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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Please. Stop. Talking.

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I am so thankful to have eight weeks off in the summer. I need that time to recharge. When the school year starts, I try to be really on top of things regarding discipline in my classroom. I am a fun teacher, but I run a tight ship. Students are fully expected to follow the rules and procedures- which are similar the rules and procedures of any classroom.

There are many pros and cons about being a "special" teacher. ("Special" at our school means art, gym, music library, etc.) One of the pros and cons is that I see every student in the school. These students spend most of their day following their classroom teacher's rules and expectations, which may or may not be enforced as consistently as I enforce my rules.

I try to be very consistent, especially at the beginning of the year. Any teacher will tell you it is soooooo important to set the tone right from the beginning what the expectations are- and don't waver from them. If you are consistent and do not waver, it makes life a lot simpler as the school year progresses. It's much easier to loosen the reigns than tighten them.

I have been very diligent so far, and most classes are doing really well. But that's not to say some classes aren't giving me a run for my money! The biggest problem I have had so far is all. the. talking. There are classes that are just so chatty. They think that as long as I am not talking, it is fair game to chat with their neighbors. Um, no. Some students talk to themselves, but they don't understand that talking to yourself is still talking.


Me: "Bobby, please stop talking."
Bobby: "But I'm talking to myself."
Me: "It doesn't matter who you're talking to, it's still talking."

This is a real conversation I had with many a student! The name has been changed to protect the innocent guilty.

I can't tell you how many times a day I say in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Please stop talking." The thing is, asking politely doesn't always work because students only think you mean business if you yell or act angry. Well, yelling and acting angry is not an option for me this year. I refuse to use my "grumpy voice" just to get students to follow directions.

So how does a teacher deal with this problem? Well, I am sure there are many ways and it depends on a lot of different things. I will share with you my methods- from the method I employ first to the worst case scenario...



*Note: These methods are for when all or most of the class is being chatty, not when it is just one or two students that you can deal with individually.*

Method #1: Confusion.

When a student starts talking when they're not suppose to, I feign utter and complete confusion. An example is provided via video below because I simply cannot accurately describe this one to indicate my tone and facial expressions. I am not a good enough writer.



Method #2: Praise the students who are following the rules.

"I love the way Bobby is sitting quietly."
"I am so glad Sally raised her hand."
"Jimmy is doing an excellent job."

This method usually works in the short term. Kids do want to please their teachers, but often they are too impulsive to keep it up!

Method #3: The come to Jesus moment.

I will demonstrate this method in the following short video. I will be playing the part of "Exasperated Teacher".



Method #4: Shut it down. Students must put their heads down and stay silent for two minutes. Two minutes seems like an eternity to them.

Worst Case Scenario: Back to basics.

Devote an entire class period to reviewing the rules and expectations. Make the students copy down the rules on a sheet of paper and write a paragraph about why it is important to follow the rules. (Obviously if it is a class of younger students they may not be able to do this so their task would have to be altered a bit.)


Were you a chatty student in school?
Teachers, how do you get your class to be QUIET? I would love new ideas!

22 comments:

  1. The Come to Jesus video brought me back to my school days! I was SUCH a chatty student :/ I really didn't do it on purpose, I just wasn't self-aware at all. My teachers were never hard on me since I was a generally good student and got really good grades, but I did get detention a couple of times.

    I hated getting detention because I so wasn't the kind of person who should have gotten it, but I just couldn't keep my mouth shut! Plus I don't think it really helped. I still talk too much!

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    1. lol some kids just talk! I can't remember if I talked or not. I am sure I probably did. But see now you are putting the talking to good use via your career as well as video blogs!! :)

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  2. I cant watch the videos right now but I need to remember to come back and check them out! I definitely think "special" teachers have a difficult job because they see so many kids and a lot of times kids think classes like that are for fun and that they don't have to follow the same rules while in there!

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    1. Yes! It is a fine line because I realize music is FUN, loud, we move around, etc... But then they have to reel it in when it is instruction time.

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  3. Oh my gosh, I think about this in my exam rooms when I have those exasperating children as patients! Yesterday I had the 2 worst behaved kids for physicals. The girl kept farting and wouldn't sit still. The boy burped in my CMAs face and kept interrupting me to argue with his mom. I just ignored him and talked over him. He wanted attention and I wasn't about to give him that. I kept thinking how I felt sorry for his teachers at school. I bet he's a handful. And the girl probably has ADHD. I spent 30 minutes with them. I can't imagine a whole day for a whole year...You have a tough job!

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    1. Ewww there is nothing worse than the smell of KID FARTS!!!

