Behavior, Misbehavior, and Discipline

Abstract

Behavior, misbehavior, discipline, and management are compared and contrasted below along with strategies to use in the classroom.

Introduction
As educators one thing we are most concerned about is behavior in our classrooms. Behavior can make or break our lessons and the students’ classroom experience. But what is behavior? How is it different from misbehavior? Finally, how can we manage behavior in our classrooms and discipline those who do not follow good classroom behavior? Behavior causes teachers to discipline students’ and create a classroom management plan. Each individual teacher at your school may go about disciplining behavior and managing their classrooms in different manners.

Behavior and Misbehavior
According to Charles (2008) behavior is everything that people do. This includes bad and good, right or wrong, productive or wasteful, and so on. “Misbehavior is behavior that is inappropriate for the setting or situation in which it occurs” (Charles, 2008). Therefore misbehavior becomes a subset of behavior. Often in education we consider students who listen, answer questions, do their homework, and stay quiet to be presenting good behavior. Students’ who are disruptive, never finish their work, and who talk a lot are often seen as misbehaving.
Misbehavior, often deemed as inappropriate or disruptive behavior, can be categorized into three different types (Charles, 2008). The first is behavior that interferes with teaching or learning. This could be anything from moving around the room to needless talking. Another category is behavior that threatens or intimidates others, like malicious behavior or sexual harassment. The last category involves behavior that oversteps society’s standards of moral, ethical, or legal behavior like lying, cheating, or defiance of authority (Charles, 2008).

Discipline and Management Discipline is often seen as something to be done after a student misbehaves. It is often a plan teachers’ follow to enforce consequences when students choose not to follow the rules. Wong (2004) puts a more positive spin on discipline. He believes that when students break a rule they are not being punished, they have consciously made a choice to break a rule and accept the consequences. The enforcement of the consequences is discipline. One important strategy for dealing with discipline is to be consistent. If a student breaks the rules they need to be dealt with every time. When teachers let students’ get away with certain undesirable behaviors they are seen as inconsistent and students will be more likely to break the rules. Teachers must be consistent with discipline from day one. It is suggested that teachers create their own personal classroom discipline plan. According to Charles (2003) there are five steps. The first step is to Present, conduct, and interact with students and others in a professional manner. This is something that I easily do in my school and classroom. The second step is to clarify how you want students to behave in your classroom. This can be done the first few weeks of school by teaching students procedures. The third step is to establish and maintain classroom conditions that help students enjoy and profit from their educational experience. I do this by presenting a super happy and excited front. My students are always telling me how happy my classroom is and how it makes their day! The next step is to do all you can to help students learn to conduct themselves responsibly. This can be done by creating a sense of community in the classroom through allowing students to help make decisions about their education. I like to let them pick research topics and projects styles. The last step is to intervene supportively and productively to misbehavior. Establishing a clear procedure for dealing with misbehavior can do this. I have a six step plan for dealing with misbehavior: warning 1, warning 2, detention, out of the classroom for the period, call parents, referral to the office, conference. Management is different from discipline. If anything discipline is part of a teachers overall plan on how they wish to run, or manage, their classroom. A basic teachers’ management plan will list their rules and consequences, their procedures, and any extra policies they may have. According to Wong (2003) classroom management is the number one factor in student learning. Since our main goal as educators is to teach our students we should all be concerned with proper management techniques. Wong (2003) believes that proper management starts on day one with procedures. Procedures will tell students how the classroom is to run. In Harry and Rosemary Wong’s book The First Days of School (2003) they discuss the importance of procedures and provide three steps on how to implement them. The first step is to fully explain the classroom procedure. Step two is to rehearse the procedure, practice lining up for the library or leaving the classroom at the end of the day. The last step is to reinforce the procedure by re-teaching and re-practicing the behavior until it becomes a habit or routine. This will ensure that students’ learn the behavior that you want them to use n your classroom. I have found that implementing procedures is the most important part of the first few weeks of school. According to Wong (2003) if a teacher does not implement procedures the first day of school they will be chasing after their students for the rest of the year. I attempted to implement procedures on the first day of school, but then I got caught up in the excitement of teaching my first lessons and let the procedures slide, this is something I have definitely suffered from the rest of the year. My plan for next year is to spend the first two weeks of school learning procedures in my classroom with light course work.

Conclusion Behavior is considered all of the actions people take, while misbehavior can be deemed as inappropriate actions. Misbehavior in the classroom often stems from students inattention, talking, cheating, and overall disruption (making noises, moving around the room, etc.). There is a difference between management and discipline. Discipline plans are often implemented to dole out consequences for students behavior. These plans are often part of the way a teacher manages their classroom. Management can be defined as the overall way a teacher wants their classroom to function and how they go about ensuring the proper running of their room. Procedures are the most important part of classroom management. Once procedures are taught to students they will understand how the teacher wants them to behave.

References
Charles, C.M. (2008). Building Classroom Discipline. United States: Pearson
Education Inc.

Wong, Harry. (2003). How to Improve Student Achievement (Compact Disc
Recording). Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.

Wong, Harry, and Wong Rosemary. (2004). The First Days of School. Mountain View,
CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.

References: Charles, C.M. (2008). Building Classroom Discipline. United States: Pearson Education Inc. Wong, Harry. (2003). How to Improve Student Achievement (Compact Disc Recording). Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc. Wong, Harry, and Wong Rosemary. (2004). The First Days of School. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.