a time out chair. The last type of time out has the student sit on the outside of the activity and observe proper behavior of their classmates.
ReplyDeleteA student with behavioral issues sometimes needs removed from the classroom. I have been conducting my clinical hours in a kindergarten classroom where a boy loses his temper, throws chairs, tries to bite and runs from the teacher. When this child acts like this he needs removed from the class so he can refocus. His behavior is distracting to the other students and upsets a few of the students. When a student is acting up and distracting the other students having the child go sit in a time out chair or stand in the corner away from the activity can send the message that they need to act responsible to be able to participate. This also send the message to the other students that if they want to be a part of the class certain rules apply and if they are broken will not be allowed to participate. If a student is mildly misbehaving the child should be removed from the activity but placed close enough to watch the class. The teacher can explain to the child that if they would like to participate they must settle down, quit talking or correct the inappropriate behavior. The kindergarten class I’m in uses this approach the most. A student will have to leave the carpet for talking and go sit at his/her desk. After a few minutes the teacher will allow them to come back to the carpet if they feel they can behave.
The article, No Time Out for Time Out, addressed the issues that not all students can sit still, but a time out does not mean a child has to sit. A child can be put in the hall or another room and they do not have to sit in one spot. They can stand or move around the key is they have been excluded to calm down and compose themselves. A child who is put in the corner, told to sit on a time out chair, or placed near the activity to observe can be allowed to stand or sit. Once again the key is for the child to realize their behavior removed them from the activity. The student will realize that to participate with the class they must act a certain way.
I believe time outs are appropriate for all age students. The teacher must explain to the student why they are being placed in the time out and how they must behave to be able to join the class again. The teacher could require an apology to the other students for the disruption. For older students, the teacher might even require the student to write a paper explaining what happened and how they should have handled themselves better or possibly write an apology. There are several options available when correcting behavior using a time out. I do feel the most effective type of time out is the approach where the student can observe the class and see what they are missing out on which also teaches a lesson to the other students who see the student not being able to participate.
I can’t personally remember if I’ve ever been placed in timeout when I was in school but I remember other kids that had. Recently my niece has been in timeout in her school and I don’t agree with that form of punishment. Personally I think it’s more of an embarrassing situation than a corrective one and even though people don’t like to be embarrassed, it may just make the student act out even more. A time out separates the student from the rest and makes them an outsider from the group and while they are in time out they are not learning anything about correcting their actions or about the subject at hand. As a future teacher, I don’t plan on using time out. I believe that the only thing that timeout effectively does, is take the student away from the learning environment. I believe don’t believe that is an effective method of dealing with the actual cause of the problem and won’t correct it. With any situation, there can be multiple situations that can work, what I need to do is find the root cause and correct that, not simply remove the student from the others and from the lesson. Since I will be a High school teacher, I will need to figure out how to translate these methods to that learning level. I believe that in the high school level, students will be able to speak out and talk over things with myself and other students and I would like to incorporate that into my classroom. I think that if an individual does something in class then they can talk it out and find the cause of that problem and fix it before it gets out of hand.
ReplyDeleteMy personal experience with time-outs was with the “bad chair,” a big wooden chair with arms located at the edge of the family room and kitchen. Time-outs were the primary disciplinary strategy for me at home up until about age 7 and I think it was effective in the home setting. I can’t remember ever sent to time-out at school. I don’t remember any other students being placed in time-out either, although I’m sure this strategy was used at the time—perhaps this indicates that time-outs are effective for the rest of the group by removing the disruption quickly. In grades 4-6, my teachers would quite often move chronically disruptive students’ desks away from the rest of the class, sometimes for weeks at a time. I wouldn’t say this was a true time-out but it certainly isolated the student. They always seemed to be more restless and bored back there—perhaps even more distracting.
ReplyDeleteAs a new teacher I think I’ll likely use time-outs for classroom management initially. With experience, I may try to shift away from this and try to develop others. After reading the article and text this week, I was surprised that neither mentioned loss of instructional time for the student as a criticism of time-outs. At the middle and high school level, I recall there were frequently desks outside the classroom door for time-outs or make-up tests. Sometimes there would be several students seated out in a hallway (again, makes me think about all the class time they are missing). With older children, I could ask a disruptive student “Have you ever found yourself watching a TV show and someone else started making noise or distracting you? How did that make you feel?” Hopefully this would make the student realize how his or her peers feel when they are disruptive without removing them from the classroom community.
