Dealing with Chronic Misbehavior

List Keypoint Response

Tattling Students report minor infractions or perceived Tell students what kinds of information they should and should
injustices to the teacher not report
Not disruptive, but can become a problem when Convey to students that you will be available to help them with
students commonly report minor complaints important matters, but not interested in minor complaints
Clowning Behave in silly or funny ways; play practical jokes Find out the source of the students clowning
Disruptive to the class Keep a record of who, what, when, where, and how for clowning
May use clowning to cover up deficiency, cover up incidents
weak academics, gain recognition, fame, or Meet privately with students to discuss the pattern of clowning
popularity, or a source of venting a frustration behavior and why it is disruptive
Figure out ways for the students to meet his/her needs without
being disruptive
Cheating Getting answers or projects from someone else and Discuss the difference between helping and cheating and
turning it in as their own demonstrating expected behaviors for various activities
May cheat if expectations are too high, as a way out Use desk placements
because of anxiety or unpreparedness Talk to the student cheating in private, present reasons for
suspected cheating, express concern and try to find out why the
student cheated, discuss consequences
Lying Saying something that is not true in a conscious effort Say I wonder why you couldnt tell me what really happened?
to deceive somebody Stay calm and encourage them to discuss why they lied
May lie to protect their self-image, to mask their Encourage students to be honest about their feelings and use a
vulnerable points, or to inflate their image, to protect calm problem-solving approach to help the student address the
themselves from punishment problem that caused him/her to lie
Stealing Taking something that belongs to somebody else Private conversation with the culprit; describe what you saw and
without the owners permission have the student return the item, replace it, or make restitution
Figure out other options rather than stealing
Frequent stealing should be addressed with the principal
Profanity Use of abusive, vulgar, or irreverent language Stress that using language to hurt others will not be permitted and
May become a regular part of vocabulary or may use there are other acceptable ways to express anger
it when they are angry
Rudeness Exhibit disagreeable or discourteous words or actions Avoid overreacting, arguing, or getting into a power struggle
toward that are outside acceptable standards When rude behavior is first evident, inform the students that the
Talking back, arguing, making crude remarks, or behavior is inappropriate
the showing inappropriate gestures If action continues, meet with the student privately to identify the
teacher reason for the behavior and deliver consequences
Defiance Student refuses to obey or conform to teacher Defuse it by keeping it in private and handling it individually with
or directions the student
May form a confrontation with the teacher during the Avoid a power struggle and remain objective
hostility class session Put the student off and discuss the situation in a few minutes
toward a Listen to the students point of view and dont engage in an
teacher argument
State the consequence clearly and implement it
Stay in control of yourself
Direct the rest of the class to work on something while you speak
to the student in private
Acknowledge the students feelings
Offer the students a choice of actions for what the student needs to
do next
Failure to Students who regularly do not complete seatwork Examine how to hold students academically accountable
do work done in class or homework Maintain accurate records of the school work and respond early
when you recognize students who are regularly not completing
in class or homework
homework Examine nature of homework (too difficult, were the students
prepared, uninteresting, etc)
Break seatwork up into parts
Review, collect, and grade all assignments
Monitor students during seatwork