Behavior Management

After five years of teaching P-12 Music classes, I think I have finally developed the perfect management plan! At least, here's the main ideas behind it:

1) When students are misbehaving, praise another student who is showing appropriate behavior.
2) When no one is currently showing appropriate behavoir, choose a student who is showing innappropriate behavoir and write their name on the board (or several students).

That's it, plain and simple. You can make up your own rules for your situation, but this is how to apply them.

The reasoning for item number one is that positive reinforcement works better than negative reinforcement. It works better because it reinforces the behaviors you want and makes them more likely to reoccur. Negative reinforcement should be used sparingly, as it does not make students show appropriate behaviors more often - it makes the behavoir less likely to occur (theoretically), but it does not help students learn good behavior. Often times, bad behaviors are replaced by different bad behaviors. On the other side, it makes the teacher feel better when he or she uses positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement. Finally, it gives the teacher the opportunity to pick which student to praise when there is a choice. This creates an opportunity to establish a positive relationship with each individual student, especially with students who are often caught misbehaving. Similarly, the misbehaving student will take a sense of responsibility by realizing that their behavior is not being praised and know that they are doing something wrong rather than being told by someone else that they are doing something wrong.

The reasoning behind item number two is that there will be times when no one is showing the desired behavior. Previously, this had been the point where I would start yelling at someone or the class in general. Yelling is bad. It destroys trust between teacher and student, and it is ineffective. What's more, it is embarrassing to go back and listen to a recording of a lesson where you had to yell at someone. Now, when everyone is off task, I simply choose someone who is clearly acting against the rules, and I write their name up on the board. The students know that the first time their name is written, it counts as a warning, and the second time they are caught misbehaving they will receive a checkmark next to their name and a 15 minute detention after school. The reason why I write a name on the board is not to punish one student in particular, but to refocus the class on behavior issues. Usually after writing a name or giving a detention, at least one student will begin showing the appropriate behavior, at which point you can go back to using the first method of giving positive reinforcement (always the preferred method).

Whatever you do, DO NOT TELL THE STUDENTS ABOUT YOUR MANAGEMENT STRATEGY! Only tell your students that whoever is caught misbehaving will have their name written on the board, and that the second time results in a checkmark and a 15 minute detention. That's all they need to know! Anything else, and I fear that some student might try to take advantage of the situation. Of course, don't forget to explain all of the rules and procedures for your classroom, just don't tell them about your method of enforcing the rules!

Best of luck. This strategy just came to me today, and I've got a feeling that it will work for a long time.