      Being the music teacher, I do have the perk that I don't see the same kids all day long so at least those "challenging" ones I am only with for 40 minutes and then get to hand off to someone else! Some kids, 40 min is just enough time to appreciate them and then move on!

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  4. I love your methods! You sound like such a great teacher!!

    You would have loved me as a student. My whole life I have NEVER been a talker. Quiet as a mouse, this one. I bet I was just as annoyed with my chatty classmates sometimes as my teachers were!

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    1. Awww so your teachers were totally like, "I like how HANNA is sitting quietly." :) Yes I would have loved you setting a good example for everyone else :)

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  5. I love this--I am sure it's super challenging to always be getting the kids to stay focused. I was a talker....still am!

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    1. lol I can't remember if I talked a lot but I talk a lot now too! However, not like during faculty meetings or things like that.

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    2. Yes, thankfully I have learned a bit more self control to know when to talk. But I will say this, the days I go into the office I goof off way more than when I work from home....very chatty. At home there is no one except Macy and she will only engage if I have a treat in my hand.

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  6. HAHAHA! This is brilliant. I'm going to forward it to my sister! She's been a teacher for 25 years and will totally relate. I don't know how you guys do it. You're all amazing!

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    1. Haha thank you! Lots of "acting". I bet your sister would have some good tips for me!

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  7. I am not a chatter. I follow rules always have. My son is chatty too much I have to constantly ask him to be quiet. When he gets on my nerves I just start talking over him and he hates it. Have you tried duct tape, super glue, nails, just kidding My hat is off to you I could not be a teacher
    bakingrunner.blogspot.com

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    1. Hahaha I think I would lose my job if I tried those things!!!! ;)

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  8. That's great that the teacher had her class reigned in and under control. I just love an orderly classroom. :)

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  9. I'm an English teacher so the writing as punishment makes me think of all those memes of "Running: My sport is your sport's punishment" LOL

    I feel ya. Kids talk and it can be annoying. I totally agree with setting the tone from the get-go so when you do tell them to shut up, they know it's because you've had enough. Sometimes I get snarky and once I told a student, "Hey, do you want to go talk to yourself out in the hallway?"

    What gets me are the phones. Kids won't get off their damn phones! Arg! And then they text with their phones under their desk like I can't tell they're texting. I said to one, "Everything okay down there? I see you're really focused on something." Jajaja!! ~Helly

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    1. Well I don't look at it as writing as a punishment, but the writing of the rules and thinking about what you're writing. It's not a punishment, it is just, okay, we obviously are having trouble following the rules, so let's write them down and think about them.

      I have been snarky before too. I think we all have! It's okay as long as it's a kid that understands the snark. Sarcasm and stuff like that can go a long way.

      I would diiiiiiiiiiie if I had to deal with cell phones. I don't know how you do that. That would annoy the crap out of me.

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  10. I've learned to stop asking students to please be quiet. It's an expectation not to talk, so if they're breaking the rule I shouldn't have to be polite. I immediately get teacher face and teacher voice and just say STOP. Or I use our old standby proximity...just standing awkwardly over their shoulder.

    Or I tell them, "oh I'll wait because Bobby is being rude." Calling them out on manners seems to really embarrass the middle school kids for some reason.

    Sometimes if they have to be quiet a long time and they're getting restless, I assure them "give me 5 more minutes and then you can have a little chat break." I agree though; trying to instruct over little noises and talking is the worst.

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    1. That is a really good point that since not talking is an expectation, why do we have to be so polite? I yelled yesterday at a second grade class. I yelled, "STOP!" I couldn't take it anymore. It was like, okay I asked politely like 7 times and now I just can't freaking take it. We had a come to Jesus moment. Today they were angels. Next week, they will be right back to talking.

      Thanks for sharing your strategies! I know MS and ES are different but not really that different!

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  11. OMG this post is great! I could talk about 'too much talking' all day long! ;)

    I love the "Come to Jesus" strategy! Since I teach first and second grade I usually do a lot of "1, 2, 3 eyes on me," where they reply, "1, 2 eyes on you." They love this one. And when It's chatty sounding in the room I say loudly, not yelling "3, 2, 1, (gets progressively lower sounding unttil this part...) talking is done." The last part is a whisper and they join in when we get to the "talking is done" whisper part. Sometims when I'm totally frustrated I just stand and stare until there is silence, lol. I'm always amazed at how long it takes the chattiest person to realize the entire room is waiting for him/her to stop talking! LOL

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    1. Those are great little things that I bet the first graders love. I am bad at coming up with those types of things. And YES the dang chattiest kid will talk after every is quiet haha.

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