Much like the teacher in the article, I think that time-outs are a waste of time. I work as a teacher’s aide in a head start classroom, working with 3-5 year olds. When one of the students misbehaves, the teacher sends them to the “quiet chair.” More often than not, however, the child that gets sent to the quiet chair causes more of a disruption to the class than they were previously causing because they start screaming and crying. The students never actually stay sitting down in the time-out chair because they are being defiant of the teacher’s rules. I feel that the students are often times acting out to gain attention, so when they are cut off from the class, they voice their emotions loudly.
ReplyDeleteI think that Justin provided an excellent point as well (which I have seen in the classroom) that children may misbehave so they can get out of doing the schoolwork. When the class is working on coloring pages or writing pages, there are a few students in the class who refuse to do them and begin acting out. The teacher automatically sends them to the quiet chair, and the student got what he/she wanted because he/she did not have to complete the work sheets.
In my own classroom, I will avoid using time-outs because I see how ineffective they truly are in the classroom that I am currently working in. Like suggested in the article, I will use alternative solutions when approaching conflicts in the classroom, such as taking the student in the hallway to discuss the problem or to have the students take responsibility of their actions and “care for” the student they hurt.
The daycare center that I work at revolves around timeouts, because it is felt that the child needs time to relax and time to talk with the teacher about the poor behavior. The timeout is not supposed to consist of the child sitting alone or completely silent, but with a teacher to talk through the problem and understand alternative ways of handling the situation he or she was in. I have always liked this form of punishment, because it is used to help our kids learn from their mistakes instead of just making them sit in shame.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have found problems with this form of punishment many times when I have tried using it. For instance, when I am trying to discipline a certain preschool child, he absolutely will not sit down in the chair for the whole time. I am not his normal teacher and he will not listen to me. He scoots his chair along the floor, falls out of his chair, stands up, etc. It is a very frustrating process. Another problem I have had comes from my own age group, which is third through fifth grade. One of my kids has a big anger problem, so when I put him in the chair for a timeout, he moves his chair so his face is facing the wall. He literally gets so mad that he does not want to look at me. We cannot punish kids this was though, so I have to try to get him to turn his chair around. Incase anyone does not understand, making kids face the wall is called public humiliation and can get teachers and centers in a lot of trouble by DCFS.
As a 1st and 2nd grade teacher, part of my beginning of the year routine is setting up a positive classroom committee. I believe it is important for students to understand that they can feel safe at school because they have a supportive classroom community. I use get to know you activities, daily morning meetings, and positive reinforcement to create a positive, supportive learning community. It is my hope that students will feel comfortable making mistakes and taking risks in the classroom due to a feeling of safety among the group of people. We will create the rules as a group. Then give examples of how to follow and how it looks when they aren't followed. We will act out what to do when someone isn't following the rules. As a class we will role play difficult situations in the classroom, such as asking someone to stop breaking a rule or being a bully. We read books about being a good friend, treating property with respect, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs hard as we work at the beginning of the year to establish positive rules and expectations, there are still problems. Everyone has a bad day and everyone breaks rules. Even as adults we break rules. For example, in a meeting when I'm feeling tired of work and sitting next to my friends, I talk, pass notes and I'm defiantly not an active listener. Every child (and adult) despite how "good" they are makes mistakes and has a bad day. That is why I set up a "time out" section of the room that we ALL use. This, just like anything I introduce into the classroom, we spend days talking about how to use it, what its for, and we PRACTICE using the "time out". We even give the time out a different name unique to our class. I set up this place as a place of reflection that all of us will need to go to at some point in the year. Children are taught that at the time out place they are to calm down and prepare themselves to come back to the class and the learning. It is not a place to "think about what you've done" as I think many time outs are used around the country. Now, don't get me wrong there are times in my classroom that I want students to reflect on their behavior and discuss what they will do differently next time. If the "take a break" or "time out" doesn't work and a child has to go back 2 times for the same thing (for example: not listening on the rug) then they receive a consequence. The student then has to forfeit their recess or free choice time to write a letter to me explaining what they did and what they will do differently next time. I think both of these "consequences" (time out and recess/letter writing) are forms of time outs. I think the point of a time out needs to be clearly communicated to the students. Students need to know how to use the time out to change their behavior. I think it is naive to send a child to a place, away from the group and expect them to know what to do in that place. When my students go to our "time out" they know to take deep breaths, close their eyes, count to 10... whatever they need to do to calm down. Then, they need to think about how to re-enter the group in a positive way. Students control how long they need in the "time out". When they feel they are ready to re-enter the group and make positive choices, they quiet walk back and get back to work. I know this seems impossible for 1st and 2nd graders to do... however, with lots of practice and explanation of each step, they can do it! I find that the Responsive Classroom literature is very helpful. They have a time out book. I also use their Morning Meeting book to model the morning circle we have each morning.
