How do you establish authority? What do you do when a discipline problem arises?
Be a good example for them
In my seven years at this university and my 15 years at the CA college, I have only had one problem student in each system. A conference or two in my office about their behavior solved both problems.
The best way to establish authority in a classroom is to make your students understand it is a privilege to be taught by you. To do so, you must gain their respect by acting accordingly. Once you have that respect, they will not want you to be disappointed in them, because they look up to you as a role-model.
Before a problem arises, I warn students that if they continue to misbehave, class time will cease to be fun. I always make good on my promise if they continue to be a problem. You cannot go soft on your students when you say you will punish them, otherwise they will never listen to you in the future.
Usually I make a big show of being angry to show my displeasure. Then, I will make them do a test, or something they dislike doing. If it's a particular student that causes the problems, everyone else must suffer as well. Classes succeed as a team and fail as a team.
It is very bad if the teacher think authority first. It should be the last. It is better if the authority is the results of a process. So the teacher will get his authority in nature.
The kids were just concerned in getting the school credit for graduation and maintaining their sports playability. I would make sure that they knew if they were failing and presented myself as an advocate to help them pass and not an adversary keeping them from getting credit. Discipline was handled by grades. Any student acting up wasn't working to pass.
When I speak, I allow the people in charge within the group to handle it. I believe that is their responsibility.
One is better served to not have discipline problems arise, I am proactive. Get parents involved from the start and have things in order from the beginning of the class to the end. Organization and action models authority to students. Teach respect by giving to students and they often return that respect in their work attitudes.
It really depends upon the situation. I do believe in gentle disicipline and positive discipline. And I also believe that children do need to understand how bad behavior affects everyone. They need to learn to take responsibility for their own actions, even when someone else is not behaving appropriately. Lecturing is not the answer. When my students misbehave, I ask them how they would feel if this were happening to them. Then I ask them how they feel the other person feels in this circumstance - whether that person be me, a parent, or another student.
I don't feel I have to establish authority. My student has respect for my position. We don't have discipline problems.
I have never really had to "establish" authority--I am the instructor and my students are students. I have had to deal with individual students who have worked to challenge my authority as an instructor and as the "manager" of the class site. In these cases, I approach the problem differently depending on the situation at hand. But these situations are handled in private between and the student. I like to offer everyone the benefit of the doubt, but should trust be broken in a serious way, such as a serous case of Plagiarism, the student is turned into the institution's academic committee for academic dishonesty.
Since I work primarily with adults I've never really had a discipline problem. I imagine that I'd speak with the student privately and work to resolve the situation somehow between us before turning to administrators.
At the beginning of the school year my students and I set the behavioral rules of the teaching-learning game. Next we follow them. If somebody violates a rule, she/he gets a repremand and the dispespect of the teacher.
Take time to observe what is the underlying issue, consult with others for an objective opinion and then plan a strategy to face the person in a caing and compassionate way
I've never had a problem. Mainly that's because I don't let things bother me--I never let myself feel defensive toward a student. This is one of the advantages of teaching in a community college (or a college, generally): On some level, the students WANT to be there. This being the case, I feel I can talk to the students like adults. If someone is being disruptive, I can go up to them and say, "Look, I'm not trying to treat you like a little kid, and I want to give you the respect you deserve, but I need you to do the same for me. Whether you come to class or not is ultimately up to you, but if you do want to be here, then I need you to be respectful of me and of the other students and let me do my job." Like I say, the fact that the class itself is optional usually prevents any major discipline problems.
Oh, and I sometimes have a penalty jar: If a cellphone rings during class, the offender owes a quarter to the pot. We use the money for pizza at the end of the semester. Students enforce the rule enthusiastically.   | | |
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