I will be the first person to say that I am not a big fan of the “timeout.” It just doesn’t seem to be very effective, in my opinion. Maybe I have this point of view because in my house, while growing up, timeouts were not the form of punishment. In most cases, I lost some sort of privilege such as the television, or a videogame, for things that were minor infractions. If I did something that really upset my parents, then my punishments were physical. They weren’t drastically physical, but they were enough to teach me a lesson. However, as a teacher, I certainly cannot resort to such measures. What I did learn from that as a child, is that negative reinforcement can work.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I don’t necessarily think that it has to be the traditional forms of negative reinforcement that I should use. I tend to think that negative reinforcement can have dual purpose. I think that, as punishment, a student can be assigned additional math problems, or assigned a paper on a class related topic. With this type of punishment, they are being made to do additional work that they wouldn’t want to do, thus causing them to not repeat the behavior, and they are learning something while doing it.
Ultimately, what works best for each student depends on the individual. I think that it’s a judgment call. I think it is absolutely necessary to have a clearly stated punishment for certain behaviors. However, I think that sometimes there are students that need creative reprimanding and that will be something that has to be evaluated on the fly.
I have actually never had any experience with time-outs either in my own upbringing or any of the school settings I have experienced up to now. The only real exposure I have had is with a couple of my friends who have children and use time-outs with them. I have usually found that their use of time-outs is inconsistent and ineffective. After reading this article by Jean Hannon I know have a much clearer understanding of why time-outs do not seem very effective to me. With this being said I can safely that I will not be a teacher that uses time-outs as a method of classroom management. I like how author saw the elimination of time-outs as a challenge to come up with more effective means of classroom management. It is so interesting to me that when the author used time-outs it seemed so normal and appropriate but within only a year of not using them she was able to see how ineffective and inappropriate time-outs really are. Perhaps there are teachers who do use time-outs effectively but I would need to be shown convincing evidence that they are furthering learning and developmental goals because I am quite skeptical.
ReplyDeleteFor middle and high-schoolers I think that classroom management should involve as much collaboration with the students as possible. Just as in the author’s kindergarten class, giving students ownership of classroom rules and enforcement empowers them, thus urging them to adhere to and help self-enforce the very rules they are part-owners of. One strategy I may use would be to ask my students to describe past classes they have had where disciplinary problems were an issue. In opening this discussion and asking the students to guide it they will most likely tell me how they would like their classroom to function.
I have never had experience with time outs throughout my home life. There was only one time in school I was put into time out, and that was in SCOPE. I have always had the personal opinion that they are ineffective. They are especially ineffective in a classroom because it gives the child an excuse to check out of the learning process. I also feel as though time outs are a form of punishment for “some people.” There is no better way for me to say this without offending anyone.
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact that I will not use time outs as a form of punishment in my classroom. The main reason, as stated above, is that I do not find them ineffective. I also would not put a 15 to 18 year old student in a time out. I’m currently observing at Jefferson Middle School. At this school, they have Safe Seats for their students. Basically, the student who is in trouble is moved to a different part of the classroom away from his/her peers. This is different from a time out because the student is still expected to be actively involved in the learning experience. I would consider implementing this type of punishment in my classroom. This type of discipline lets students know that their behavior needs to change without encouraging them to waste their class time by doing nothing.
I do not remember getting time outs in school when I was younger. I do remember having to write out the bad behavior that I was not going to do anymore a certain number of times. If the bad behavior continued, then a student would be sent to the principals’ office to get a talking to or in some cases a spanking if the offence was severe enough.
ReplyDeleteWith my own children, time outs were not effective, at least not at home. My kids did not like to sit still for any reason and it felt like I spent more time trying to keep them still and in time out than just disciplining them another way. I was more frustrated with time outs than they were.
I do not believe time outs will be a part of my discipline program. I do not think kids get anything from time out. They are separated from the rest of the glass and it can give them some time to think about what they did, but I think most kids will sit in the corner or chair and wait for the their opportunity to get back out and reek more havoc. I do want my student to understand that there are repercussions for bad behavior and because each student is different, you have to adjust the punishment to fit the person. Time outs may work for some but not for others. I think that once you get to know your students, you will be able to give the appropriate discipline according to the student.
Time out in the form of detentions can work well for middle and high school students. For most of them, their time is important and by making them give up some of it either before or after may work.
I have had experience with time outs. My aunt and uncle used time outs to reprimand their children. My aunt and uncle did not believe in spanking their children so they used the time out method as a way to discipline them. For the most part, their children obeyed a time out order, but the time out rarely alleviated the behavior problem at hand. Their children typically served their time out and went back to their behavior before the time out was issued. I have found this to be true in the classroom as well.
ReplyDeleteI was a substitute teacher for a 6th grade class last fall. One of the students kept getting out of his seat and going to the back of the classroom to sit in a rolling computer chair. After numerous attempts to keep him in his seat, I finally told him to stay in the back of the classroom until he decided to act responsibly. After some time I allowed him to come back to his seat. He then proceeded to act up again. I told him to go out in the hall until class was over.
Now, on the other hand, my parents spanked my brother and me when we had behavior problems. Spanking never seemed to remedy our behavior problems. It made me fear my parents but did not keep me from acting up again.
I believe that time outs and spanking are disciplines at opposite ends of the behavior problem spectrum. Time outs seem too finesse and spanking often too barbaric. There is a time and a place for each of these forms of discipline, but neither should be used exclusively to handle behavior problem with a child. I know that time outs would not have deterred my bad behavior as a child, nor did spanking. I think other methods of discipline should be used to deter bad behavior. Taking away personal belongings, detention, and staying after school are all better ways to discipline students. Middle and high school students today love things like cell phones, mp3 players, watching television, and sometimes just being lazy. As a teacher, if a student fears that you may keep them from enjoying their luxuries, they may be more likely to act responsibly in the classroom.
I am going to try this again...
ReplyDeleteTime outs, oh time outs, I do believe in time outs. I have used them many of times when it comes to my 5 year old. He received his first time out when he was two years old, he was told no three times and then he would go into a chair and sit down in the chair for two minutes (one minute for every year old). I do think that it is difficult to get a kid to sit down, but it is all about making sure that the child knows you mean business and take it seriously and always follow through.
I do believe that I will use the alternative methods as stated in the article. It is almost a distraction of the current events and sends the students onto a different task, they won’t remember about the event that one student did to the other and are able to move past it.
In regards to using this method or adapting the method to work for middle/high school-ers I don’t know how you could rework this so it would work. That is the age where students are more about what their friends think of you and some might want to make sure their friends don’t think you will do whatever the teacher says. It could be adapted for some and work, but how you could adapt it I don’t know.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
ReplyDeleteBlog 5 No Time for Time Out
I really enjoyed the article. I think it is important in all levels of education to address behavior in a positive manner, if possible. I believe that students will react to consistent positive influence when displayed by the teacher. Students, by nature, will test the limits of boundaries. The problem with establishing mutual respect within a classroom arises when students first come into contact with the experience in high school. This is something that educators need to practice from the beginning. Too often the only place where boundaries are set and enforced is in the classroom. I was a witness to this while in grammar school. My neighbor who was a year ahead of me in school, had a terrible temper and did not take criticism or sharing well. One day on the playground he took a ball away from my friend, kicked him and when my friend tried to grab the ball back, he took off his shoe and hit him in the head. The teacher took him to the principal and talked to all of us while he was out of the classroom about being "nice" to "Billy" because his homelife was "bad." Nothing was done to correct "Billy's" behavior or to teach him that his behavior was unacceptable. Living next door to him I knew that there was not alot of positive behaviors going on in the home but it made me realize that if he did not learn what was acceptable at home, school should be responsible for teaching him that. My sister and I were raised with the notion that all actions have consequences. Also that all actions require a "choice." The decision is whether you are willing to live with the consequences of your choice. I want to use this in my classroom with strong re-enforcement of mutual respect. Maybe I am being naive but I believe that done correctly, this will limit discipline problems.
Part II
ReplyDeleteI think that I have to refer to my own background. We were taught that there were some things that we just should not do. There were no lengthy explanations about why this or that action would be harmful. Rules were not made just to be broken. That is not to say that I grew up in a dictatorship though when I was in high school my history teacher asked if our home lives were a democracy or dictatorship. When I got home from school I asked my mom that same question and she calmly said that our family was a democracy. My sister and I had the freedom to choose to agree with the rules of the family or not. If we didn't want to, then it turned into a dictatorship and we would be forced to tow the line. I would like to think that the "rules" adjusted as we got older and the rules didn't seem so much like rules as common courtesy. In my family we actually talk to each other. This is not forced conversation but really liking each other and "sharing." I would like for my high school classroom to evolve into this sort of scenario. I hope that learning can take on a form of sharing ideas and expressing mutual respect for our differences.